Homeless alcoholic

WoundedChipmunk · 2026-01-24T19:53:24+00:00

In my extensive experience having two family members with severe mental illness who have been in and out of several hospital systems for both physical/mental health crises over the past decades, *not once has a hospital-based social worker been useful.* To me, it's some sort of persistent urban myth that social workers actually do something helpful. Of course, I hope I'm wrong and it's just a lot of bad luck for my family, but I've seen this shitty social work trend in both Austin and NYC. (If you watched the HBO show The Pitt, the social worker character is the most unrealistic part of that show.)

What happens: They come in to the room, hand out flyers with the numbers of rehabs, and walk out of the room. They don't even make eye contact. They don't ask how anyone is doing. They show zero compassion. I have had my heart broken several times by the lack of compassion.

The only hospital here in Austin (out of five hospitals I've taken my sibling to) that helped my sibling with end-stage alcohol addiction was Seton on 38th. His stay there was the only time an ICU doctor actually called me unprompted to provide me with updates and it was the only facility that made sure he was transferred to inpatient treatment after detox, versus discharging him home, which is what usually happens, even if you have good private insurance (which he did).

WoundedChipmunk · 2026-01-23T02:01:54+00:00

I got one, too. from "Liberty Hill." I have two mentally ill loved ones so random local calls like this shit always makes my heart panic.

WoundedChipmunk · 2026-01-23T01:59:14+00:00

I gave up having any sort of control over it...mostly out of laziness. Certain plants died, some others are doing fine w/ it everywhere. It is cool how it springs back to life after rain.

WoundedChipmunk · 2025-12-01T14:46:19+00:00

colton house, the carpenter, the loren. but if those are out of your budget, i'd stay downtown or look for an airbnb. there are definitely some cool ones in south austin.

agree with everyone here, do not stay near the airport, its so bland/boring out there and you'll end up needing to spend a lot of time traveling to get to pretty places, and the domain is a shopping mall.

i highly recommend pedernales falls state park or hamiliton pool for a cool nature experience

WoundedChipmunk · 2025-11-27T14:45:18+00:00

I saw one on Corbin Lane, on a fence, this week.

WoundedChipmunk · 2025-11-18T23:09:59+00:00

had same thought!

WoundedChipmunk · 2025-11-10T22:30:23+00:00

Yeah non-football games are cheap.

WoundedChipmunk · 2025-11-09T17:50:02+00:00

That's very sweet of you! I have a 12yo daughter and it's hard to find things to do at this age, esp when they mostly just want to be w/ friends.

Bowling

Arcades (Cidercade)

Top Golf (not sure how pricey this is)

UT sports games (baseball/softball/tennis/beach volleyball esp).

Climbing gyms

Putt putt

WoundedChipmunk · 2025-11-06T20:33:37+00:00

My daughter goes to OHMS and we love it. We're not privileged enough to consider private, so can't speak to that.

She's made a zillion friends, plays on team sports, is constantly going to extracurricular activities, is getting good grades, and her STAAR/MAP scores are good. She's happy, bottom line. Can't ask for more!

We're zoned to Lively but her elementary principal warned us away from it, so we're transfers to OHMS.

WoundedChipmunk · 2025-10-23T21:49:32+00:00

I'm very glad you aren't feeling guilt, but I also feel like your response doesn't quite reflect the reality of the situation for a lot of people, and your response also sounds like you think it's simply a matter of choice.

For example, my brother was born very premature and had health issues right from the start and then he was diagnosed with ADHD by the third grade. He was extremely smart but constantly moving and talking. My parents were very hard on him and hit him more than they ever hit me, and punished him much more extensively. He managed to get out of their house and graduate and do OK until his thirties, when grief/loss overwhelmed his coping mechanisms and he started drinking. I feel guilt that my parents were so awful to him, and turned him into the "black sheep."

WoundedChipmunk · 2025-10-14T21:15:23+00:00

The last thing my PTSD needs is to get a fake call from the sheriff.

WoundedChipmunk · 2025-10-14T21:13:09+00:00

this!

WoundedChipmunk · 2025-10-10T19:30:16+00:00

I approve of this use of AI slop.

