It's not about shame. And as long as it doesn't matter to you that some people probably will be put off by your revelation and won't have any significant affect on you going forward.
If I was in your position I probably wouldn't give it a second thought either -if I was retired- because should I admit to having some sort of drug or alcohol issue it would definitely affect my business. People are opinionated and they're going to judge and they'll say things like "Oh I wouldn't dive with that company it's run by a recovering drug addict" or words to that effect.
I am very close to someone who is a recovering alcoholic, she goes to the meetings almost every morning, I've gone to an Al-Anon meeting myself, so I get it. I'm not judging. But others will.
Since you've chosen to focus on a tiny piece of my original post and make this about my malady...
I wouldn't really want to do business with anyone that was that judgmental anyway - so no loss at all.
I lost some valuable and cherished clients while I was in the midst of my struggle, my business suffered tremendously during that time because I wasn't present and I was toxic. It was and still is painful at times. Some have come back, some haven't. I see others while they are here and we give each other hugs even though they now dive with other shops. And then there are those clients who were incredibly toxic, like cancer, but I couldn't see it (water seeks it's own level) until I got into recovery, so I let THEM go - as in I fired them as clients because they were so toxic and nasty which made room for new healthy clients. With that said, I've gained some amazing new clients and I am pretty sure I will continue to do so.
The fact that I'm very active in my recovery and have over 6 years clean and sober is something I am very proud of (but the real credit goes to God) and is woven into the thread of me AND my business, so it IS relevant in the grand scheme of things and in my announcement. Active recovery is not just attending meetings by the way, a lot more work has to be done to obtain and maintain real recovery. Recovery is literally a daily reprieve contingent upon daily vigilance and work. By the Grace of God the obsession to drink or pop a pill is gone for me, neither has been my "go to" for any reason for a long time - but the moment I forget that I am an alcoholic or addict (in recovery) I will be worse off than I was when I hit the gates of hell 6+ years ago. And nope, I'm still not perfect and never will be - but I can works towards that end. I'm sorry you haven't had the blessing of witnessing the miracles of true recovery. I live in faith instead of fear and I'm pretty certain that as I continue putting empathy, compassion, kindness, open mindedness, willingness and humility into the equation, I'll not only survive, but thrive. I don't get to keep what I don't share and give away. But as you say, you've been to AN (meaning a single) Al-Anon meeting, so yeh, you get it - ok, gotcha.
I'll take my chances and continue to carry the message that if a "drunk like me" could recover from the cunning, baffling and powerful disease of addiction and live the amazing life I'm living, then there is hope for ANYONE out there who is still struggling. There is so much hope, an so much help and so much grace in surrendering and asking for help.
Keep coming back and don't leave before the miracle happens.
Again thanks for sharing
