Have you ever felt alone, confused, and like your life was spinning out of control? Have you envied friends, family members, or strangers because your observations made you believe they had nearly perfect lives? For me, these were daily thoughts and struggles I brought to my counselor and shared only with my closest friends. No matter how hard I tried, I felt like nothing was improving in my life.
As these feelings and thoughts persisted, I started sharing less with my closest friends because I felt like my struggles were becoming worrisome for them. I felt embarrassed each time I went back to my counselor with no significant progress to share. I wondered, what more could I do to improve my circumstances and, ultimately, my life? After some gentle encouragement from my counselor, which was met by initial resistance from me, I built the courage to walk into an Al-Anon meeting.