Toya Delazy is celebrating one year of sobriety

Katlego Sekhu

South African musician Toya Delazy is celebrating one year of sobriety. The musician recently opened up about her journey, revealing that she had been using alcohol to cope with life’s challenges since her teenage years.

“Becoming an artist really exposed me to the hedonism I wanted after being in suffocating institutions; booze felt like the solution to everything, and I went in hard even though I really was a lightweight.”

She admits that breaking into the music scene made it even harder to resist.

“The entire industry thrived on alcohol consumption; it felt like the higher the price, the cooler you were. I’m talking radio ads, music videos, clubbing, gigs—every single link-up involved alcohol, and I fell hard for it.”

However, relying on alcohol as a temporary escape only made her problems worse. She felt isolated and misunderstood by those closest to her.

“For a moment, I forgot about all my problems; I felt isolated, alone, and misunderstood by those I loved the most. After a while, there was no space left to hide these very intense emotions. Each time I drank, everything would escalate very quickly; there would come a time where I would leave my body and the spirit of pain would consume me, and I would become very sad, angry, and eventually suicidal.”

Fortunately, last year, Toya found a support group that has helped her turn her life around.

“In 2022, I found a community that supported me and a counselor I had to call every day for a month. It was a difficult transition as all the emotions that had been swept under the rug stood in a towering heap, and I had to deal with them sober. Months 1–3: I felt like I was going nuts—all the holidays without liquor, the clubs, the festivals, the questions—but why?

“I felt like I had lost my favourite dangerous toy. I stuck with it because each time I looked at my daughter I knew she deserved a life free from the traumas I’d experienced. I was going to break the generational trauma; I wouldn’t be passing that down. She saved my life, to be honest. Today is a year since I made that decision, and I’m so proud of my willpower. I am grateful to my wife for supporting me through that decision and journey. Also, long live the therapist.”