| Reactions
I am the daughter of an alcoholic mother who was diagnosed as terminal in March of this year. I noticed in the past, before I knew my mother was terminal, that I experienced a range of emotional reactions when around people that are heavy drinkers or that I suspect are alcoholics. The reactions vary from mild to quite intense. Sometimes I feel sick, nervous, scared, incredibly sad, short-of-breath, and most of all an urgent need to get away, to remove myself from the situation. Often after such an encounter I feel drained emotionally and mentally. I know that when I'm in such a situation, however rare that it is, the person who is drinking triggers very painful memories for me that I find difficult to push aside. I have a good cry and wish I was stronger because I know I need to overcome this. I guess finding out she is terminal has made the pain fresh and I'm still learning how to cope.
Has any other person, with family or friends with addictions, felt these similar emotions, had similar reactions? I feel frustrated with myself sometimes; I know that I need to learn how to seperate the here-and-now from the past. I just am not sure how to go about doing this.
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