This is life after alcohol. Hi. Hello. Welcome. My name is Kristin. Nice to meet ya! I’m about to go all in on this in hopes that I can find the community I’m looking for. A little over 2 years ago, I made a decision to quit drinking alcohol. I kept feeling the urge to drop the bottle but delayed it over and over. Let’s be honest, alcohol consumption is riddled in everything. From baby showers to baseball games, wine, beer, or spirits are flowing easily.
What could it mean to quit
I knew alcohol was hindering me from leveling up, from moving to the next phase of growth. In the spirit of honesty, it was making me feel horrible. The hangovers lasted longer than they ever should, my heart would race, anxiety was eating me alive. I knew I couldn’t continue down that same road. I was also very naive. The assumption that quitting drinking would open me up to endless possibilities immediately, was a delusional one. I had work to do. And while there is still so much more work to be done, I know a community is necessary at this point.
How it started
The first year was all about survival. I was just trying to get by and pretending it was easy. For the select few that got to see the real confusion, tears, and anger behind the smile, thank you. I’m still on this road because you listened. It wasn’t sunshine and roses even though I prayed for it. It wasn’t instant peace, even though I expected it.
What it did was open me up to healing. It cracked me open and made me take a real, hard look at myself, flaws and all and decide which way I was going. The unknown scared the crap out of me but behind me was much darker, so onward I went. I kept my anxiety meds close by but took a lot of pride in that I managed to stay alcohol free. Well, now here we are… deep into multiple healing modalities and hitting what I initially perceived as walls, until I realize they’re just another brick coming down. I’m reconstructing everything I knew and this time, meds free too.
How it’s going
I have been wracking my brain on the hows and whens of growing a group of like-minded people. I’m a firm believer that things happen for a reason or lesson. Although that truth can be difficult to accept at times, I firmly believe that both hardships and pain, as well as happiness and joy, contain valuable lessons that can propel us forward. Therefore, the pain and joy I have encountered in my recovery journey only strengthen my desire to find my tribe.
Life after alcohol
Midlife changes you. You go from “we have all the time in the world” to “what the hell am I doing with my life”. How do I do life after alcohol? You began to see people for who they are, realizing the importance of protecting your peace. You start realizing that all the people pleasing, codependency, and falling in line with the cultural norms isn’t working for you anymore. Then you slap the idea that alcohol is also not serving you and you become a complete nutcase. No, really, that part is hopefully temporary, but there is a shift that happens. Life becomes more about living. The fears that confined you and kept you in a pretty (or wildly dysfunctional) box began to fall off. And there’s grief and grace and gratitude. It’s a roller coaster in and of itself.
I honestly haven’t decided what this page will be about. I have been learning who I am and what life after alcohol looks like. What sets my soul on fire is helping people. It always comes to people. All I know is that this has been one hell of ride and I know I’m not alone. I have no clue if the algorithm of the interwebs will support healing and growth, but I will damn sure try.
Getting to know you
I believe that my people, my tribe, are out there. Those are the people that wake up every day just trying, trying to be the best they can be, even if just waking up was the best they could do. My people are searching for something in themselves that is greater than they can imagine. It’s in big conversations. It’s in pulling out of the hard things or trying to feel those things without losing themselves. Or maybe it’s about losing themselves and finding it all over again in a magical way.
My people are the dreamers, the motivators, the lovers, the light in dim places. It’s in being a light for others or even themselves. It’s sharing a recipe or an idea. I once believed that to be alive meant making everyone happy; however, I now realize that it’s truly about supporting each other on our journey home. If this sounds like you, let’s do this. Let’s create some happy vibes in life after alcohol.
