Coping With Divorce

TIME WAS when I thought pain was something intelligent people avoided. I certainly did . . . at all costs. Hardly a day went by for sixteen years when I didn't get anesthetized on alcohol or try to escape reality via some other mind-altering chemical. It wasn't just the discomfort of pain that made me run, but also the anticipation of what it might be like. My alcoholic mind did an outstanding job creating a monstrous and frightening image for me to avoid. My sense of uniqueness kept me thinking no one else felt the way I did about anything.