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What This Popular Instagram Account Was Secretly Teaching People About Alcoholism

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The Instagram account @louise.delage is not what it may seem. What appears to be a 20-something-year-old’s documentation of a trip to Paris actually holds a much deeper message.

The account gained over 100 thousand followers quickly because she seems to nail the balance between picture-esque views and photos that show she has a great social life going for her.

What one may not pick up on, is that almost every photo includes either Louise holding a bottle or glass of alcohol or has one somewhere in it. After about a month and a half of the account being run, with 150 posts, “Louise” released a video explaining the reason this account was made.

The video was made with a French production company in partnership with Addict Aide, a company that aims to raise awareness about alcoholism in young people. The goal of this account was to show how easy it is to hide such an unfortunately common and potentially fatal addiction. Nowadays especially, photos posted with young people and drinks are so common. If you see that a friend is constantly posting photos of them with drinks, say something. Check in with your friends. You never know who may be suffering.

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If you or a loved one is affected by addiction and need help, you can call SAMHSA‘s hotline at 1-800-662-4357.

Originally published: October 17, 2016
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