Recovery

[Fluttering]

Hi everyone
I would like to hear what is important in your recovery and why.

Are you here for you , were you court invited, are you trying to save a relationsjhip, marriage?

What in recovery has helped you the most to string one day into another to have the sobriety time you have and what keeps you motivated?

For me not only is the women in recovery so important but it is women sharng from the heart what is going on and how they get thrugh the sticky situations. It is the women that have shared the most in strength and hope with me that has kept me motivated. The newcomers coming in have also kept me motivated because they tell me so often how it is still not workng out there and as they share that I am reminded of where i came from and I renew my commitment often to remain clean and sober one day at a time, no matter what! So may i hear from you all on that topic?

[Rowan]

Good thread, Butterfly.

I came in (I thought) because I did the one thing on my 'list of things I would never do' - I slept with a married man.

I stayed because I found people in AA who understood the isms of this disease: fear, insecurity, spiritual bankruptcy, and for me, a history of half-hearted suicide attempts.

I'd never been a 'joiner' - if I wasn't good at something naturally, I never joined. I was a great starter, and an even better quitter. Anything I got involved in (book clubs, therapy groups, sports) I soon felt isolated from others and felt very very different. I never understood why.

For a long time after becoming sober, I still denied that I was an alcoholic, and that was what was fundamentally wrong with me. When I finally held on to that, and started doing what was suggested, I began to bloom.

I've still got a long way to go, but women in recovery are a big part of my life today. I still isolate a bit, but I get to my meetings, I connect with my sponsor, and I try to reach out to others. I've started a monthly meditation night for women in my home, and that has been gratifying.

Today I'm struggling through cognitive behavioural therapy, but it's something I'll stick with, no matter how much it hurts. I'll just keep on keeping on, and hope and pray that I can give back to others what I've experienced on this journey.

Rowan

[51anna]

I am here because SR is my lifeline.

I have been coming here most days, for years, and learning and sharing when possible.

I have met some of the best people I have ever known right here.

Of course, I think it takes work - physically, spiritually and emotionally every day to move forward in recovery.

[2stop]

I am here because I love the life I have now...........I used to dread every morning, pray to G-d to let me die, the first year on this site....it was sooo tough.......seemed impossible..............but there was lots of support, lots of friendship and unconditional acceptance....and people really believing in me.......cheered on my baby steps instead of demanding I take leaps and bounds and perform.....everyone here held my hand and helped guide me along.....I will forever be grateful.

A philosophy I have always held is this.............."I may have fallen a thousand times, BUT I have picked myself up a thousand and one".........that's all we can do really.....stand up again, and again, til we start standing longer and longer at one time! LOL........

recovery for em is LIVING before I die.I was soo busy dying in active addiction. I never knew how to live and it scared the crap out of me really.....now I enjoy every day........I am grateful for my life....no matter how tough it gets.and it gets really really tough.

My brother has been on a shroom trip all weekend............he kept me up half the night calling, hallucinating out of his mind..screaming at me to take my kids and go to the basement.and that he has known me a thousand years...and saying sh&*t like "I called the devil and satan sang".he had some weird music going in the background..........just totally messed up.usually he just drinks.......but now he is really getting wasted.it is sooo sad to watch...........breaks my heart....but I don't enjoy my recovery any less.MY suffering MORE will not make him suffer LESS.....so I just keep making the most out of every day.......help someone each day(including myself) I try to treat myself with the same kindness I show others.and I put one foot in front of the other...and carry on.......LOL..........LIFE...it can't be figured out, or put into one definitive definition................it is meant to BE LIVED......make the most of each moment.

[Fluttering]

Originally Posted by 2stop

I am here because I love the life I have now...........I used to dread every morning, pray to G-d to let me die, the first year on this site....it was sooo tough.......seemed impossible..............but there was lots of support, lots of friendship and unconditional acceptance....and people really believing in me.......cheered on my baby steps instead of demanding I take leaps and bounds and perform.....everyone here held my hand and helped guide me along.....I will forever be grateful.

