'I thought I was the life of the party. Then I fell 4 metres.'

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Georgia Foster was a late bloomer to alcohol.

She discovered it in her 20s, following the lead of her Irish boyfriend.

"I was shy," the Melbourne mum told Mamamia. "I'd have a drink while I put make up on, and I got hooked. It became a part of my socialising early on."

In 90s London, drinking was the culture. Business meetings happened in pubs, nobody drove, and there was no reason not to drink.

Watch: Shanna Whan on alcohol recovery. Post continues after video.

Georgia thought she was living her best life, often intoxicated. She became known as the 'Aussie party girl'.

"I was always the last girl to leave," she said. "I became the 'party pleaser', always topping up everyone's glass, including my own."

But behind the bubbly exterior was anxiety and low self-esteem.

"I never felt slim enough, smart enough, or good enough," she said. "Alcohol gave me false confidence."

Georgia never considered herself an alcoholic. But drinking led to harmful paths.

Georgia drinking. Image: Supplied.

On one occasion, Georgia was so intoxicated she fell asleep on a train, missed her stop and struggled to get home. Another time, she fell 12 feet (around 4 metres) and ended up in hospital with potential spinal damage.

One night, after a stranger made a comment about her weight, Georgia turned to wine and food to drown out her feelings. Then, she had a realisation.

Her drinking wasn't about fun. It was emotional armour.

"I struggled with food and drank to hide my anxiety. When I heard that comment, it took me on a path to figure out why I didn't like myself," she said.

"I needed to find a way to stop binge-drinking, overeating and not liking myself."

Aside from binge-drinking, Georgia used to overeat as well. Image: Supplied.

Georgia found a way to help people drink less.

A week at a Queensland retreat changed everything. In group therapy, Georgia noticed that "even people with perfect homes and marriages" felt unworthy.

Determined to understand why, she studied Jungian psychology and became a clinical hypnotherapist — drawn to the concept of the "inner critic" and self-sabotage.

Back in the UK, Georgia began working with people like her — high-functioning, sociable people who were secretly worried about their drinking.

"These were hard-working people. They weren't destroying their lives," she said. "They were good people using alcohol to cope, unwind, or feel good enough."

They didn't want to quit. But wanted to stop needing alcohol.

Georgia discovered an alternative to going sober.

She taught people to drink less by treating the "thinking before the drinking".

Georgia started hypnotising herself and found immediate results.

"I didn't have as much self-loathing," she said. "I wasn't drinking to calm my nerves. I didn't feel pressure to please heavy drinkers around me.

"I felt like I belonged. I felt stronger."

Now living in Melbourne, Georgia helps thousands of people around the world to drink less with her online program, 7 Days to Drink Less, and book The Drink Less Mind.

Seventy per cent of her clients are women, and most are mothers.

Not because they drink more than men, but because they struggle with tolerance and feel more judgement.

Georgia with her family. Image: Supplied.

Every day, mums tell Georgia about their drinking shame.

Comments like;

"Behind every school drop off. I am thinking about my next glass."

"I am spending more on wine than my kids' clothes."

"I woke up hungover more times than I woke up feeling like a good mum."

Women come to Georgia for healthier coping strategies but feel trapped by "wine o'clock".

"I work with thousands of mums who quietly tell me the same thing: Their drinking isn't about alcohol; it's about overwhelm, guilt, and loneliness."

"Alcohol can start off being about camaraderie, connection and a cure to boredom.

"But then it becomes about relief. It's an emotional crutch.

"Mothers' groups are a very good hiding place for insecure drinking."

To help clients drink less, Georgia treats a client's "inner critic" — the voice in a person's head that criticises and judges.

"The interesting thing about alcohol is it suppresses the inner critic. And we become hooked on the reprieve from negative thinking," she said.

"It's about training the mind to tune out negative thinking before the drinking."

Georgia is now helping women to manage their drinking habits. Image: Supplied.

Signs you might need help with your alcohol drinking.

If you need alcohol to socialise, drink more than others, or can't go a day without it, you may be using it as an emotional crutch.

The good news, however, is that if your consumption is more about overwhelm rather than trauma, it's easier to control.

"If you're drinking is because of anxiety and stress, the chance of shifting your thinking to healthier coping strategies is really high," Georgia said.

"I enjoy wine. I still drink. But I no longer drink to feel confident or calm. I drink from a place of self-awareness, not self-loathing," she said.

For Georgia, and for the women she helps, drinking less isn't about restriction — it's about finally feeling good enough without it.

"When you discover you can manage alcohol rather than it managing you, your whole world changes," she said.

"As your self-esteem improves, that drive to drink disappears, because you value yourself sober. You can drink for camaraderie, but you're not drinking to run away."

Feature image: Supplied.