Well here we are over 2 years since my last post, in a very different place and wanting to share my experiences again, but this time in a much more positive light. I don’t want this to dwell on the past, to look at all the negative sides of life and addiction, I want it be a safe place I can write about what’s going on, what I am thinking about, and where I am going. I will be honest too, this is a selfish exercise in a lot of ways, this is something I can do to help organise my thoughts and maybe come to some understanding of how my brain is working at the moment.
What has changed then? In a nutshell, I was bumbling along until about 12 months ago when I landed the perfect job for me. I was working for Citizens Advice, and was a qualified Money Advisor. I helped people with their debt issues, and it was an incredibly rewarding job to be doing, with amazing people around me. It seemed I had finally found my nice. Unfortunately, my alcohol problem reared its head again, and I fell into a damaging spiral where I could see I would lose my job. At this point, I threw all my preconceptions out and made the decision that I needed to change things drastically. I would look at all the help that was available and try it. I would critically examine my life and make changes. Sadly, it all came a little too late. I dud lose my job. But I think that was an important thing to happen, losing something I really cared about, because it set me on my new path, and life has not been as calm and contented for years.
I will talk about what I have done in future posts, but for now I just wanted to reset this section of the site. I have a bright new logo, a more positive title, and I also want to focus more on how games have helped me through this time and continue to be an important part of my recovery. I have a lot of spare time at the moment, and accepting that I am not quite ready to get back into work so can take time to enjoy myself a little bit without feeling guilty is important. So I am trying to play games that make me feel good, that foster positivity, and help me fill my days.
I’ll b back shortly with a piece about the things that have helped me in the last 12 months, and will always finish with what I am playing at the moment. I always struggle to stay committed to one game, but a lack of money has taken away some of the power to buy new games so I can hit my backlog more. My PS+ Extra also runs out in January, and I have a few games on that service I want to finish before it expires. So at the moment, I am finally finishing Spider-Man Remastered so I can play Miles Morales over Christmas. Trails in the Sky is providing my RPG goodness, Hyrule Warriors my Nintendo fix, Talos Principle my puzzles and Hearthstone my morning coffee play.
And today I have not had a drink for 65 days, and feel really proud of that.
