Everytime i drank to cover up emotional pain it only worked while i was drunk, and boy did it work. As soon as the booze wore off i'm left still feeling the emotional pain only this time with a brutal hangover which compounded my emotional distress. The fact that i was only drinking the pain away instead of working through my emotions compounded the problem EVEN MORE. I don't think it's the real you that has been stuck emotionaly in 1996. I think it's the alcohol that has kept you mentally living back 15 years ago. The pain never goes away but it gets easier to deal with as time goes on. The key word is DEALING with it. If you drink, you never deal with it, it just lurks under the surface dragging you down. Thankyou so much for sharing with us, we're here for you