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Happy National Awkward Moments Day To All Our Socially Awkward Friends

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socially awkwardAttention all socially awkward friends!  March 18th celebrates National Awkward Moments Day!  How awkward is it that there’s a pre-planned day for awkwardness?  The purpose of having a specific day for socially awkward moments is more than for pure entertainment.  Although not an officially recognized Holiday, Awkward Moments Day allows those of us who know about it, time for us to publicly rejoice in real, authentic moments.  It also highlights how many of us in recovery may feel awkward sometimes in sobriety, but at least we are not alone.

Socially Awkward

National Awkward Moments Day may remind you of the of the beginning stages of recovery.  Coming in the rooms of meetings and not knowing anyone was probably one of the most socially awkward moments many of us have ever felt.  It’s not uncommon for alcoholics and addicts to feel like this though, especially during  early recovery.  In early recovery, many addicts are unsure of what fellowship meetings are, where they’re going, how to get or stay sober, who to talk to, and what the process of recovery even looks like.  All these individuals know is they want to stop being addicted to alcohol and/or drugs but they don’t know how.  So, they start the process of recovery and it’s pretty awkward in the beginning, but they are told if they walk through it, they will become more comfortable in their own skin.

Statistics

Recorded information provided by the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids and The New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Service (OASAS) confirmed that 10 percent of Americans over the age of 18 claimed to be recovering from a substance use problem in 2012.  Men were found more likely to be in recovery for drugs and alcohol than women.  Adults between the ages of 35-44 had more likely a chance of being sober,  as opposed to a younger age range of 18 to 34 years old and 55 years or more.  According to this same research from the Partnership and OASAS, the statistic translated to 23.5 million people striving to recover.  As alcoholics and addicts, we should see this number and realize that we, as an entity, are not bound to segregation, and are not so innately unique.  However, tagging along with the nature behind the disease of addiction, we tend to latch onto this idea that we are terminally ill and unlike anyone else.  As a result, we may have implanted these false ideas in our minds that we were different from everyone else.  This plays a huge part in feeling socially awkward and not normal.

Not so different from normal people

We may come to find out that we are not so entirely different from the stereotypical “normal” person.  All people go through difficult experiences, make mistakes which they have to work through, do weird embarrassing things, have their strange little quirks, and have their socially awkward moments too.  In active addiction, it can be really tricky to relate to the lives of normal people, but you may come to find out that even normal people struggle with their own issues.  No one lives a flawless, clear-cut, perfect and normal life.  This is what the human condition is, but there is great beauty in all the imperfection that rests in it.

So let’s be socially awkward together in honor of National Awkward Moments Day!




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