It can be hard to comment on here and feel like my voice has space to be heard, with so many people sharing so many important things every second. But objectively, I know that that is all sweet sweet projection of ny own insecurities. In practice, I’m still getting to that understanding.
It’s an odd relationship to discover has been affected by addiction. I want to trust that people want to hear my truth, but I’m realizing just how much I’ve devalued myself over the years due to my relationship with marijuana (among other things).
There are more people than I expected in my life who want to hear nothing about my path to recovery, including a parent, and it is much more difficult that I imagined to placate the monstrous voice of insecurities in my head that wants to transform that reaction into a thing that means something about me, instead of them. But every day is the journey in and on itself. I know what this means for me. While I may want it, I don’t need others to justify this for me. Hearing myself can be enough.
Thank you for reading, and I wish you dear reader a day full of every mote of strength the universe can allot to you this day… Hopefully even double your daily quota!
I am sorry to hear the lack of interest you have been getting from some of the people in your life.
I live in an area where drinking is a major part of the local “culture”. I wouldn’t go so far as to say my friends and family are unsupportive, but they certainly don’t understand or care much about my sobriety or the personal mental health journey that goes along with it. I’m sure your situation is unique to you, but I get where you’re coming from. Sobriety can be a lonely (and more likely to be unsuccessful) adventure if you don’t find people to share it with. That’s what makes this community so great.
On being heard: Trust me. Having been a pretty active member of this community since last summer, often more of a reader than a poster, sharing your story is not only helpful to you for putting your thoughts down, but is also insanely important to other people. Sometimes your success might inspire others. Sometimes your failures might remind others of the consequences of a relapse (although I hope you don’t have to post about relapses, but please post about them if they happen. It helps.). Sometimes posting a bit of introspection helps others to better understand themselves or to commiserate with you and help you feel less alone or possibly learn something from others. Sometimes I comment on posts from others that are months or even years old because I come across them at a moment where I found it helpful. Sometimes others interact with my posts long after they occurred. It all helps.
I hope you have a fantastic sober day. And welcome to the community!
Hello HH and welcome the forum moves really fast sometimes and posts get lost in the avalanche - I felt like you did except I also felt uncomfortable and anxious about how I’d be perceived.
In the end I had a few days where I just pretended that I was writing to myself. Because that really does help anyway. I worry I don’t contribute enough here, I want to say positive things to everyone but it would take me all day
So now I just read and sometimes comment, then check in every once in a while.
Dealing with people around you is difficult and you have to sometimes make changes. Remember you can’t talk butterfly language with caterpillar people.
I felt this in my bones. We have undergone a seismic shift in our lives and a lot of it is internal. So people can’t see it. They just get on with their lives. I want to talk about it and be heard and understood. But that isn’t going to happen. That’s why this place is so helpful
You are heard even if a post doesn’t get a lot of comments and such, people sometimes like posts just because they may not have time or even a solid response they feel like sharing but want to let you know they gave it a read
This place is for you to empty things out or in some threads just have some fun I find the more I spend reading and connecting to other people’s posts, they do the same when I post something, not that my intent is attention. But I remember my first time using this app and I just started reading other people’s posts and liking or commenting how much I connected with what they shared and then before I knew it I would post things and many of those folks would comment or tag me in their posts.
Basically I began to build a group of folks who I connected with so much so that when I relapsed and disappeared from here, when I came back those people were still searching for me in the you are missed thread like I was a ship lost at sea I was so moved to realize just how much people here really do care and those same folks, and many new ones this time, all welcomed me back without judgement, just happy I found sobriety again and happy to have me home. You are welcome here and cared for
Dear Halloweenholler - welcome to this very safe place to share your thoughts: you’ll find this site is full of compassionate, empathetic people who are all on their own journeys of sobriety. I apprecuate your battle is mostly agiainst marijuana, but getting clean from drugs, is the same as getting sober from alcohol, and lets not forget, alchohol = ethanol = a drug.
Posting is cathertic, to get o ne’s feelings and fears down in writing, so please keep on doing so. As others have already commented, replies are not always rolling in- I get very few, but then I don;t start a topic, just add to other’s threads.
Welcome @halloweenholler! Here you will find like minded people and they want to support you in your sobriety. Reading your post made me realize that I have gotten so much support from my family and friends in my quitting journey. I now see that I may be taking it for granted and moving forward I will give more thanks for it. I hope that as you progress in your sobriety your family and friends will come to realize that you have made an awesome decision and that they give you the support you deserve.
HH and welcome 
the forum moves really fast sometimes and posts get lost in the avalanche - I felt like you did except I also felt uncomfortable and anxious about how I’d be perceived.
language with caterpillar 
people.
I find the more I spend reading and connecting to other people’s posts, they do the same when I post something, not that my intent is attention. But I remember my first time using this app and I just started reading other people’s posts and liking or commenting how much I connected with what they shared and then before I knew it I would post things and many of those folks would comment or tag me in their posts.
I was so moved to realize just how much people here really do care and those same folks, and many new ones this time, all welcomed me back without judgement, just happy I found sobriety again and happy to have me home. You are welcome here and cared for 
I hope that as you progress in your sobriety your family and friends will come to realize that you have made an awesome decision and that they give you the support you deserve.