The Wild Inspired

(12 years) When this day arrives, it’s always hard to know how much I want to share with people. I struggle with new people in my life knowing about me, truly and deeply. Because of the stigmas our society holds onto about alcohol and drug addiction, it’s nerve wracking to open up. When people find out about this part of my life, they usually are very surprised. “Wait, YOU are an alcoholic, and now you don’t drink and are completely sober?”  It’s usually the same response, which is totally human & okay. I expect and welcome people to ask me questions since I know this is usually a surprise.  After that, either the same people are super supportive and don’t treat me any differently, or they start to change. And the latter is a big reason why I don’t talk about my sobriety publicly. It’s not that it’s a secret, it’s just that it is such a sacred part of who I am, and I dread people treating me differently because of it. But truly, the stigma will stay around if we ...