JFRUIT

I am new to SR and on day 93 of total sobriety. I have enjoyed the support and feedback tremendously. My DOC is crack cocaine and my belief is I need to be sober from all substances, weed, alchol etc. However I have noticed in a few relaspe articles that a person was sober for 9 months had a little weed which is not there DOC but continued to count sober days from the 9 month.

Should any substance count or is only your DOC the measurement.

Dime

People count their days in different manners. What really counts is not putting any substances into your body period.

I cannot afford to risk putting a new substance in my body to alter how I feel. I have seen many many people get off one substance, try a new one and become addicted to the new substance.

There are exceptions to this but the vast majority of us cannot.

Jersey Nonny

I am an alcoholic...however, my three adult children are addicts (even though they drank occasionally). My recovery is through AA, my kids through a combination of NA and AA. We all are of the same mind...a drug is a drug is a drug. Our recoveries, we believe, depend on total abstinence of all mood altering substances. It works for us!

Congrats on your strong start...good luck on continued sobriety. Keep asking questions.

freeflyin

to thine ownself be true

least

How you measure your clean/sober time is up to you. I think most of us count sobriety by how long since we've used any mind-altering substance. But to me, it's up to the individual as to how they count their clean/sober time. Besides, my sober time is my business, just as someone else's sober time is their business. I'm too busy minding my own business to mind anyone else's...

Aysha

This topic comes up every so often.
I believe it is ultimately up to you. It is YOUR time.
My DOC is crack too. But if I have a wine cooler once in a great while. I do not consider that a relapse. Nor would I with pot.
But thats just me.
I consider my clean time down the toilet when I hit that stem.
Now if I were to go off the deep end on another drug. Then I would consider it a relapse.
There is such a wide spectrum here.

I say whatever you think.

ChameleonBoy

Maybe we should call it clean and sober date? Personally if I were to do any mind altering drug I would start over but if someone else doesn't see it that way it's really none of my business.Not my problem. Whatever works for you.

Firehazard

For me alcohol is my DOC but as I have been on the sober/spiritual path I have run ins with other substances: cigaretts, cytalophram(anti-anxiety), and the subtle foe Marijuana. Once the first principle of honesty began to work on me I started to feel that cigarettes and the anti-depressants were keeping me from facing some core anxieties/fears in my life. I ended up at different times using the first three steps on those and they are gone. It was not a pleasant experience and it forced me to trust HP completely. The weed was a different story and once I smoked it I was drinking again shortly after so I learned the hard way and made it back. Looking back now it was all meant to be and they (cigs and anti-dep) helped me thru some rough spots. It is so true and poweful what they said in print in april 1939--"FIRST THINGS FIRST"

joedris

I would consider the consumption of any non-prescribed mood altering drug to be a relapse. But that's me.

Dee74

My advice is to not worry about what anyone else does.
Do what you think is right

D

NewBeginning010

I will have to go with Dee on this one /\ (again)

smacked

Because I have at one point or another abused most things that can be.. I live by a very stringent definition of clean and sober for myself. My sobriety is the only one I'm responsible for..

JFRUIT

Thanks everybody for your words of wisdom, for me it has to be total abstinence from substances or it will ultimately progress back to my DOC

123bubblegum123

I used to use abusing other substances other than my DOC as excuses to just end right back up at my DOC. Everyone is free to define "sobriety" however they see fit, however, sobriety does technically mean abstaining from all substances. I know my local AA/NA would not approve of abusing anything mind altering. I personally struggle a lot with the temptation to smoke pot or drop a little acid, and my immediate reaction is to fluff it off and denounce it as okay, however, when I talk it through with someone else who knows me well, I always come back to the same conclusion: avoid anything mind-altering.

geothinkah

I'm with you Jfruit. A drug is a drug is a drug. They all lead me to take a drink and that I am completely powerless over. I'd be off and running again. Living a life of the living dead. Knocking on death's door. No Thanks... I'm doing much better since I've become clean & sober.