yeah i self medicated my nonsense. and as for bullies and others nonsense I dunno i was very passive i wasnt a fighter about stuff I just drank the frustration away. but after i got sober i couldnt just do that anymore so i started to get ticked off instead. At times i realized this was my own problem at other times I realized that lashing out at others or putting them in there place or being firm about getting them to back off was something I just had to do and a skill i had to develope so that i could protect myself and keep charging forward and not be a foot stool for others to prop themselves up with etc..
I guess you could say i started figureing out how to set some boundaries. this ticked of a lot of people i guess but they started to respect them in time i was happier too. I guess I had to get a bit selfish about my well being it took many by surpise they didnt know that person in me heck neither did I.
I guess i was getting more confidence etc..