Squashing the Rumors

[Dish]

Christi, add a neck gaiter or a wool scarf to your list. You will thank me later.

Best of luck. I think what you are doing is quite selfless and very admirable.

 

[Christi]

Christi, add a neck gaiter or a wool scarf to your list. You will thank me later.

Best of luck. I think what you are doing is quite selfless and very admirable.

Thank you! ANd yes - I have a plethora of pretty (and warm) scarves as well as a few neck gators - and for super cold days one of those hats that covers everything but my yes - haha

 

[Norrm]

Wow. Talk about being open and honest. I would NEVER share with the entire world that I was an alcoholic and drug addict if I was one.

Also not necessary to make your point which is that the rumors are untrue and typical internet lore. That's really all you had to say, and maybe add that there's some confusion because you'll be traveling out of the area for a while and give the reason as you did.

Nothing to be gained by adding your personal history with drugs and alcohol, and it can reflect rather negatively on you especially by the more conservative members of the planetary population. And you never know you might be looking for a new job someday and that sort of info can hurt.

I suggest you request a thread deletion and let this dog lie. People have short memories especially if there's nothing out there to remind them.

 

[DandyDon]

I actually have a bag of salt in place of the kitty litter - it actually melts the ice

Yes, but kitty litter can give you traction to get off of the ice instead of waiting for salt to melt it.

 

[BoundForElsewhere]

Wow. Talk about being open and honest. I would NEVER share with the entire world that I was an alcoholic and drug addict if I was one.

Also not necessary to make your point which is that the rumors are untrue and typical internet lore. That's really all you had to say, and maybe add that there's some confusion because you'll be traveling out of the area for a while and give the reason as you did.

Nothing to be gained by adding your personal history with drugs and alcohol, and it can reflect rather negatively on you especially by the more conservative members of the planetary population. And you never know you might be looking for a new job someday and that sort of info can hurt.

I suggest you request a thread deletion and let this dog lie. People have short memories especially if there's nothing out there to remind them.

If anyone judges Miss Christi negatively they can suck my p-valve. You go, grrl.

 

[Christi]

Wow. Talk about being open and honest. I would NEVER share with the entire world that I was an alcoholic and drug addict if I was one.

Also not necessary to make your point which is that the rumors are untrue and typical internet lore. That's really all you had to say, and maybe add that there's some confusion because you'll be traveling out of the area for a while and give the reason as you did.

Nothing to be gained by adding your personal history with drugs and alcohol, and it can reflect rather negatively on you especially by the more conservative members of the planetary population. And you never know you might be looking for a new job someday and that sort of info can hurt.

I suggest you request a thread deletion and let this dog lie. People have short memories especially if there's nothing out there to remind them.

There is no shame in recovery. Any job I will be seeking will be with open and like minded people who understand and embrace the struggle and the courage it takes to recover. It will also be a job focused on helping addicts and alcoholic recover from their DISEASE.

Thank you for sharing.

 

[Norrm]

It's not about shame. And as long as it doesn't matter to you that some people probably will be put off by your revelation and won't have any significant affect on you going forward.

If I was in your position I probably wouldn't give it a second thought either -if I was retired- because should I admit to having some sort of drug or alcohol issue it would definitely affect my business. People are opinionated and they're going to judge and they'll say things like "Oh I wouldn't dive with that company it's run by a recovering drug addict" or words to that effect.

I am very close to someone who is a recovering alcoholic, she goes to the meetings almost every morning, I've gone to an Al-Anon meeting myself, so I get it. I'm not judging. But others will.

 

[BoundForElsewhere]

Once we can take the bullsh*t stigma out of addiction and mental illness perhaps more people can talk about it and inspire others to get help.
Mental illness and addiction are part of my daily life and I just wish more people had the yarbles to shout from the mountain tops that it is OK to be sick and seek help.
There would be far fewer broken hearts, shattered lives, and regrettable tombstones if we all had the courage Christi does.

 

[Altamira]

+1 for what @Christi and @BoundForElsewhere said above. Christi certainly does not need me or anybody else coming to her defense. She is more than capable of taking care of herself on this board or anywhere else. I will say that every single recovered addicted person I have met have been more than willing to share their stories with others, partly to acknowledge and rejoice in their conquest and ongoing battle with a disease that devastated their lives, but also to show others that success is achievable. If someone would not use Christi's Blue XT dive op because of a past problem that she has overcome, that is their loss, and that diver would easily be replaced by the other 99% of divers who would join her in a heartbeat precisely because Christi is who she is now.

 

[Christi]

It's not about shame. And as long as it doesn't matter to you that some people probably will be put off by your revelation and won't have any significant affect on you going forward.

If I was in your position I probably wouldn't give it a second thought either -if I was retired- because should I admit to having some sort of drug or alcohol issue it would definitely affect my business. People are opinionated and they're going to judge and they'll say things like "Oh I wouldn't dive with that company it's run by a recovering drug addict" or words to that effect.

I am very close to someone who is a recovering alcoholic, she goes to the meetings almost every morning, I've gone to an Al-Anon meeting myself, so I get it. I'm not judging. But others will.

Since you've chosen to focus on a tiny piece of my original post and make this about my malady...

I wouldn't really want to do business with anyone that was that judgmental anyway - so no loss at all.

I lost some valuable and cherished clients while I was in the midst of my struggle, my business suffered tremendously during that time because I wasn't present and I was toxic. It was and still is painful at times. Some have come back, some haven't. I see others while they are here and we give each other hugs even though they now dive with other shops. And then there are those clients who were incredibly toxic, like cancer, but I couldn't see it (water seeks it's own level) until I got into recovery, so I let THEM go - as in I fired them as clients because they were so toxic and nasty which made room for new healthy clients. With that said, I've gained some amazing new clients and I am pretty sure I will continue to do so.

The fact that I'm very active in my recovery and have over 6 years clean and sober is something I am very proud of (but the real credit goes to God) and is woven into the thread of me AND my business, so it IS relevant in the grand scheme of things and in my announcement. Active recovery is not just attending meetings by the way, a lot more work has to be done to obtain and maintain real recovery. Recovery is literally a daily reprieve contingent upon daily vigilance and work. By the Grace of God the obsession to drink or pop a pill is gone for me, neither has been my "go to" for any reason for a long time - but the moment I forget that I am an alcoholic or addict (in recovery) I will be worse off than I was when I hit the gates of hell 6+ years ago. And nope, I'm still not perfect and never will be - but I can works towards that end. I'm sorry you haven't had the blessing of witnessing the miracles of true recovery. I live in faith instead of fear and I'm pretty certain that as I continue putting empathy, compassion, kindness, open mindedness, willingness and humility into the equation, I'll not only survive, but thrive. I don't get to keep what I don't share and give away. But as you say, you've been to AN (meaning a single) Al-Anon meeting, so yeh, you get it - ok, gotcha.

I'll take my chances and continue to carry the message that if a "drunk like me" could recover from the cunning, baffling and powerful disease of addiction and live the amazing life I'm living, then there is hope for ANYONE out there who is still struggling. There is so much hope, an so much help and so much grace in surrendering and asking for help.

Keep coming back and don't leave before the miracle happens.

Again thanks for sharing