Elan Gale (Producer) & Molly Quinn - Discussion

elan gale ‏@theyearofelan Dec 24
I wrote about my sobriety, and if you're feeling down this holiday season, give it a read
https://medium.com/@theyearofelan/how-sobriety-changed-me-b24f9c53c04b#.oqa3tw2i4
elan gale
producer of great tv. writer of bizarre books. charitable censored. very indoorsy
yesterday
How Sobriety Changed Me

It’s been over two and a half years since I had my last drink. The decision to quit drinking was not an easy one, but nothing worth doing is ever easy.

For the first two years I spent quite a bit of time thinking about how different my life was. Every six months or so I would sit down and write about what I was going through, both as a cathartic thought experiment, but also as a way to connect with other people going through the same thing in their lives.

It has been unbelievably rewarding. At first it was terrifying (as all good things are) to expose my weaknesses to strangers. After a while it became helpful. People are remarkably understanding and people want to help. People want to build communities around you and want you to build communities around them.

If there is one thing we all have in common it is certainly imperfection.

We are flawed and we are lost and we don’t always know what we’re doing. The admission of that takes a lot of pressure off of trying to “do everything right.” Once you stop trying to “do everything right,” you stop failing as often.

I didn’t quit drinking “the right way.” I didn’t go to meetings or rid my house of booze or avoid bars. I did it my own way. I recommend all ways. I recommend any way that works for you. Trial and error is the only way to figure out what works for you. And quitting drinking isn’t for everyone. For many people, drinking is a healthy part of their lives. I envy those people because damn do I miss red wine.

But when I sat down at the two and a half year mark to write about drinking, something felt different. It no longer felt like drinking was something I didn’t do anymore. It felt like drinking was not something I did. I know it seems like a small difference, but let me tell you, it is night and day.

Two and a half years ago I couldn’t imagine a world in which I didn’t drink alcohol.

Now I can’t imagine a world in which I do.

I can’t understand what my life was.

So I can’t really write about quitting drinking at this time. But what I can talk about is how your world can change entirely in a very short amount of time. I know. I know this seems obvious, but for people (like me) who get depressed, especially around the holidays, change doesn’t seem possible.

My sobriety taught me that the person you are is never static. The world you live in and understand is never definite. The things you know to be true are not necessarily true. The world changes. You change.
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