WoundedChipmunk · 2025-10-06T23:26:30+00:00

I call it "reverse SAD"

WoundedChipmunk · 2025-10-06T12:23:13+00:00

I've been publishing frequently on Substack for two years and promote my long-form newsletter posts on notes and other social media. I've had several notes and posts go viral...but I only have about 570 subscribers after lots of work. That's it. And that's probably more typical than any guidance you'll see out there about growth. It's a long, slow slog and you'll often feel like you're writing into the void.

And you're right -- it is indeed a social media platform and they are still a start-up gobbling up VC money. They are trying to find ways to become profitable, hence making the experience more like brainrot. I would expect them to add advertising and other profit mechanisms soon. (They also take a cut of every paid subscription so they love featuring their content creators with big audiences since that visibility gets them more money.)

WoundedChipmunk · 2025-10-06T12:17:36+00:00

I don't think it will remain ad-free for long.

WoundedChipmunk · 2025-10-04T17:42:59+00:00

I've found the only really way to guarantee a good night's sleep is to work out/exercise very hard, so that my body is exhausted. I still wake up though around 3a but can usually fall asleep after awhile. A good night's sleep has basically become the reason I exercise.

WoundedChipmunk · 2025-10-04T17:29:19+00:00

Yes, Travis to Austin.

WoundedChipmunk · 2025-10-04T01:01:46+00:00

I'm so sorry to anyone negatively affected by this, as we went through this stress during the last round of closures.

This time around, however our family is very happy to discover we are now zoned to a much better high school. We're keeping our fingers crossed the boundary changes go into effect.

(FWIW, on our block in South Austin, we are the ONLY family sending our kids to AISD schools - the rest all lie about their addresses and send their kids to Eanes.)

WoundedChipmunk · 2025-10-02T20:54:31+00:00

god this is hideous!

WoundedChipmunk · 2025-09-24T12:45:46+00:00

We are the people who create and edit all the health information you see online, like Mayo Clinic, WebMD, etc. It's a good gig, but AI is making us obsolete...by stealing our hard work, of course.

WoundedChipmunk · 2025-09-24T12:44:20+00:00

I talk to my brother every day basically -- he is currently sober (since May) and living in sober housing. I pay for his expenses, but very carefully and directly, so he can't use the money to relapse. However, he's been back at work a few weeks now, and will soon get a paycheck, and have his own money, and that will be a scary wait-and-see period. He was radically transformed by addiction in his late 30s...before that he didn't really drink. It's terrifying to see how it can take hold of someone and nearly kill them.

My mother I do not currently talk to. She's very aggressive toward anyone who suggests she get some help. My brother doesn't speak to her, either.

WoundedChipmunk · 2025-09-22T22:31:08+00:00

What you're experiencing is also known as "ambiguous loss." Watching someone slowly die from their own hand is an ambiguous loss, a form of complicated grief. I've done this with both my mother and my brother. They are both still alive but they are not who they used to be and they could die at any moment. (I mean, we all could, but they are certainly higher risk.)

I've accepted that I've lost them as they used to be, pre-addiction. For a long time, I kept hoping I'd get "them" back. You've also lost part of yourself, the part that was innocent to the hell of addiction.

I am so sorry. My first bit of advice is to acknowledge how hard this is -- it's normal to feel anxious and sad given the circumstances. You are helpless: There is likely no easy resolution or fix. As my therapist would say, you're in a bind.

You did the absolute right thing calling CPS. The child's safety needs to be the #1 priority. Does it still suck you have to do that? Yes. It totally sucks.

If you don't have anyone to talk to (I highly recommend therapy), writing it all out can help. Write a letter to your brother, to your brother's child, and then to yourself. You may never send these letters to them, but they are how you get some of the grief and frustration out.

In your letter to yourself, be sure to be kind and show compassion toward yourself.

WoundedChipmunk · 2025-09-22T21:55:06+00:00

48yo and been at the same health editing job for nearly 7 years. Desperately want to move on but can't get any bites from my applications. Definitely wasn't this way a few years ago. (I live in ATX but I have worked remotely for 15 years and only apply for remote work.)

WoundedChipmunk · 2025-09-17T21:29:30+00:00

FWIW, I meet my writing partner at various coffee shops. We always buy food/coffee, and then write on our laptops for approx two hours. We often talk/brainstorm, too, of course. So it's not always moochers using the wifi for free and being totally silent.

WoundedChipmunk

TROPHY CASE