Latest / Dits & Dahs / the double depletion of substance abuse
Transcript
- Sue: I'm thinking this morning about the effect of having ⁓ been married to someone who had a substance abuse problem and from the observational view of a spouse seeing the degeneration of the physical body over the time that we were together. And the depletion of finances from the wallet. You have these parallel depletions happening and then It's because you have had this mindset of while the money was coming in in terms of the income, everybody wasn't felt entitled to enjoy the alcohol of their choice and the amount that they wished, in my husband's case. And life went on like that. And when the finances depleted, speaking about my specific life four years ago when my job was eliminated at a public media broadcaster, and then we eventually became destitute. Now the money's not coming in, but the habit and the substance abuse is still happening and it's happening at a greater growth expansion than it did in previous years. Slow and steady, but you know, higher grade booze and the idea that you can be generous with having more rounds and such. At the same time, in my husband's case, he was gaining weight. And as someone who was very active as a walker and a hiker and professionally woodworking is sort of a very physical activity, all of those things slowed down. So then the health really starts to take a dive. But you continue on. You revamp what you can't afford to drink, confirmation by Rita, and you move forward with your life. And at the very end of my husband's health of his life, he stopped drinking the hard stuff and only concentrated on hard cider. He gave up the the brandy and the cognac mostly. Gave up on that really very close to the end of his life. And so why I am sharing this is simply for the fact that when you recognize that you yourself or are the partner of a relationship where someone is abusing a substance and it doesn't have to be alcohol, it could be work habits, et cetera. The depletion happens in sort of two realms of your life, intellectually as well as physically, in the case of maybe finances. And you start to see that you have to be able to repair that damage or stop the flow of the outlays as quickly as possible in your life, earlier than later. Not saying you end the relationship. I'm maybe you do in one case or two, but the idea here is being aware that in the long term, the longer that's let to happen, the more difficult it will be in your life. At a time perhaps financially, it would have been nice to have had a nest egg to help me through these lean times while I figure out what my new income is to be. In my view, if you become aware that you're in a situation where you have somebody that is weakened by an abuse of a substance of any kind. And while you might be earning a good living right now, it's that opportunity to set some money aside for the future. Perhaps only on an account for yourself. If you're of mind to do so, I think that's a good idea. And understand while you're doing this, that your opportunity to eat a more sustainable, cheaper, nutritionally based food system is yours to conquer as well. 'Cause then it's easier to say. It's not cutting everything out, it's just the idea that you're being more mindful about where the money is and around you. There is likely to be a time in your life where all the things that you were accustomed to having with ease are no longer as easily available for whatever reason. And in this society, having access to cash, I think, is essential. What that amount is for you is yours to figure out. I like having a leeway of a nest egg that's worth about a year of how I am currently living to survive. I'm not even close to that. But that's the type of goal that I've set. Because the older you get, the better you are at what you do, but the opportunities are fewer. So if you have no way to reasonably live comfortably and to plan for it when you're younger by saving or spending less than you earn, it may make life difficult for you. From this place in your life now forty years down the road, or wherever that is, milestone for retirement. I should I say retirement of the age when other people are not as interested in keeping you on their teams as an employee. Just because you're of of an older generation. Meaning I gotta get back to work. Thanks for stopping by and having a share in the energy. I I really do appreciate you. Thanks for listening.