The last few weeks have been very difficult for me. I've had big challenges in my family, some really hard confrontations, a bit of depression, and I hurt my back. Thankfully, I have still managed to stay sober. Yay, me!
I think it really helps that my husband hardly drinks at all now, so it's not part of our social life anymore. It's strange, it's like alcohol just isn't in my life anymore....
It's hard dealing with my feelings when I'm upset or angry. This is new to me. I used to internalize my negative emotions and then get so frustrated I wanted to drink. Now I just feel like I'm a mess for a little while, crying and being all mad, then eventually things ease up and I feel ok. It's certainly easier to bottle up, that's the old me... but that's not an option anymore.
Also, the confrontations are hard. Some of my estranged family has moved back to town, and our differences are hard for me to handle. This family has teenage daughters and they were very disrespectful to me in my home, so I told them that I need them to abide by our rules when they are here. It didn't go well.... Now they said they never want to come to my house again and I have to deal with that outcome..... I guess it's better to honor my truth than to self harm, right?