Originally Posted by
Flynbuy 
Can you relate an experience of feeling pain in sobriety, but not drinking and recognizing it as a growth spurt???
A couple years ago, in the second year of my sobriety (and feeling quite secure, I might add) my sister was diagnosed with a serious brain tumor. Surgery was going to be almost as dangerous as not treating it at all. I was sick with worry, and very troubled, very disquieted by the fear and emotions my sister was going through. I wanted to avoid the "bad" feelings and drinking crossed my mind. But then it dawned on me, my sister, who had the tumor, wasn't drinking to escape her fears and anxieties. So who was I to seek escape from the discomfort I was feeling.
I didn't drink and the surgery went as hoped and her prognosis was good.
I try not to dwell on the "what ifs" and if I would have drank had the outcome been bad.