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Cake day: June 6th, 2023

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  • neamhsplach@beehaw.orgtoStopDrinking*Permanently Deleted*
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    10 months ago

    Just over 5 months sober. I struggled a little this weekend. I was meant to meet my partners’ friends for drinks (I’ve been usually OK in social settings, happy to just get a non alcoholic beer and chill) however this weekend I just couldn’t face talking to new people AT ALL. I got incredibly anxious at the thought of the whole situation and started crying and genuinely couldn’t stop. I even put on my going out clothes and stepped outside my front door but I still couldn’t stop and I had to go back inside.

    And it made me reflect on how often I used to be able to rely on alcohol as a crutch for these kinds of situations. Obviously that set off some catastrophic thinking about never being able to interact with new people in a social situation ever again.

    Having slept on it (I stayed in and watched movies instead) I have to cut myself some slack. I was quite sick all last week and had very little energy, so I didn’t go to the gym at all which usually helps my moods. I also didn’t do anything social even with people I know and felt really lonely. And last of all I also took some pretty strong medication to help with another infection I had and I wonder if everything altogether made me feel like shit.

    So I have that to reflect on today. I texted a friend of mine this morning about one of the films I watched last night and we had a really good conversation about it which was really nice. And I didn’t have to leave my house to have it :))


  • Thanks for these!

    You know it’s funny, I live in a place with no extreme temperatures but that’s really wet and I’ve realised that we don’t have shoes to match our climate at all. Lots of people have recommended boots to me (which is a great shout, don’t get me wrong!) but I already have a lovely pair of waterproof winter boots that I have already gotten resoled once by a brilliant cobbler. I’m specifically looking for sneakers that are waterproof because boots are too warm and life’s too short to hang around all day in a pair of wet canvas shoes (remember it doesn’t have to be raining for feet to get wet - one step in long grass or a puddle will do it).

    It’s why I love my eccos and have bought so many pairs (now on my fifth). It just seems so wasteful to drop them in the bin when the stitching goes on them.








  • The Blindboy Podcast brought up this problem (adult children living with their parents because of the housing crisis) on one of his recent podcasts, but he framed it from the point of view of the adult children. I’m interested to hear what kind of struggles you face on the opposite side, apart from what you’ve just mentioned here. How did you picture your life when you got to this stage and how has that changed?





  • Not exactly as a customer, but trying to access welfare when I was off work long term sick was a fucking nightmare. I don’t mind filling in forms but dealing with the people in that government department was the most demoralising experience of my life. I cried on the phone once because of how rude one of the agents was to me. They’re being rude and unhelpful to people who are sick and out of work. What a way to kick the most vulnerable people in society when they’re down.

    I finally got what I was owed and I’ve delayed filing a complaint about them because I just never wanted to deal with them again but it’s about time I bring out my inner Karen because they’re probably still traumatising people that need financial help.



  • So weird that you mention the iron deficiency because a friend of mine literally just suggested that too. I follow a mostly plant based diet and I’m low on iron to begin with. Not only that but being sober means I don’t get as many meaty takeaways as hungover treats, I wonder if that has affected my nutrition. Will put myself on some iron tablets and report back!


  • I don’t mind cleaning that much but the laundry really gets my goat because I can’t just DO it. You get me?

    Like, the dishes for example. I do those, or I put them in a dishwasher where they’re cleaned and dried and it’s just one thing.

    With the laundry I have to separate everything so I can’t even wash stuff all at the same time. Then it takes two hours for the washing machine to be done and then they’re wet. And if I leave them too long in the washing machine they get that mouldy damp smell so I have to wash again. And then there’s the drying. Hanging up socks should be illegal, it takes so long and for what?? One wear and then they’re back in the laundry basket? Kill me.

    Oh now your stuff is dry? Now you have to take it to a secret third place (your wardrobe). It takes so much time and energy to get the washing and drying done that the last part often doesn’t get done.

    And. It. Never. Ends.

    Someone PLEASE invent a wardrobe that does mini loads of laundry and also hangs your clothes to dry but also that doesn’t make your home mouldy.

    Or even just. A smaller washing machine that operates with a crank and only takes a few turns to wash your clothes so that I don’t have to leave it for two hours in a washing machine and forget about it.

    I don’t think I’m being articulate at all here but whatever. Laundry needs to get its shit together. We live in the future and it still SUCKS.


  • Thanks for your detailed answer, I really liked it. Apologies if this question was offensive to you, I had this discussion recently and it made me think a lot about how much time I spend using my literacy skills vs getting around. Then it got me thinking about how accessible lots of buildings where I live are. A friend of mine had a family member come to visit in a wheelchair recently and pointed out that lots of places that tourists usually visit are exempt from accessibility requirements because they’re situated in older buildings. One of my biggest shames in one of my previous jobs was being told I had to turn down a group of students coming to take a course in the school I was working in because we couldn’t accommodate one of their classmates in a wheelchair. Like, my gut tells me that’s straight up illegal 🫤 but maybe where I live it’s not. I left that job not long after so I don’t know if there were any repercussions.

    There’s a big push to revitalise the city I live in at the moment regarding opening up public spaces and making them more attractive to citizens and this is something that I haven’t seen discussed openly in relation to that yet so I will keep an eye out for it!