Hi Everyone,
I went to a really inspiring talk recently and it was by a man who grew up with an alcoholic father, I wanted to share some of the things he said and my thoughts about it.
He spoke about how he felt he was a mystery to himself and that others who had learnt about addiction explained him to himself. This really made me think how at one point in my life I was so confused because I did not understand so many things about addiction. What really helped me was someone telling me it was not my fault and that I was powerless over alcohol and my mum's addiction. What a relief to be told that it was not my fault and that I had permission from others to look after myself.
He spoke about the power of identification. When someone hears someone else tell their story and how it can really help others to hear or read that person's story as they can identify and learn things about themself that they had not thought about before or thought about in that way. There was one thing that he said that I really identified with and it helped me to hear that I am not the only one who feels that way. Hearing other people's stories was a really big part of me learning about how to cope with my mum's addiction and how to learn to look after myself.
Someone else at the talk spoke about how one way to heal yourself is to tell your story 100 times. This made me think about how important it is to be able to tell your story and to be heard by others who really want to listen and care about that person.
Emma x
