Sober Grief

by Pam
(Ontario, Canada )

I am sure everyone will agree with me that 2020 has been quite the year!

For me personally, it got worse before it got better.

In June of this year, I lost my best friend suddenly from an accidental drug overdose that was laced with Fentanyl. It was heartbreaking for all of us who loved her free spirit, love of life, energetic smile, and deep laugh.

To make matters worse, she wasn't a drug user. She had been having severe internal pain, that was being taken care of by the proper medical professionals, but then an acquaintance suggested some 'pain pills' that would help her even more while she waited for a proper medical diagnosis, and she fatefully agreed.

Then less than three months later, my first love, my Dad passed away peacefully surrounded by myself, my son, my brother and our Mom/Nana. Two losses in under three months was brutal, all during the Covid pandemic.

I was so grateful that a few years before I had stopped drinking! Not only had I stopped drinking, but I had become a Certified This Naked Mind Coach, a Certified Gray Area Drinking Coach, and a Masters Life Coach. I was able to feel my grief as it occurred without having to numb the pain.

Drinking around grief only makes it worse! Alcohol is a depressant and when you consume it while you are grieving, it compounds the pain, and doesn't allow you to grieve properly.

I will hurt and grieve for many years, but knowing that I am feeling all my feelings and not masking them helps me move forward!