John (18:24)
Hey, fam. It's really good to be here. Let's have this share. Just be between us here. This is, like, right on the money, though. This is what I was going to share about before I heard what we're going to share about. So, like, it's a growth moment. Like, part of me was starting to feel a little bit down about this getting in my head, but I'm like, this is a good thing because it means I'm continuing to grow, and it means I'm continuing to do the work and that we find that it's. It's in the practicing of stuff, like, not being perfect at it, like, fumbling through it over the weekends. Went to this drag brunch with my boyfriend and a few of his friends, and that was a fun time. Had a few drinks and stuff, Went to lunch, they had some more drinks, took care of my dog, came back out and was at the bar for till, like 9 o' clock or so. And you know that thing where you're sober, where you kind of just are done with drunk people? That, like, happened, and it's like an internal clock. And usually, like, literally the same situation happened two months into dating and I didn't say anything and I went insane in my head. Like, it was all smiles out here, but inside I was just losing my shit and, like, going down these rabbit holes and I couldn't stop it. And, like, the solution is to just Open your mouth. But opening your mouth seems like the worst possible thing that I could ever do. In that moment, all of my like recovery stuff goes out the window and I'm just like in trauma response mode and realizing that's exactly what this is talking about. Like an oversized reaction to a situation that's happening. And so it kind of started happening again. And I, I was realizing that I was just kind of done. I was tired. I didn't want to go to another bar. I, you know, I can handle, and I'm fine with like drunk people, but at a certain point it's just like, I, I, I'm, I'm done. I gotta go, I want to go home. I want to not be here anymore, and that's okay. And so they're like, oh, do you want to go another bar? And I was like, actually, I'm kind of tired. I think we should call it a night. And they're like, oh. And then they got over it. Like that was the worst of it. They were just like, oh, for a second and then like, yeah, you're probably right. But at that point I had started into my head and so I was fighting. And here's the thing is that I was actually fighting it. Usually it's just like this uphill battle that I'm losing significantly. And I, I was doing a decent job at holding on to the fact, like I had kind of gotten triggered by some of the conversation and knowing that I know that I'm like in a very happy relationship that I don't need to be. My security is a lot more there. I know I'm secure in my own self, with my higher power, with my community, with my friends. And so in my relationship I get to show up better as my better self. But it was my sponsor kind of said it like before it was like having these like 10.0 Richter scale earthquakes all the time and just like destroying everything. And now it's like, I'll still get them, but it'll be like a 3.0, a little shaky, but you know, I get through it and it doesn't destroy everything and I don't have to self sabotage and make it worse. So I was doing a decent ish kind of job. I totally sound like I'm trying to convince myself, because I am. No, but I did but got home and then was like in bed and I started crying and I was very unexpected, very out of the blue. And he was just like, what's going on? Tell me, tell me. And I was like, I can't And I hated in that moment that I was needing. It felt like old Mike, like, adolescent. It was just like, I need you to keep saying to me, what's wrong? What's wrong? I'm like. As an adult, we learned that we just need to say it when they ask the first time or say it preemptively. Just say what's on our mind. It's not. No one's going to die. It's not going to ruin everything. That oversized reaction is just a trauma response. And to say that and to say, like, hey, can I have, like, a safe space for a minute? Because I'm feeling like this is way worse than it is. And I got to mention kind of what was bothering me, and it made things better. Like, it really did. Just the act of sharing it, not being alone in it, felt so much better. And it wasn't like I need all this reassurance. It was just a small thing for me to get back in line to recenter myself. And it really helped and thought that would be, like, the end of it. But the next morning at breakfast, he, like, brought it up again, which I thought is such a green flag for someone to be like, hey, how was the stuff you were going through last night? Are you still feeling feelings about it? And I was like, I'm feeling a lot better, thank you. And it was just such a, like, huge thing for me to. To have someone that gave a shit enough to, like, care about asking that really meant a lot. And it's. It's really cool to see a lot of these things that I've been looking for, that I've learned in these rooms for myself to show up in relationships. So, like, I never thought this possible. I just want to carry a message of, like, hope that for everyone struggling with it. God, do you know how long I struggled? And it was really hard, and it sucked. But doing the work that we do here allows us to live such different lives. And I never could have imagined this, like, big, beautiful life that I've got today. And I'm just really grateful and I'm really thankful for all the nights that I imploded in this room that I exploded, that I came here crying, that I came here beside myself and I shared it, and I learned to do that in here, and it lets me do it better in other parts of my life. So I really want to tell you, if you're struggling with a thing right now and you feel like the worst thing in the world would be to share it is to just share it. Because this group is full of love and compassion and we get to practice together. Like, we get to do that. We get to. We don't have to fucking know how to do it. We don't know how to do it. We get to learn how to do it together. So, like, I'm right here with you. I love you all. I'm so glad we're here. If no one told you today you're loved, you are valuable, you fucking belong here. Thanks.