I used to drink … A LOT! 😳 Like, borderline binge drinking that started in college and didn’t really stop. Kids and a professional work life slowed me down, but prior to my LH Ian’s death, I was drinking a nightly glass of wine and 6-12ish drinks per weekend (2-3 or more / night).🥂 When Ian got cancer, he quit drinking, while I probably increased my consumption to cope. And when he died, let’s just say that it didn’t get much better. 🙃 As much as I used alcohol to numb my feelings and to escape the realities of widowed life, it made my situation so much worse. 🚫I felt depressed and unmotivated 🚫The dips of depression then triggered shame & anxiety, which 🚫Decreased my capacity to deal with my kid’s and my life So I made some changes. For the past four years since my husband’s death I generally stopped drinking on weeknights. But oh boy did I crave that glass of wine come Friday! 🍷 Weekends became my time to cut loose and consume. This worked for me, up to six about months ago. 🤔 I noticed that every Monday I was recovering from lack of sleep and clarity. My thoughts were cloudy. My energy … meh. By Thursday or Friday I’d feel “normal” again, just to repeat the cycle. 🌀 So I evaluated my relationship with alcohol again. I just completed one month sober. 👏🏼 (Not a lot, but for me it’s a first) I’m assessing if sobriety is for me. I don’t want to create a hard rule on drinking. I’d rather hold it lightly. 👐🏼 Yet treading the gray is hard. I struggle NOT to drink in social situations. 🎉 I feel like I make friends or family members uncomfortable, which is my own codependent pattern of needing others' approval (not on them!). I’m trying to drink intentionally. 🎯 Noticing the difference between when I desire to have a drink for a celebratory occasion — like my grandma’s 97th birthday versus when my body craves it. Let’s face it friends … 👉🏼 DRINKING IS AN ADDICTION! And I’m not afraid to name it. I’ve felt it. And if I want to be fully free — to live my sovereign truth … 👉🏼 Then I’m not sure I want alcohol dictating my decisions in life. This is all new to me so sharing with openness and curiosity. Would love to hear your thoughts! 👇🏼 #widowso#widowsoftiktok##widowi#youngwidow##griefo#grieftoko#griefjourneyn#grievingwifeo#griefcounselingo#griefcoacho#griefcommunityr#lifepurposel#losst#lifeafterlossg#healingg#healingjourneyn#griefandlossr#partnerlosse#griefmentorupport