Originally Posted by
Dee74 
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It may seem like a huge leap leaving a lot of your old life behind...but you're not alone...we understand - and we are proof it can be done.
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D
Exactly that.
When I first went along to AA I thought / hoped that they'd tell me I wasn't a proper alcoholic and send me back out with the magic key to moderation so I could drink 'normally' (which I now realise isn't something that I ever wanted to do anyway). I was gutted when they told me 'Just don't drink, one day at a time, then get a sponsor and work the steps'.
"But what am I supposed to, y'know... DOOOO???" I asked. I couldn't envisage living without alcohol. In my view at the time, drinking was not even just what I did. It was who I WAS!
I now know that many of us feel fearful that once drinking is removed, we'll disappear, like the hole in a polo mint. We don't. It's more a case of gradually removing all the bits of us that AREN'T us. We're like shiny magnets that've been dragged through the junk-yard of life. We look at ourselves and see the junk. But that shiny magnet is still under there, and as we piece by piece deal with, and remove the junk, we start catching a glimpse of ourselves without it, we're given hope, and then we're motivated to keep going.
The thing is, it isn't The End. It's a new chapter. The beginning of a life without wreckage. The beginning of a life that can, with work on our recovery, be one not ruled by anxiety, depression, guilt or shame. The beginning of a life where we will learn how to deal with problems, and face them, rather than hiding our heads under the imagined safety of the fluffy alcohol blanket.
You can do . If you want to. It's not always easy, but it's most definitely worth it.