Vicki Abraham was addicted to sugar.

She couldn’t quit it no matter what she tried.

Things got worse when she fell into a major depression 18 months ago while living in Sydney, Australia. She turned to liquorice drops and ice cream to help deal with the stress.

“I was stressed about going into significant debt because of a business I was involved in,” the 47-year-old said. “Ice cream was one of my favourite things. If I let myself have one small bowl I wouldn’t stop. I was trying to be healthy all along, which put more pressure on me and made me feel worse when I caved in to the craving.”

Scientists have long recognised the link between sugar and depression; some claim the carbohydrate is more addictive than cocaine.

Ms Abraham weighed her options and decided she had two choices: go to the doctor for antidepressants, or cut sugar from her diet. She chose the latter.

“I don’t like pills,” the City of Hamilton media manager said. “I try to avoid them whenever possible.”

She signed up for an eight-week detox created by Australian Sarah Wilson, I Quit sugar. The programme asks people to eliminate sugar for several weeks and then phase it back in with healthy foods such as fruit, in small quantities.

Four days in, Ms Abraham noticed a slight improvement in her mood. She also experienced typical withdrawal symptoms — cravings and severe headaches.

“It was an emotional roller-coaster to get off sugar,” she said. “I have run five marathons and climbed seven mountains, sometimes in snowstorms, but this was harder.

“The stress factors were still present but I didn’t have the numbing substance. Sugar was the emotional pain killer and without it I had to face the stress and emotions full-on. About three weeks into the programme I wanted to quit, but I held on. It did get worse before it got better.”

Ms Abraham will talk about her experience tomorrow as part of PechaKucha Night at Young Men’s Social Club.

Ultimately, the programme worked and she was able to avoid going on antidepressants. She returned to Bermuda in March, however, and experienced a kind of sugar shock.

“Health providers in Bermuda talk about the dangers of sugar [but] there isn’t really a lot of information out there about how to avoid it,” she said.

“In Bermuda, it can be isolating to want to be healthy — because it’s still rare. When it becomes ‘cool’ and ‘trendy’ to care about our body and our health, that’s when we’ll see change.”

She started Sweet Life Bermuda as a remedy to the problem.

“It’s a social movement to help people see the sweetness in life without sugar and to become more aware of how fun and easy it is to live healthy and appreciate what we have in Bermuda,” she said.

So far the movement is limited to a Facebook page where people network, support each other and exchange ideas and recipes.

“I don’t have a lot of likes yet, but there is a lot of interaction between the people who are there,” said Ms Abraham.

She’s also starting her own detox programme called Kick Sugar in 8 Weeks.

“I have already run a pilot programme with about four people,” she said. “For me, it is not really about making money, it is about providing information to people who want to get healthy.”

She’d like to see water-only zones implemented in schools and she’s an advocate for increasing taxes on soda.

“When you go into the supermarket the sodas are the cheapest drink available. I don’t know how that happens. I’d like to look into it,” she said.

Listen to Ms Abraham and other speakers at PechaKucha Night at 32 Angle Street. The event runs from 6pm to 9.30pm.

For more information see the PechaKucha Bermuda Facebook page or e-mail ngurret@northrock.bm.