Gmoney

May 20

Coming out of isolation

“We find ourselves doing and enjoying things that we never thought we would be doing.”

Active addiction kept us isolated for many reasons. In the beginning, we avoided family and friends so they wouldn’t find out we were using. Some of us avoided all nonaddicts, fearing moral backlash and legal repercussions. We belittled people who had “normal” lives with families and hobbies; we called them “uncool,” believing we could never enjoy the simple pleasures of life. Eventually, we even avoided other addicts because we didn’t want to share our drugs. Our lives narrowed, and our concerns were confined to the daily maintenance of our disease.

Today, our lives are much fuller. We enjoy activities with other recovering addicts. We have time for our families. And we’ve discovered many other pursuits that give us pleasure. What a change from the past! We can live life just as fully as the “normal” people we once scorned. Enjoyment has returned to our lives, a gift of recovery.


Just for today: I can find pleasure in the simple routines of daily living



Copyright © 1991-2008 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Gmoney

Happy, joyous and free!! The simple things in life: It's really cool to be a "square" today. Simplicity is really the key for me and I truly enjoy the gift of recovery! Thanks NA!!

Paulie

The more simple my life is the better

Isolation feeds my disease, working from home can be a scary thing for me if I am not careful.

2ala2

I used to make fun of people who frequented cafes.
I'm really big on cafes now,lol.

kj3880

So, so true...my world had shrunk to my supply, my bedroom, and going to work just to make more money to keep it all going. I did as little as possible outside of that and thought I would never enjoy anything once I got clean. How wrong I was. I'm much happier now. I've been spending time with my son, quilting, writing, and painting again. I've even begun learning to draw with pen and ink. And I'm making friends, something I never knew how to do even before my active addiction developed. NA--IOU.
KJ

REZ

I can relate. When I was using drugs, I considered all the non-users to be uncool, and I didn't enjoy life much unless I had drugs. I couldn't even go to a movie, a party, or any other fun event without getting high first. I can now see how twisted this thinking and behavior was, but at the time I thought I was cool .

Africa Life

I think that this JFT was written with me in mind.

I think it goes to show just how similar us addicts are. If only this knowledge got to the budding addict before hand then we could have been spared from ourselves. Such is the nature of this self centered disease that we probably wouldnt/couldnt have even heard it if it had been given to us when we were in the midst of it.

Thanks for letting me share.