For the last 2 weeks, my wife has been out of town for work. Aside from times that we separated, this is the longest I can recall us being apart. Maybe a week before she left, my frequency of drinking rapidly increased. I'm not sure if it was because of being nervous about finding a job or the fact that I knew she would be gone for awhile, but I was basically getting drunk every night. When I say drunk, I don't mean buzzed, I mean that I was getting wasted, for lack of a better term. There were a few pretty intense arguments. It was as if would pick on her or turn non-issues into gigantic ones. My memory is pretty hazy, to be honest. I don't remember many specifics, but remember how I felt...angry, abandoned, sad and insecure.
Alcohol aside, I wonder if part of this was me preparing myself for having to be at the house without her? Even though I obviously knew that was going because of work, in my mind, it was as if she was leaving me. The night before she left was a terrible one. I was drunk, as usual and we got into a heated argument over something that I can't even recall. I remember her screaming at me and even getting physical. The day she left, I felt guilty, regretful and embarrassed.
Since I am not working, I have a lot of free time. Free time that allows my brain to go on overdrive. I would get enraged if she would not text/call me back. I would play these scenarios out in my head and wonder "what is she REALLY doing?". Since she has been gone, I have been dealing with severe insomnia, which isn't helping things. After she was gone for a few days and I was sober again, I decided that I need to start back trying to figure out how to deal with my Borderline. I spent hours reading various articles,forums and blogs. One conclusion that numerous sources referred to, was that the only one who can fix me, is myself. Now my wife is a "fixer" type of person, so this combination can often get volatile, but deep down, I feel as secure with her, as I have ever felt with anyone
One thing I really have tried to make an effort in doing, is to not act on emotional impulse. One example might be to wait a few minutes to send an accusatory text...sort of like the adage of counting to 10 before you spank your child. While it doesn't feel quite natural, I believe it has saved a ton of unnecessary arguments and anxiety. It's been nearly 2 weeks now and she is on her way home for the weekend. I'm really looking forward to it!
Showing posts with label addiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label addiction. Show all posts
Friday, November 27, 2015
Thursday, November 26, 2015
Introduction part 4
This is the final part of my introduction. I feel like it is important to give a brief history of me, as it will provide the background of how I got to this point. It is also therapeutic in a way, as I'm having to re-live memories that aren't very pleasant, instead of pretending that they didn't exist.
The lost years
After my mother passed away, I was pretty much in shock and emotionless. It was almost like I was in a coma, but coherent. Just going through the motions, for the most part. A few months after her death, my alcohol dependency was out of control. I was still running my business, but as soon as I was done for the day, I was buying alcohol. I recall being in line to buy beer at 8 AM, one day and thinking "what the hell am I doing?" It was then that I recognized and accepted that I had a problem. I remember telling some friends that I was going to quit drinking and switch to drugs. We laughed it off, but eventually, I refer to this period of my life as "the lost years". Sure enough, I stopped drinking...a promise that I kept for over 2 years, but at a cost.
I will never forget the day that I had to pick my daughter, who was now a freshman in high school, up from school early. I had to go to the office and wait for her and while I was waiting, I noticed a flyer on the wall talking about different types of drugs that teenagers are currently taking. One in particular stood out to me...Dextromethorphan or DXM. I remember dropping her off and then going home to do research on it. DXM is basically the main ingredient in some types of cough medicine (syrup/pills). Depending on the amount that you take, it can produce euphoric feelings and can even cause you to disassociate, somewhat like Ketamine. I was very intrigued by this fact and after doing my homework, I bought myself a bottle. I must say that my first time was amazing. I was listening to The Beatles and swore I heard things in songs that I have never heard before. Little did I know, that this experience would really cause such an impact in my life.
For the next 2 years, there probably wasn't a day where I didn't get high. It really seemed to open up my creative outlet and as someone into photography, it seemed a perfect match. At this point, running my business became secondary and drugs took over. I would either go into work and get high and shoot photos immediately after I was done or I would just not go in at all and do the same. This came with a cost of course, health issues like upset stomach and severe anxiety attacks were pretty common. In my mind, it was justified by the fact that I wasn't drinking. Gwen knew about all this and tolerated it to extent, but things would sometimes get to a point where I started to develop memory issues. I would be looking for something and it was right in front of me and there is countless days that I don't even recall. Who knows what I was doing? It eventually got a point where I was almost completely detached. It was all about me. At some point during this phase, I decided that I wanted to be single and Gwen and I separated. I ended up living with one of my clients and continued to repeat my pattern of destructive behavior. Gwen and I were separated maybe 6 months, when I decided that I didn't like being single/alone and I made an attempt to reconcile. I did what I felt I had to do and eventually, Gwen let me move back in and resume "normal" life.
After I moved back in, I was still getting high, but I had to be very secretive about it. I think I actually saw this as a rush...thinking that I was smarter than her because she didn't know. One thing I noticed was that I began to lose business at my gym. Clients trusted me and slowly they began to leave, because I just wasn't there, for the most part. This took an enormous toll on me, as I quite often would work and not get paid, because I had rent or utilities that I had to pay.
