Originally Posted by
slayingthedrago 
today is day 12 and I've had an epiphany while reading posts here on SR. I am slightly embarressed as it seems fairly obvious but here it is nonetheless. My last go at sobriety (2014/2015) lasted 6 months and during that time I was happy that I was sober and life WAS richer and deeper. However, I made the mistake of thinking that just the fact that I wasn't drinking, that i was going to be fulfilled and that there weren't going to be any problems or sadness or anxiety. I never connected the dots that drinking avoided all of that and only by being sober were we able to take on "life" with clear eyes. Stress and sadness weren't going to go away, emptiness wasn't going to go away. They were there, and that was a whole other discussion. That was my simplistic, alcoholic, easy way out thinking at the time. "hey, this whole sobriety thing isn't working, I'm still feeling stress and longing". Getting sober is really just the first 1/2 of the equation. No wonder I relapsed- dumb, dumb, dumb. : )
Not dumb. Just alcoholic.
It's the same pattern followed by - well pretty much all of us.
No need to give yourself the negative self-talk.
You're back here. You see clearly. You know that recovery and sobriety mean keeping your head in the game. You know that it's more than just 'not drinking'. You've learned more about your own patterns and your own issues and your own emotions.
You're better armed than you were before.
You're alive, you're sober, you're here.
We can do this!