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A post shared by Elephant Journal (@elephantjournal) on Mar 21, 2020 at 9:50am PDT

Elephant’s Continually-updating Coronavirus Diary. ~ Waylon

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And the drinking memes begin.

I used to think these were so funny. I would laugh and mindlessly forward them. Now that I am sober, I realize that instead of just being cute and funny (how the person posting these intended for them to be), they can cause more harm than good.

These are tiny little impressions, one by one, that “everyone” is drinking during this time of crisis. Sprinkled suggestions all over the place that drinking alcohol is accepted, even necessary to get through a situation like this. They are all over social media right now.

The anxiety in America is the highest I have ever seen it in my life—people are panicked and scared. What is the easiest thing to do? Drink and numb out. What is the worst thing you can do? Drink and numb out. Not to mention, after the buzz goes away, alcohol can feed fear and anxiety.

Instead of reaching for a bottle, I will choose to look at this experience as an opportunity. This is an opportunity for me to be fully present for my children. I will be able to answer all of their questions and give them a little extra attention and comfort. This is an opportunity for me to help someone who is feeling helpless. A friend’s spring wedding that has been forced to cancel, a niece’s school trip to Paris that was called off, a neighbor who is afraid to leave her house with small children.

This is an opportunity for me to grow as a human by not checking out. By feeling my feelings, I will have the opportunity to get stronger, more confident, and more secure.

Today I will be grateful that I have a warm house with plenty of toilet paper. I have clean, running water to hydrate my body with and, for the moment, my family is healthy.

I will be able to keep things in perspective and handle anything that comes my way because I am sober.

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For more: head to my website.

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