Ryan W

We all have our gifts and talents. Mine is drinking. I used to drink for fun. Then my best friend and roommate committed suicide when I was 22 yrs old. I stopped drinking for fun and started drinking to cope. I was depressed, feeling guilting and angry. All these negative emotions brought me down a very dark path. I didn’t have coping skills and started isolating myself while drinking. There were no smart phones and google to help me explain why I was feeling what I was feeling. I got sick and tired of feeling sick and tired. It was like I was in purgatory. My mental health got bad enough that I attempted suicide myself. Luckily I didn’t follow through but my drinking got worse. I ultimately drank myself out of a marriage and a job. I lost everything and even had to live out of my truck for a short time. Looking back, I had suicide bereavement and possibly PTSD not knowing it was a thing. I suffered in silence one beer at a time for 18 years. It wasn’t until I almost lost everything again that I got sober. I’ve been sober for 7 years now and feel blessed to beat the demons from my past.