Yesterday was a day..

Let’s just jump right in.

Family drama. The kind that makes your heart race and your hands itch for a glass of wine before you even realize you’ve opened the fridge.

It was that kind of day. The kind of day that, not long ago, would’ve had me saying, “Well, after that conversation, I’ve earned this.” A heavy pour. A numbing. A temporary vacation from feeling.

But I don’t use alcohol anymore.

So instead, I practiced something I’ve been learning: craving acknowledgment. I heard a saying recently—“What we resist, persists.” And I felt that yesterday. The more I tried to push away the craving or tell myself it was wrong to feel it, the louder it got. Like a 5-year-old asking for ice cream on repeat.

But here’s the thing: emotions, like that kid, don’t last forever. The urge might yell for a while, but it can’t buy the ice cream. I’m the one with the power. I don’t give in, and eventually, the voice quiets down and moves on.

Same with my craving. Same with my anger. Same with the sting of hurtful words that sparked the whole spiral.

I sat with it. I reminded myself that what I was feeling didn’t mean I needed to drink. And guess what? It passed. It always does.

And when it did I realized: that was a win. A real one.

Because if I could make it through that…I can make it through anything.

-Casey