how society treats alcoholics | 365daysofmarriage

My experiences with sobriety, thinking about my alcoholism, talking to others about experiences, and what causes me to get upset honestly changes from day to day. A few months back, I watched a Cinema Sins video about The Girl On The Train. I didn’t watch the movie because it had nudity, and the silly Cinema Sins videos give me an idea of what a movie was about without having to watch it. Turns out, the main character is an alcoholic. When I watched that video, I realized it really shook me, and I spiraled down with thoughts about my drinking and things that I did while drinking. It made me think – can I not watch, read, talk about other alcoholics?

And here I am, reading the book, The Girl On The Train, and instead of spiraling in my thoughts, I find myself impressed that the author could write an alcoholic so well. I’m asked a lot about how my sobriety impacts my life, from what it’s like to go into a liquor store to being around others drinking to just talking about my drinking days. In a lot of ways, things are pretty consistent, but sometimes, something that would have knocked me down for a few days doesn’t bother me at all.

I write all this to encourage you to be patient with your newly sober, longly sober, want to be sober friends. Dealing with alcohol and remembering our past changes from day to day. So don’t get upset if what bothers us one day is completely ok the next. Dealing with sobriety is a long, hard, wonderful process, and we need you to be there to support us – no matter what that means on any given day.