Patricia Heaton has revealed the moment that led her to go sober, explaining it left her "mortified".<\/p>\n
The Everybody Loves Raymond alum's daily wine habit turned into problematic drinking during a period of her life when her usual routine had been disrupted.<\/p>\n
"My children had left home and I wasn't working. The things that had always anchored me – my family and my work – were gone," Patricia, 68, told Woman's World magazine. "I started thinking, 'What am I supposed to do today?'"<\/p>\n
The actress, whose sitcom credits also include The Middle, recalled how her drinking habits slowly escalated.<\/p>\n
"A glass of wine while cooking became wine with dinner, wine while cleaning up and wine while watching Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy!," she explained. "One night I realised I had almost finished an entire bottle by myself."<\/p>\n
At that point, Patricia said, she knew something had shifted in her attitude to drinking, and she turned to religion in hopes of finding an answer.<\/p>\n
"I was thinking about alcohol differently," she said. "I said a prayer: 'God, I think you want me to stop drinking. I would be willing to stop, but you have to make it happen because I can't. I'm willing, but I'm unable.'"<\/p>\n
One day later, Patricia said, she felt her prayer had been answered after her children noticed she was slurring her words.<\/p>\n
"The next night I was with my sons and their friends, and I couldn't pronounce the word 'tradition.' I tried three times," Patricia recalled.<\/p>\n
"My youngest son said, 'That's great, Mom. You can't even speak.' I was completely mortified," she admitted. "The next morning I said, 'Okay, God. Message received.' That was eight years ago."<\/p>\n