heartcore

so·ber
ˈsōbər
adjective
adjective: sober; comparative adjective: soberer; superlative adjective: soberest
1. not affected by alcohol; not drunk.

serious, sensible, and solemn.
"a sober view of life"

free from alcoholism; not habitually drinking alcohol.

muted in color.
"a sober gray suit"

heartcore

PS. Didn't post the above to be snarky - I know we use the word in many ways amongst ourselves - I just got curious about the dictionary definition...

And, even though I don't drink alcohol, or use drugs, I sure don't want to be "muted in color"!!!

dsmaxis10

I know a guy who smokes weed and takes magic mushrooms he keeps his sobriety date. I quess its up to the person to decide but they say to thine own self be true.

RobbyRobot

I think we all realize relapses happen as an inside dynamic before the actual taking of a drug or alcohol. In fact, the drug / alcohol abuse happens as an end result of the internal conditions being setup for the external abuse.

Legality makes zero difference in defining if taking drugs invalidates ones sobriety. Plenty of drugs are legal enough and they can create a buzz. Alcohol itself is a legal drug.

I think it far more interesting to wonder how already damaging is the internal relapse which eventually leads to an abuse of drugs?

Mountainmanbob

to be honest here

seems like you may not be needing to take those ??

as far as others sobriety dates -- to each his own

Sponsors should only make (slight) recommendations regarding this date
the decision of the exact date lays on the Spouse's shoulders

MM

2muchpain

I have actually heard of sponsers that advise their sponsees to stop taking medications for bi-polar, depression, anxiety, etc. They consider them mind-altering drugs and a strong connection in a HP is all you need to stay sober and deal with everyday life. These sponsers are not just irresponsible but dangerous. I can't believe anybody would follow their advise, but some do.

totfit

Frankly I think anyone with 15 years of sobriety that has a sponsor that makes them do anything is missing something.

matt4x4

Doctor Bob was drinking when he was on his Step 5!!!! But he had it bad, shaking hands arent good for surgery, and he had to do surgery.

If you look at it these days, a doctor can prescribe you anything you want, heck even Weed they can give you. You can say legitametly that you have pain and the doc can give you a high powered pain killer. So its really a personal issue, are you 100% honest with your doctor, are you 100% honest with yourself. If you fall off a house and end up in the ER with some heavy duty pain killers, then so be it. I personally never had a problem with drugs, the only time I would ever take drugs is if I was drunk, and peer pressure led me to do it. Normally however if I was half coherent I would leave when the coke came out, or the shroom, acid, heroin, whatever. But Id stay around and drink more when the weed came out, maybe take a puff.

Complete Honesty
Rigerous Honesty

SunnyMe

I have 19 years and thank God every day that I have a sponsor who will give me a swift kick in the ass when I need it. And I do, on occasion.

Yes, IMO, drugs = relapse.

Greedy

Yeah thats the point. If I was taking them as prescribed for the reason they are prescribed, I would consider myself sober even though they are mood altering. For most people (normals), the fact that they are mood altering is a side effect. For me, the fact that they ease pain is a side effect.

I have three substances to kick, I havent had two of them this week, I intend to kick the third next week, at which point i will set a sobriety date.

concolor1

I eventually shaved a few months off my sobriety date because I smoked pot "to be social" after I'd started attending meetings and working the Steps.

Of course I was over five years sober before I fessed up. I can also say I wound up standing in front of a bar thinking how good a double Scotch would taste a few days after lighting up, and I'm really thankful I didn't get drunk (which would've been far worse).

This was in the early 80's, BTW (there I go again, playing the old-timer card), and people weren't taking about marijuana much back then. I have since watched those who've "worked a marijuana maintenance plan," and I don't want what they have, thank you.

I also broke my leg in an accident five years sober, and I was in the hospital for a week following surgery. I took the narcotic pain meds while was there, but by then I'd learned about my "addict brain," and the last night I was in the hospital, I said no; I realized I'd "been playing a game" in taking one, and then two more a few hours later. I went with straight Tylenol that last night; it's great for such pain, and I didn't fill the hydrocodone prescription they'd given me.

I've taken anti-depressants once in my thirty-plus years of continuous sobriety; I went toxic after five weeks, but I reserve that option if that level of depression returns (and if you've been depression-free in sobriety, I'd say count yourself lucky). The simple rule is, "If it's sold on the streets, it's not safe, period."

And I don't do a lot of sponsorship these days, but I'm certain I would "fire" someone if they though marijuana was okay. That doesn't go for prescribed drugs in general, such as anti-psychotics or bipolar treatments; clearly the medical view is the sedative-hypnotics are not safe for people like us, and there's enough good information out there to make informed judgments.

miamifella

I remember one meeting chair who used to have a joint before the meeting.

And the people who thought this was just fine.

Never underestimate the power of addiction.