I have been alarmed by the number of threads where members who are in early (sometimes very early) recovery, are talking about going to bars and going to liquor stores.
I believe I was lucky because I understood from the outset that stopping drinking was only the beginning, the tip of the iceberg. I knew I needed to make so many changes in my life, I wasn't even sure where to start, but I knew changes needed to happen. Again, I believe I was lucky because so much had fallen away in my life, and I was finally able to hear my soul and to know that I had to change my path.
In my experience, drinking is the symptom. It is the underlying issues that cause us to drink or use drugs or engage in other addictive behaviour.
When I finally stopped drinking, I was a mess. I was very vulnerable, depressed, lost, and on the verge of losing my family and my health. I couldn't afford to not make it work. If you continue with the same behaviour, same hangouts, same friends, same activities, it's going to be darn near impossible to have long-term sobriety.
Give yourself the gift of recovery.
