I so value the opportunity to share unconditionally and with absolute privacy that I am cautious not to even sign my name on PMs (which is where most people share theirs). I'm afraid that my friends on here might slip and identify me in a post.
I've had moments in which I've taken a sentence out of a post which gives just a little bit too much detail, in case friends from the program in-real-life would recognize the post and know who I am.
Very protective of my anonymity. I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing. I work in the political arena, so I have real reasons to remain private. I am not public with most of the people in my professional life about being in recovery, nor did they know I was struggling with alcohol when I was.
That's the obvious reason. But I notice that I have been hyper-private in other stages of my life as well, when I didn't have concrete work reasons to be. I wonder if that is tied into some of the aspects of me that needs healing. Always moving, always private, always self-protecting and making sure that I am never fully known.
One thing that I'm learning right now, in my public/private split through my involvement with AA here in my little community, is that people can't love you if they don't know you. That "privacy" promotes isolation. That I can't expect support from people if they don't know any of my problems...
So, when the day comes that I DO post my name, you'll all know that it is a stunning breakthrough for me!! It will mean I've decided to be fully myself, and let people know me.
It is actually sweaty palm scary for me - both online and in real life... not a small thing...