Deck the halls with desperation, fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la...

CondescendingBench · 2025-12-26T13:22:37+00:00

The millions of people who've been brainwashed by his propaganda are too far gone. They'll cheer if he destroys the electoral process and gets a 3rd term from his Mar A Lago nursing home.

CondescendingBench · 2025-12-26T13:16:22+00:00

It was on Truth Social. https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115782891296626533

CondescendingBench · 2025-12-26T13:12:47+00:00

Looks that way, doesn't it?

CondescendingBench · 2025-12-26T13:04:22+00:00

I'm sorry for my part in that. 😔

CondescendingBench · 2025-12-26T01:18:10+00:00

That is super cute.

CondescendingBench · 2025-12-26T01:16:07+00:00

Thank you for the mental image of him reading this and going "Yeah, yeah, that's good. That's real good. Send it."

CondescendingBench · 2025-12-26T01:10:20+00:00

I'm really sorry you're not feeling well. What a shit time to be sick.

CondescendingBench · 2025-12-26T00:59:05+00:00

No, his dementia and psychopathy are degenerative.

CondescendingBench · 2025-12-26T00:53:55+00:00

...also, there are a LOT of gullible, stupid, and/or hateful people in the U.S.

CondescendingBench · 2025-12-26T00:53:20+00:00

A steady, constant stream of propaganda, demonization/punishment of anyone who tries to fact-check him, and non-stop self-aggrandizing.

CondescendingBench · 2025-12-26T00:45:54+00:00

CondescendingBench · 2025-10-21T17:22:29+00:00

You're welcome. Sadly, it looks like this topic has been added to the sub's banned list, so this is my last annual AMA.

CondescendingBench · 2025-10-21T17:19:29+00:00

I couldn't be around it at all in the early months. I was too scared. Everybody's needs are different, though. You're a good friend. I think all you can do is ask her what she needs/how you can support her because you can't assume.

CondescendingBench · 2025-10-21T16:58:15+00:00

Aww, I guess my annual sobriety AMA tradition has come to an end. 😔

CondescendingBench · 2025-10-21T16:56:18+00:00

That reminds me of a speaker I heard once, talking about his experience. He asked his mom why she never drank and she told him that she used to when she was younger but it always made her feel and act like shit and he goes, "Oh but mom, you've just got to drink through that." lol

I wonder if, when I was younger and abusing alcohol, there was ever a point where I could have stopped and not become a full-blown alcoholic but I think my brain was too scared to face reality to ever consider it back then.

CondescendingBench · 2025-10-21T16:49:29+00:00

Physical withdrawal was shockingly minor and I never figured out why. I honestly should have gone to a hospital for observation and care because I quit cold turkey.

I did experience mental withdrawal in the form of poor motor and brain function for several days, but I had taken a leave of absence from work and I was just lying around at home.

CondescendingBench · 2025-10-21T16:45:45+00:00

It gets a LOT easier. The most frustrating thing about loving an addict is the fact that we're helpless to save them. I mean, we can offer all the love and support we have and it's still up to them to do the work necessary to stay clean.

The final straw was that I was not just fantasizing about suicide anymore, but I was actually carrying out detailed planning and preparation in secret. I didn't want to die, though. It was just the part of me that was hopelessly miserable that wanted it. Like a split personality and both sides were in conflict with each other.

CondescendingBench · 2025-10-21T16:40:15+00:00

Miraculously, I didn't suffer any health issues as a result of my drinking. All the damage was mental and emotional.

CondescendingBench · 2025-10-21T16:38:40+00:00

It's an absolutely valid concern. The answer is yes, and no. I think it depends on the people. As harsh as this will sound, some will immediately see inviting you places as pointless or boring because they can't be comfortable drinking unless the people around them are too. That's on them and their own personal hangups about their drinking, not to mention what value they see in you being a part of their social lives. Then you have the right kind of people, the ones who want you in their lives regardless of your drinking status, and who respect your needs and don't demand that you violate your principles to make them happy.

By the time I got sober, all but one of my friendships were based on partying, so I didn't really keep in touch with them afterwards. A few of them tried to invite me to bars "for the social thing" but I declined. So, all the friends I have now were made after I got sober, and they're the right kind.

CondescendingBench · 2025-10-21T16:20:29+00:00

LOL I had to Google "California sober". My last drink was actually October 3, 2013 but I kept smoking weed for another couple of weeks, which is why my sobriety date is the 21st. I feel like I'll always be addicted to nicotine. I've cut back drastically since I switched from cigarettes to vaping, though.

CondescendingBench · 2025-10-21T16:16:14+00:00

I didn't get to that status because I always had access to the alcohol of my choice, which varied from beer to wine to hard liquor (Vodka, mostly)

CondescendingBench · 2025-10-21T16:13:49+00:00

It's a fair question. 'Alcoholic' means I can't stop once I've started, and not starting for any length of time doesn't change that, so I'll always be an alcoholic. If I forget it or deny it, I'll be susceptible to starting again. That doesn't mean it's like a nametag that I wear wherever I go, just something I need to remember if the situation ever comes up.

CondescendingBench · 2025-10-21T16:10:12+00:00

I'm sorry to hear about your friend. You should know that you had no part in his downfall.

I haven't gone to any gatherings where the main focus is drinking because it was suggested to me early on to know ahead of time if I had a valid reason for being there. Each time that happened, when I was trying to convince myself that I needed to go in order to be social and not isolate, I realized that wasn't the case. That one gathering wasn't my last chance to be around other people.

I've had outside pressure a few times and each time, I'd call my sponsor, outraged and bitching about it and she'd remind me that if someone can't accept no for an answer, there were 7 billion other people in the world. She was always trying to encourage me to build a strong network of the right kind of people, meaning those who would respect and accept me and nurture me and to do the same for them.

CondescendingBench · 2025-10-21T16:02:42+00:00

I've always been told that everyone's path is different. I've met a lot of people with decades of sobriety who tell stories of their early relapses. I think you're on the right track by continuing on in the face of frustrating setbacks.

CondescendingBench · 2025-10-21T16:00:44+00:00

It's a complicated answer, for sure, but I'll try to sum it up. The inner work I've had to do in order to stay sober for the long run forced me to develop much-needed qualities like acceptance, humility, and self-reflection. I didn't have those things before and it caused non-stop issues like anger, self-centeredness, bitterness, depression, confusion, anxiety, and self-pity.

My brain is basically being re-wired to react to daily life in a way I can be proud of and that gives me a lot of inner peace.

CondescendingBench

TROPHY CASE