RE 587: Schedule What?

Today we have Will. He is 32 years old, lives in Allenstown, NH and took his last drink on October 5th, 2019. This episode is brought to you by: Sign up and get 10% off: Better Help Café RE – THE social app for sober people Bozeman 2026 – August 12th-16th, 2026 [06:22] Paul introduces Will: Will is 32 years old, lives in New Hampshire and works for the US Postal Service. Will enjoys writing, watching films, hiking and traveling. Will grew up in a strict, religious household. From middle school through high school, Will did homeschooling which left him feeling like he didn't really have any friends. By the time he was 15 or 16, he felt like he was missing out on a lot of life experiences. Will moved out of home with his brother when he turned 18 and says this is when his partying began as a way to make up for lost time. Will began working in the food service industry and says it was his first taste of life outside of the religious bubble he had grown up in. While he had a level of social anxiety that kept him out of nightclubs and things of that nature, his brother enjoyed the nightlife and typically had alcohol in the house which Will would drink by himself. Between the ages of 19 and 21, Will had found some friends he calls kindred spirits in that they were all creative and a little nerdy. He says his life was simple back then: go to work and then go hang out with his friends and play/watch video games while drinking. At 22, Will got a DUI. This was not enough to make him feel like he needed to stop drinking but he thought he should try moderating. The financial struggles after the DUI were hard on Will and he was beginning to feel like he screwed his life up already. Between ages 22 and 24, Will references them as his rock bottom years. He was losing friends due to his behavior when he drank and felt haunted by social failures and missing opportunities. Will tried going to therapy at 24 but didn't address his drinking at all. The anxiety and depression were crippling, and he began having suicidal ideations. Wil