It was at this point that I realized that drug abuse was the root cause of things, so I decided that I should quit. I hadn't had a drink for years, but I felt as if the only way I could quit drugs, was to start drinking again. Sure enough, I made the transition from drug addict, back to alcoholic.
New job
In the Summer of 2015, I was so stressed out and tired, that I closed my business. I didn't know what I was going to do, but knew I could find something. In the Fall, I found a job at a corporate gym and worked there for a few months. It was exciting at first, but as things tend to go, the pressure ended up getting to me and I quit.
That brings us to where I am now...unemployed and dealing with addiction on a daily basis. Gwen had lost her job in the Summer, but ended up getting another sometime in November. The catch was that she had to go out of town for a month for training. It has been nearly 2 weeks since she has been gone and it is tough as hell for me. I often feel like she abandoned me. I spent probably an hour or two per day applying for jobs, but I'm finding out that it's not that easy to find a good job, especially without a degree.
Conclusion
So that's a little bit about me. I feel like I have covered quite a few key moments in my life that has resulted in shaping who I am. Borderline Personality Me.
The lost years
After my mother passed away, I was pretty much in shock and emotionless. It was almost like I was in a coma, but coherent. Just going through the motions, for the most part. A few months after her death, my alcohol dependency was out of control. I was still running my business, but as soon as I was done for the day, I was buying alcohol. I recall being in line to buy beer at 8 AM, one day and thinking "what the hell am I doing?" It was then that I recognized and accepted that I had a problem. I remember telling some friends that I was going to quit drinking and switch to drugs. We laughed it off, but eventually, I refer to this period of my life as "the lost years". Sure enough, I stopped drinking...a promise that I kept for over 2 years, but at a cost.
I will never forget the day that I had to pick my daughter, who was now a freshman in high school, up from school early. I had to go to the office and wait for her and while I was waiting, I noticed a flyer on the wall talking about different types of drugs that teenagers are currently taking. One in particular stood out to me...Dextromethorphan or DXM. I remember dropping her off and then going home to do research on it. DXM is basically the main ingredient in some types of cough medicine (syrup/pills). Depending on the amount that you take, it can produce euphoric feelings and can even cause you to disassociate, somewhat like Ketamine. I was very intrigued by this fact and after doing my homework, I bought myself a bottle. I must say that my first time was amazing. I was listening to The Beatles and swore I heard things in songs that I have never heard before. Little did I know, that this experience would really cause such an impact in my life.
For the next 2 years, there probably wasn't a day where I didn't get high. It really seemed to open up my creative outlet and as someone into photography, it seemed a perfect match. At this point, running my business became secondary and drugs took over. I would either go into work and get high and shoot photos immediately after I was done or I would just not go in at all and do the same. This came with a cost of course, health issues like upset stomach and severe anxiety attacks were pretty common. In my mind, it was justified by the fact that I wasn't drinking. Gwen knew about all this and tolerated it to extent, but things would sometimes get to a point where I started to develop memory issues. I would be looking for something and it was right in front of me and there is countless days that I don't even recall. Who knows what I was doing? It eventually got a point where I was almost completely detached. It was all about me. At some point during this phase, I decided that I wanted to be single and Gwen and I separated. I ended up living with one of my clients and continued to repeat my pattern of destructive behavior. Gwen and I were separated maybe 6 months, when I decided that I didn't like being single/alone and I made an attempt to reconcile. I did what I felt I had to do and eventually, Gwen let me move back in and resume "normal" life.
After I moved back in, I was still getting high, but I had to be very secretive about it. I think I actually saw this as a rush...thinking that I was smarter than her because she didn't know. One thing I noticed was that I began to lose business at my gym. Clients trusted me and slowly they began to leave, because I just wasn't there, for the most part. This took an enormous toll on me, as I quite often would work and not get paid, because I had rent or utilities that I had to pay.
It was at this point that I realized that drug abuse was the root cause of things, so I decided that I should quit. I hadn't had a drink for years, but I felt as if the only way I could quit drugs, was to start drinking again. Sure enough, I made the transition from drug addict, back to alcoholic.
New job
In the Summer of 2015, I was so stressed out and tired, that I closed my business. I didn't know what I was going to do, but knew I could find something. In the Fall, I found a job at a corporate gym and worked there for a few months. It was exciting at first, but as things tend to go, the pressure ended up getting to me and I quit.
That brings us to where I am now...unemployed and dealing with addiction on a daily basis. Gwen had lost her job in the Summer, but ended up getting another sometime in November. The catch was that she had to go out of town for a month for training. It has been nearly 2 weeks since she has been gone and it is tough as hell for me. I often feel like she abandoned me. I spent probably an hour or two per day applying for jobs, but I'm finding out that it's not that easy to find a good job, especially without a degree.
Conclusion
So that's a little bit about me. I feel like I have covered quite a few key moments in my life that has resulted in shaping who I am. Borderline Personality Me.
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