Lynn Matti Counseling

Weird foggy morning earlier today on the Eau Claire flowage in Schofield, Wisconsin.

I’m rereading this wonderful book at the moment… Who’s with me?

“Will was like, ‘Hey man, do you remember we had dinner the other night?’ He goes, ‘How do you think that went?’” Cooper said. “I remember being at the dinner thinking I was so funny, and I thought these two guys, who were my heroes, thought that I was so funny. ... I was like ‘I thought it was great. I thought I was killing.’"

Arnett's response? "You were a real a--hole, man."

☀️☀️Sometimes I fantasize about what I wish people would’ve said to me when I was in the throes of my addiction.😬

I wish someone would have told me that they were concerned about how much alcohol I was drinking Because of the behaviors I was exhibiting. The behaviors that I know they saw, over and over again, my same routine, those behaviors that were slowly killing me from the inside out.

Behaviors like over drinking at dinner parties, slurring, and saying foolish things more and more often.

Making impulsive decisions 

Getting into fights more often.

Just plain talking and acting good old fashion stupid.

Harsher fights with family members. just a little bit too tipsy, embarrassing my friends my family even people who worked for me.

And the drunk driving… Lots of people knew I Drove drunk.

Far too many of us are drinking way way too much and we know it. I have no interest in being “the alcohol police”, but I do believe that we need to have these conversations about what these substances are doing to us, to our relationships, to our children and to our minds, intellect and Ability to communicate with each other.

I got sober over a decade ago…

…2022 is a whole new ballgame in the arena of addiction, sobriety, recovery, moderation, abstinence… We know so much more now than 10 years ago. About addiction itself, about our neurobiology and people know that alcohol is a terrible drug. You literally have to be under a rock not to know how awful alcohol is. We still use it it’s OK lots of people use lots of things that are bad for them, but🤷🏼‍♀️.

But please let’s get honest about what this drug does to those of us Who may have trauma or are going through something in life a transition, a death in the family for god sake‘s the last five years alone in the United States is traumatic enough for anyone to drink more… But we need to talk about it. There are so many wonderful ways to explore sobriety to look at your drinking in a way that allows you to see what kind of relationship you have with this drug known as alcohol.

I just want us all to take a deep breath and start talking about things that are hard.

Because if I’ve learned anything since I’ve gotten sober, gone to grad school gotten some education about the human mind and started practicing with real people who have real problems whew…is that we are able to find ways through them using techniques that have been around forever but we’ve just not been using them. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Anyway thanks for reading this far. I’m gonna keep doing this it’s kind of like a journal for me at this point of how I am coping with this really difficult time in our history.

Bradley Cooper recalls the life-changing moment he decided to get sober In a new podcast interview, the actor opens up about the conversation with one famous friend that changed everything.

This is a beautifully written article. I hope everybody reads it. A lot of this is still going on…

Emotional attunement is the source of true empathy. It happens when your parent connects with you on an emotional level.

How Emotional Neglect Disrupts Mother-Child Relationships Finally naming the problem could promote healing.

I understand this. Life is really hard right now. Just know that there are those people in the world were waiting for you to join us on this sober journey when you’re ready. And just for today if you can be may be a little bit kinder to yourself. Perhaps instead of telling yourself that you’re the worst, tell yourself that you can’t possibly be… Let us hold the hope for you come but but you got a reach out first… Just try to reach out. And for those of you who aren’t suffering tried to send that message today.

Call ☎️ or text 💬 - peers are here to talk, listen, and help. A great resource for friends and families. You are not alone. The Georgia Council on Substance Abuse CARES Warm Line 844-326-5400. Staffed by peers. Safe, confidential, and free.

5 Ways Black and White Thinking Poisons Your Perspective - Talkspace Black and white thinking or "splitting" limits how richly you experience life and relationships. Read why this occurs and how to adjust thought processes!

Veronica Valli is spot on…”You can’t celebrate the children’s bedtime with w**d or pills — well, I suppose you can, but you probably wouldn’t put your infant in a T-shirt that says, “I’m the reason mummy loves skunk”, and expect people to smile at you benignly in the supermarket. Substitute wine, though, and there’s no problem. The idea of respectable, responsible middle-class mothers as functioning alcoholics is now so well rooted that nobody bats an eyelid, just as nobody batted an eyelid at spaced-out, tranquillised 1960s housewives.”

We have to call time on wine o’clock I really hate “wine o’clock” — the time of day when certain middle-class mothers of young children pour themselves giant drinks. The children are finally out of

Healing takes time and it’s hard to do in a culture that doesn’t allow us to take that time. Just know that you can step off the wheel. There are people like myself who are available to help you. Lynnmatti.com

In my Therapeutic Coaching practice as "The Sober Therapist" and like many of us in the online sober-curious/moderation/abstinent/sober/recovery movement (yes, it's been a movement now for nearly a decade!) I hear one question over and over again..."How do I start trying to figure this out?" In this episode I explain the many doors through which people begin to explore their relationship with alcohol.

‎The Sober Therapist SoberSoul Recovery Podcast: 172: Drinking Too Much? Overwhelmed? Worried? Stressed?: Learn Where to Start on Apple Podcasts ‎Show The Sober Therapist SoberSoul Recovery Podcast, Ep 172: Drinking Too Much? Overwhelmed? Worried? Stressed?: Learn Where to Start - Sep 6, 2021

What to Tell Kids about Ukraine: Recommendations from a Psychologist Children are worried by Russia’s attack and need explanations about what is going on, a family counselor says

Practicing self-compassion is a crucial part of healthy self-esteem nurturing and building. ❤️

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Most of us move too fast, do too many things, schedules, lists, to do’s... oh so much productivity. But where does it get us? Closer to each other? Happier? More fulfilled? Smarter? Nope, Likely not… all this planning, busyness and partying. Distracts us from the truth of ourselves. Learning what we need and how to get those needs met takes time, quieting, slowing, calming, verbalizing, feeling, sharing. Don’t you want more of that?

❤️ I spent so much of my life chasing the extraordinary. Growing up in a a chaotic home environment focused my young mind to search for ways to be valuable, safe and worthy, to feel love and belonging. Most of my life was dedicated to this, it made for an interesting journey, but without an understanding of who I really was and what I actually wanted and needed. At 46 the focused changed. It started as a journey to clear my mind and body of alcohol and other drugs, but has become a way of life centered around slowing down and living...one moment at a time.