JakeDennert
Bronze Member
Before I introduce myself... I already know about the MyCombatPTSD.com forum. I'm a member there, too... and I'll head on over there and do my introduction after I'm done with this one. :)
My name is Jake, and I've changed quite a bit over the last 5 years.
I've gone from functioning alcoholic to recovering alcoholic, with almost four and a half years of complete sobriety.
I used to have alcohol coursing through my body from the minute I woke up in the morning to the minute I went to sleep at night. Why drink so much? To hide from my real issues.
I had PTSD from the things I saw, did, and experienced during my combat tour in Fallujah... and (though I didn't know it yet) I had social anxiety on top of that, stemming all the way back to middle school / high school.
Almost immediately after taking the booze away, these deeper issues rose to the surface.
What was the turning point? What made me sober up?
A near-death-experience car accident in October, 2008. Changed everything. Been sober ever since.
I've made a lot of personal progress since then. I no longer see myself as a sufferer... I'm a survivor.
With PTSD, with social anxiety, with the challenges of staying completely sober.
That's why I'm here.
To meet, connect with, and hopefully help anyone who is going through what I used to struggle so much with:
-- Social Anxiety
-- PTSD
-- Alcoholism
I feel like I'm as close to "normal" as I've ever been, and I haven't had a drop of alcohol in more than 4 years. It hasn't been easy. I have my ups and downs -- good days, bad days -- but I'm never going back to what I was.
Anyway, that's a very brief version of my story. Glad to be here... and excited to help out, if I can.
OK, off to the sister forum (MyCombatPTSD.com) to introduce myself there!
Thanks for reading! :)
Jake D.
My name is Jake, and I've changed quite a bit over the last 5 years.
I've gone from functioning alcoholic to recovering alcoholic, with almost four and a half years of complete sobriety.
I used to have alcohol coursing through my body from the minute I woke up in the morning to the minute I went to sleep at night. Why drink so much? To hide from my real issues.
I had PTSD from the things I saw, did, and experienced during my combat tour in Fallujah... and (though I didn't know it yet) I had social anxiety on top of that, stemming all the way back to middle school / high school.
Almost immediately after taking the booze away, these deeper issues rose to the surface.
What was the turning point? What made me sober up?
A near-death-experience car accident in October, 2008. Changed everything. Been sober ever since.
I've made a lot of personal progress since then. I no longer see myself as a sufferer... I'm a survivor.
With PTSD, with social anxiety, with the challenges of staying completely sober.
That's why I'm here.
To meet, connect with, and hopefully help anyone who is going through what I used to struggle so much with:
-- Social Anxiety
-- PTSD
-- Alcoholism
I feel like I'm as close to "normal" as I've ever been, and I haven't had a drop of alcohol in more than 4 years. It hasn't been easy. I have my ups and downs -- good days, bad days -- but I'm never going back to what I was.
Anyway, that's a very brief version of my story. Glad to be here... and excited to help out, if I can.
OK, off to the sister forum (MyCombatPTSD.com) to introduce myself there!
Thanks for reading! :)
Jake D.
