I, Ryan, suffer from chronic residual pain from my head to my toes, which over time resulted in getting major depression and anxiety. Also, having suffered many blows to the head resulting in several probable concussions, it has done a number on my memory and focus. To compound the issues, for 20 years I drank heavily to help me in trying to ignore the pain and override depression and anxiety. This resulted in becoming addicted to alcohol; however, on a positive note I just hit 4 years sobriety in June of 2020.
One thing I started to do several years ago to help clear my head was to paint. While I am not very good, it as a few hours to just release any stress, anxiety or issues that were consuming my thoughts and my life. To increase the effectiveness, I began painting things for other people. While many probably tossed them in the trash (which would be for good cause) it helped me to focus joy and gratitude in my work.
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