12 years ago today, I woke up in an ER with a .4 BAC and cop explaining I was on suicide watch. I didn't know it then, but it would be the last time I drank alcohol. Since then, I've learned a few things about addiction I'd like to share in case anyone finds them useful. 🧵
1) there is no one right way to get sober. There’s a right way for you, and that’s all that matters. I try very hard not to shit on any recovery programs that have helped people. This is a potentially fatal condition, purity tests are harmful, cruel, and utterly ineffective.
2) Medication is not antithetical to sobriety; it is often a very necessary part of it. Find yourself a doctor who understands addiction and be unfailingly honest with them. Ignore judgment from randos. I repeat: purity tests are harmful, cruel, and utterly ineffective.
3) you are not too young to have a substance use disorder. I was 23 when I got sober and many assumed I was overreacting about “normal” 20-something drinking (tellingly, none of these ppl had seen me drink). That was ridiculous because a) by the end I was hiding my drinking and
b) there’s no magical grace period in which a person can drink/use for before they develop a substance use disorder. There’s a wide spectrum of how and when a SUD manifests. What matters is how your use affects your life and what happens when you try to moderate or stop.
4) Help is out there. Other ppl in recovery can be esp helpful w/ this bc it’s VERY annoying to be lectured about alcohol use by someone who can drink half of a beer & walk away. Find someone who knows what it’s like to build their life around drugs/alcohol but doesn’t anymore.
You can find some good resources for locating treatment programs and helplines here: samhsa.gov/find-treatment
