In the past, when I had bad news about someone it became all about me. How sad it made me, how upsetting I found the diagnosis. How hard I found their illness to cope with.
It was not about me.
That just gave me a reason to drink.
I never thought about how their children coped. How their husband/wife felt. How they coped with hospital appointments, funeral plans, the practicalities of being ill.
It was just all about me. Which then gave me a massive excuse to drink myself stupid.
I know realise that it is not all about me and there is always something I can do to help.
And there is never a reason big, bad, sad or mad enough that excuses me to get drunk.