Thread: What to expect?
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Old 08-08-2012, 05:33 PM
  # 4 (permalink)  
lightseeker
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Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 1,691
Hi and welcome.....

if you are new to this I can imagine how worried you are about the future. There really is no way to know what to expect and that creates anxiety.

Does the program where she is have a friends/family program? Maybe getting to some Alanon meetings would help you as well. Those meetings are not about how to help your addicted loved one but how to help yourself in the situation that you are in.

The thing that will help both of you the most is to learn what this is all about....sobriety, recovery, addiction, and the role that we as loved ones play in the whole mix.

Newly sober addicts are told to focus on their recovery. Anything that they put ahead of their recovery is something that they will likely end up losing in the long run. She will need her recovery community when she gets out. Unfortunately, that is not you. She will hopefully be spending time with her sponsor, getting to know other people in recovery, and going to meetings.

I went through my husbands first year of sobriety with him and realized that I could expect very little from him. Our lifestyle changed drastically but it had to if he was going to stay sober. The thing that helped me the most was getting really active in Alanon and Naranon....there were people there that understand what I was going through and had a lot of experience, strength, and hope to share.

A great place to start learning about what the future may hold is with the sticky's at the top of the forum. I know it's really easy to skip them or feel like they don't apply but they are full of really helpful information.

Just wanted to welcome you and let you know that you are not alone....
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