There’s a popular phrase in Recovery Circles that most Alcoholics and most Introverts can probably identify with: being “Comfortable in your own skin”. It’s a good thing, something to be aimed for in life. It can also sound like a curse or an accusation to the shy, the awkward, the ashamed and the afflicted.

What I knew for sure when I walked into my first meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous is that I wasn’t. Hell, I didn’t even feel comfortable in most of the clothes I owned, let alone my own skin and as much as I fought the idea, and rationalised, and justified, and blamed, and judged I knew this was part of the problem. You see, I’ll tell you a secret…someone like me – warped and flawed as I secretly was – well I would never be able to be comfortable in my own skin. Mine wasn’t a…