A philosophy I have always held is this.............."I may have fallen a thousand times, BUT I have picked myself up a thousand and one".........that's all we can do really.....stand up again, and again, til we start standing longer and longer at one time! LOL........

recovery for em is LIVING before I die.I was soo busy dying in active addiction. I never knew how to live and it scared the crap out of me really.....now I enjoy every day........I am grateful for my life....no matter how tough it gets.and it gets really really tough.

My brother has been on a shroom trip all weekend............he kept me up half the night calling, hallucinating out of his mind..screaming at me to take my kids and go to the basement.and that he has known me a thousand years...and saying sh&*t like "I called the devil and satan sang".he had some weird music going in the background..........just totally messed up.usually he just drinks.......but now he is really getting wasted.it is sooo sad to watch...........breaks my heart....but I don't enjoy my recovery any less.MY suffering MORE will not make him suffer LESS.....so I just keep making the most out of every day.......help someone each day(including myself) I try to treat myself with the same kindness I show others.and I put one foot in front of the other...and carry on.......LOL..........LIFE...it can't be figured out, or put into one definitive definition................it is meant to BE LIVED......make the most of each moment.

Hi 2stop
Thank You for responding. You sound like you have a good foundation for the program and you are ready to build on and up. In regards to your brother---Place him on God's shoulders--what that does is it allows you to curl up in his lap an ask for comfort, rest, direction, whatever your needss are while knoing your brother is being welll cared for and looked after. One tid bit of caution though--You do not gt to lok up God;'s sleeve to see what he has planned. Just know your brother will be looked after and cared for and you continue on as you are doing. Sometimes you may be the only Big Book someone else will read. Which is why it is imortant to walk the talk and do the work.

Hugs and prayers

[indigo]

I came here when I thought my life was ending and that there was no hope for me...how wrong I was I'm sober clean and happy and I have made many fine friends who are always here for me and I hope that I too am here for them.

indigo

[Hallie]

Hi Mary.....Three years before I actually quit drinking, I had given up on even trying to quit. I had tryed and failed so many times. So I had accepted the fact that I couldn't guit and I was just eventually going to die from alcohol, be it by alcohol poisoning, being in dangerous situations, or my body just plain give out. On the last night I drank, I woke up the next morning, and I will never forget it. I made a decision that I wasn't going to live this way anymore.....If this was how the rest of my life would be, then I wasn't waiting for alcohol to kill me. What was the point in staying around one miserable day after another. As strange as it sounds, I was actually at peace with the thought of that, at least it was an end to the misery. But then the thought came to me that before I did such a drastic thing, I should at least find out what might be available to help me, and try everything I could find. Then if that doesn't work, at least I have tryed everthing possible. And that's what I did. I started counseling, anti-depressants, substance abuse classes, and AA. I haven't had a drink since.
Sorry that was so long winded......Remembering that morning helps keep me sober today, and grateful. Thank you so much......I needed that. How about you? What's your answer?

[Fluttering]

Hi Hallie
You are not long winded. We share what is in our hearts. I am so glad you took your decision one step further to explore other options and found us. I truly hope and pray you will choose to remain with us. "We are not a glum lot" The program is simple but it certainly is not easy and then life hits us. Getting a good solid foundation in the program and getting a strong support systm there where you are will help withthose life situations that hit us out of the blue. I cannot stress the importance of the support sytem strong enough

If you have had those thoughts in the past ofending it all--it is even more important for you. Please get a sponsor and get some people you can trust on your speed dial. Also know I am rootig for you and you are now on my prayer list. I would like for us to be buddies. That means I will always be here for you. Anytime you need to chat and in this forum you will find many many women that are strong and wise. I know they will be here for you as well.
I will send you a private message with my email adress and phone #

Love you being here and I love you and God loves you too