I quit drinking quite a few years ago; I was in recovery, actually, though I'm not any more.
One thing I discovered was that I never had to make a decision to drop all of my friends - the people who were my true friends still hung out with me, those for whom our only connection was drinking or getting high naturally came around less and less. I have always had friends who drank or got high or who didn't; it was all about whether we had other, more real connections.
In terms of having fun - I discovered hanging in a loud bar *wasn't* fun for me! My definition of fun changed. It happened over time. I still love to go to concerts and will go to a bar to hear a band and dance, but not just to hang out.
It is in getting to know myself completely, and accept myself that I've really become able to drop everything and be funny and silly. I'd rather have gone through *not* doing that for a while, than rely on alcohol for that ability. I'm so glad to have rediscovered that authentic part of myself!
Alcohol is a depressant, so while it can seem, in the moment, like it allows me to be more free and open, the long-term affect is that I'm *less* able to do that! Again - it's something I'd rather achieve authentically without alcohol, even if for a while, I didn't know how! That ability was there, I just had to find it.
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