In July of last year I wrote a blog entry about why I should not drink, and I deleted it the next day. I saw that that entry got over 60 views that day which is by far the most of any of my blog entries. Several family members recommended I delete it, and I got a few emails of concern from friends. So I deleted that entry quickly, but now I think writing about it in a different way will be therapeutic and hopefully people will understand and respect my reasons for being sober.
First of all my situation is different from alcoholics. I am not an alcoholic, and I’ve never woken up in the morning needing to drink. I’m unique because I’ve been on a maintenance dose of a medication ever since I had a break down when I was seventeen. I had a total of 3 breakdowns and the last one being at age 20. Since I had more than one break down I’ll most likely be on this medication for life. For a long time I thought I wouldn’t write about my mental health experiences on this blog, but I’ve been inspired by a former bookstore coworker who is writing her memoirs on a blog about what she went through. I think writing about my mental health experiences on my blog will add depth and honesty to my writing. I do have a lot of thoughts on the subject of mental health.
As an adult I’ve gone through times of binge drinking in an attempt at a social life, and periods of sobriety. I’ve always associated a night out in bars as what people do, how people interact. If you want to know people you need to go out to bars. Drinking never caused a breakdown in me, but I’ve always had a restraint from that possibility. I’ve never gone on a bender, or drank for multiple days in a row. Also I showed restraint with drugs from what I went through. If I never got sick in my early adult years I probably would have gotten more involved with partying. So I’m sure that my sickness made me stronger and more responsible in a lot of ways. I’ve accomplished a lot and in general I’m a good person. But I don’t think I’ve reached my potential yet.
To reach my potential, I need to break the mold of associating fun with drinking. If every doctor I talk to suggests I never drink, I should believe the reasons are serious enough. The major reason would be that I never want to experience a breakdown again, but also a medication ‘cocktail’ with alcohol might be doing serious damage to my body. Also in April 2009 I passed out while standing up and hit my head from drinking. After doing that I was completely sober for more than a year. That year from April 2009 to about May 2010 I progressed professionally at work, with skating, and other parts of my life improved. So for me from that recent period of not drinking it’s an easy decision to stop now.
People that do not take medication are different from me. Because of this condition I am different from the majority of people my age. I need to start to accept my differences and act as an individual instead of trying to fit in.
Mallisonwhat's Blog 
Your honesty shines through on this blog-loved it!
Thanks Jasmin!