Hard same! This is exactly why I've justified the social lubricants over the years... Ultimately I know that alcohol isn't good for me, but the alternative (of socialising without it) still seems unbearable at times. Work in progress I guess.
Yep, I get that! Also during that transition period from drinker to sober person I needed to believe I would be able to socialise just as much as ever, without beer, because I didn't yet know my real preferences about hanging out. That first year I was really focused on how I could still have/be fun tho I didn't drink.
I suppose it was such a long time ago as well now. A lot changes in seven years, even if you don't give up booze...
Definitely a work-in-progress. I still feel like I'm in the rest and recuperation years after the decades of chaos and drama, but who knows what might come after that. It's exciting! (Oh. Hang on, I just remembered I'm about to have a baby. Keep forgetting that!)
You might remember way back in school, I started letting myself go. The reason was my mum was dying and I was taking care of her. She passed just before Christmas in 96 and I didn't tell anyone about it. I was drinking heavily after that, and one morning I woke up and saw myself in the mirror. I went into Derby and joined the Kung Fu club on Sadlergate. It helped.
I quit drinking completely and have been sober since 2008. I emigrated to Missouri in 2016 and I'm much happier now.
Hi Barrie, I'm so sorry sorry to hear this. I can't imagine how hard that must have been! You are even more of a powerhouse than I ever could imagine. I'm sorry you lost your mum and that you went through all of that back then. It sounds like alcohol helped you get through a really difficult time and then you were able to let it go and feel much better without it. Kung Fu and Missouri sounds awesome and I'm very happy for you. Thanks for sharing 💖
Thank you Chelsey! This all feels familiar to me. Number 3 and 5 are especially resonate. Articulating this connection and learning about other people’s shared experience are keeping me from going back to drinking
Good for you. I hope it pays off for you. I thought I'd ultimately go back to drinking, probably for the first few years of sobriety, but these days it seems extremely unlikely and quite unappealing. I don't think I can ever deal with another hangover and inevitably one would be along soon enough! We'll see, tho... I hope I'm right but ya never know!
I love what you write, but you've got to stop flying to the States, breaking into my bedroom at night, hacking into my computer and reading all my old journals to get your material.
Bonus though: I can take this article to my therapist and say, "Look. This is me."
I have and I identified with it, though was still drinking when I came across those ideas so some of my sensitivity was less apparent. Thanks for raising this as it's something I've wondered about a lot. I have been meaning to look into it and write something about it. I can definitely see how it's easier/less intimidating to identify as highly sensitive rather than be diagnosed as autistic. And there's definitely a lot of commonality between them...
Hard same! This is exactly why I've justified the social lubricants over the years... Ultimately I know that alcohol isn't good for me, but the alternative (of socialising without it) still seems unbearable at times. Work in progress I guess.
Yep, I get that! Also during that transition period from drinker to sober person I needed to believe I would be able to socialise just as much as ever, without beer, because I didn't yet know my real preferences about hanging out. That first year I was really focused on how I could still have/be fun tho I didn't drink.
I suppose it was such a long time ago as well now. A lot changes in seven years, even if you don't give up booze...
Definitely a work-in-progress. I still feel like I'm in the rest and recuperation years after the decades of chaos and drama, but who knows what might come after that. It's exciting! (Oh. Hang on, I just remembered I'm about to have a baby. Keep forgetting that!)
Hey Chel,
You might remember way back in school, I started letting myself go. The reason was my mum was dying and I was taking care of her. She passed just before Christmas in 96 and I didn't tell anyone about it. I was drinking heavily after that, and one morning I woke up and saw myself in the mirror. I went into Derby and joined the Kung Fu club on Sadlergate. It helped.
I quit drinking completely and have been sober since 2008. I emigrated to Missouri in 2016 and I'm much happier now.
Hi Barrie, I'm so sorry sorry to hear this. I can't imagine how hard that must have been! You are even more of a powerhouse than I ever could imagine. I'm sorry you lost your mum and that you went through all of that back then. It sounds like alcohol helped you get through a really difficult time and then you were able to let it go and feel much better without it. Kung Fu and Missouri sounds awesome and I'm very happy for you. Thanks for sharing 💖
Thank you Chelsey! This all feels familiar to me. Number 3 and 5 are especially resonate. Articulating this connection and learning about other people’s shared experience are keeping me from going back to drinking
Good for you. I hope it pays off for you. I thought I'd ultimately go back to drinking, probably for the first few years of sobriety, but these days it seems extremely unlikely and quite unappealing. I don't think I can ever deal with another hangover and inevitably one would be along soon enough! We'll see, tho... I hope I'm right but ya never know!
I love what you write, but you've got to stop flying to the States, breaking into my bedroom at night, hacking into my computer and reading all my old journals to get your material.
Bonus though: I can take this article to my therapist and say, "Look. This is me."
BAHAHAHAHA!
You stop writing such great material and I'll stop flying across the world to pilfer from it!
I am seeing my therapist today. And I am taking the article to read to her. When the heat is on, stir the pot.
I have and I identified with it, though was still drinking when I came across those ideas so some of my sensitivity was less apparent. Thanks for raising this as it's something I've wondered about a lot. I have been meaning to look into it and write something about it. I can definitely see how it's easier/less intimidating to identify as highly sensitive rather than be diagnosed as autistic. And there's definitely a lot of commonality between them...