Originally Posted by
m1k3 
I will have a different view than a normie though. Anyone who has walked through hell will be changed and I accept that. Not only do I accept that I use it as a tool to live my life with much more skill than I had before. I use it to make me stronger and that is something a normie has not had to deal with.
Your friend,
There's the bright side...new skills!
Originally Posted by
Tuffgirl I won't ever again be a "normie", but I will forever be far more cautious with relationships as well as compassionate for others who struggle with addictions. I won't let my experiences define me, but I will learn from them and do my best not to make the same mistakes again. I won't beat myself up over my bad judgement calls, and I will fight my inner gremlins with a hefty dose of gratitude instead.
And in all honesty, I don't regret my life experiences so far; they have made me a better person in spite of it all.
I love not letting your experiences define you. More time, distance, will help me with that.
And that's where I do see the rainbow after the storm--rediscovering me. And I do see a return to my "normal". Sure, never the same as it once was, innocence as well as ignorance lost, but I can already FEEL me returning to me, and that's a good thing.
I did join this bizarre party late--I had a lot of life as a normie previously, as I didn't even know what alcoholism was until I was more than 40...at that point I thought they all lived under viaducts, with a bottle of wine in a brown paper bag, and had NO IDEA how they affected other people.