I’m Ready for In-Person Connection: Is it Time?

I call it the pit. It is the depth of alcoholic despair where I would go as I sobered-up after drinking too much. It was an ensnaring web of depression and anxiety that left me debilitated — unwilling and unable to function. I’ll never forget that feeling. The memory both haunts me, and lifts me up solidifying my permanent sobriety.

Alcoholism isn’t about excesses, financial problems or legal issues. Alcoholism is about pain.

Alcoholism is a disease. It is a mental-health crisis as both our subconscious mind and our neurotransmitter function are hijacked by the liquid poison. It isn’t about willpower or moderation. We alcoholics can heal, but we require — we deserve — treatment and understanding.

It is almost universally agreed within the recovery community that sobriety isn’t enough. The opposite of addiction isn’t abstinence. The opposite of addiction is connection. Finding a network of people who have experienced the pit of alcoholic despair is as fundamental to recovery as choosing not to drink alcohol. Connection is the oxygen that rewires our brains and keeps us hopeful in the face of long odds and catastrophic memories. Connection moves us forward.