“Every person going through that feels like they are all alone,” she told me. Vargas, who after 22 years at ABC, began this year with A&E Networks at A&E Investigates, said her anxiousness has subsided with her sobriety, and that meditation has been key. I feel very gratified for that because I was able to take what was a dark, hard chapter in my life and make something good come out of it.” Or, I get an email or a message on Facebook or Twitter from someone who read my book and finally got help or someone who read my book and finally understood their alcoholic mother or father or who read my book and were able to reach out to a colleague. “I was terrified to actually put this book out there and in fact woke up every night and said ‘I’m going to call the publisher and say never mind, stop the presses.' But I never anticipated the reaction I am getting. Vargas told me that she has been shocked but gratified by the reaction to her book - a project she almost pulled the plug on. But there are far too many families and companies and organizations in this country who do not treat it like a disease, they treat it as a character flaw or a moral failing or weakness and it’s not.” “Addiction is a tremendous, terrible disease in this country and for decades the has recognized it as a disease. Support and understanding, not shame, she told me is crucial to helping addicts. Vargas has been sober since 2014, something she does not take for granted, according to her book. Over the next two years, she would seek treatment and relapse multiple times. Vargas sought treatment at an addiction center in Utah but left too early and relapsed. Vargas said her parents, brother and sister, while unaware of her lifelong struggles with anxiety and multi-year dependence on alcohol, were supportive of her during her battle to recover, starting in 2012 when a disastrous family vacation made her realize she needed help. Want more articles like this? Sign up for the Know Your Value weekly newsletter! Vargas said that especially for women, anxiety can lead to a dependence on alcohol.

The organization also says that women are twice as likely as men to suffer from anxiety disorders. Anxiety is the number one mental health issue in America, affecting one out of five adults, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America.

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