30Sober

Have you overcome your addiction to evolve into a "stronger" person?

I always look for meaning in things.

Please let there be a reason for this...

Anna

Absolutely, definitely, it's both.

I wouldn't wish this disease on anybody and yet, I am grateful for what it has given to me.

JoeStrummer

Good thread idea. I'm just a few days shy of 60 days sober and definitely feel like a better person. I have spent lots of time examining myself and without being drunk or hung over have found myself improving in many ways. I'm more honest, more patient with my kids and co-workers and more sensitive to both my own feelings and those of other people. I'll never know how I would have turned out if I had never had my addiction, and I can't change the past, but I can honestly say now that I like the person who I am becoming without the alcohol. I'm flawed, and always will be, but it feels great to be improving rather than sinking. I agree with Anna, it's both a curse and a gift.

LaFemme

I believe it is a blessing. For me everything happens for a reason even when we can't always see what it is.

Yes I spent years in hell...but only because of that hell was I prepared to do the work necessary to become the person I am becoming.

Everyone has there own personal cross to bear...this is mine....if I did not have this I might have something worse.

TheTinMan

Cursed to have the disease but blessed to be sober. And I needed every drink I had and needed that last terrible hangover to get me to this point I'm at now.

Not sure whether I believe we were predestined to become alcoholics but I do believe that we were mentally defective and we drink because of that defectiveness.

Boleo

It's what we make of it.

It can be a cross to bear if you look at it from the perspective of a victim.

It can be an opportunity to grow if you look at it from the perspective of a student.

"In this life pain is inevitable but suffering is optional".

Dee74

I had to go through all I did to get where I am...and I like where I am

D

ACT10Npack

I wish I never using alcohol to avoid my problems but I can't change it. Still have to work on getting my life back. Much harder now that the economic is so bad now. At this point, it's a curse. I have learn some stuff about me but would go through it for the experience.

GettingStronger2

Anna said it perfectly for me. I wouldn't want anyone to have to go through this disease, but I am grateful to be an alcoholic. It has brought me to where I am today. And as Dee said, I like where I am today.

SomethingBetter

For millions if not billions or more years the stars positioned, collided and died... That can't be changed, just one thing happening different may have changed everything.

I can't change the past but can reflect on it to become a better person, I think I'm exactly were I am supposed to be.

A blessing for sure...

artsoul

Both..... It takes time to see the blessing part, though. No one wants to change - it's uncomfortable. It's hard to let go of what's familiar (even if it's hurting us) because we have to go through a period of limbo before we're on new, solid ground.

I had to trust what others said: it will get better, one day at a time. I'm still working on it, but I feel better knowing that I'm headed in the right direction.

Ranger

For many alcoholics a lasting, happy life of sobriety requires development of an attitude, self-awareness, and mental upkeep regimen that would greatly enrich the life of most any non-addict.

My brother grew up in the same house and was subjected to the same stressors that played a huge role in my alcoholism. Although he is not an addict, there are undesirable elements of his personality that are obvious artifacts from our upbringing. Although these elements have a significant negative impact on his personal life, he refuses to recognize them. In contrast, my recovery has forced me to "go there". In this respect, my alcoholism has been a blessing. Outside of recovery, I would have continued to live my life oblivious to these demons and their impacts on my personality/character.

EmeraldRose

First I had to develop into a person...a person of clarity and no barriers holding me down with a crutch -then develop into a stronger person that can handle lifes challenges and overcome hurdles by means of coping. There is no school for coping -it is a learned behavior that alot of us need to develop.
Being an independant and strong person my addiction has opened my strengths to not just realize them but to act on them.

I believe there IS a meaning behind everything...a reason. Things don't just happen to us. There is a reason, cause and reaction.

doggonecarl

I quit after a ten year battle with drugs--meth, pot, tranquilizers--and touted it as one of my greater accomplishments. Twenty years later I was snorting pain killers that were prescribed for my mother, who was dying of cancer.

Almost every day someone on this forum relapses, sometimes after years of extended sobriety.

It is best for me if I don't think I've overcome anything.

AmericanGirl

I have made peace with my experiences. Because it's out of my control, I don't really think about whether it's a blessing or a curse. It just is. If I could go back in time magically, would I try to do things differently? Yes, many of them. But is regret a part of my daily life? Non, je ne regret rien.

Zencat

Its a curse in one way that far to many people die in active addiction.

Its a blessing that I was able to live long enough to find a way out of active addiction. However I was tattered and battered when I did finally get out of addictions deadly grip. So much so that I am disabled. But, better broken that beaten down into the grave .

jessiecat777

me2....i won't go without a fight that's for sure!!!

JohnBarleycorn

I went through a similar questioning of "purpose" once before, on account of my sexual orientation. I used to wonder what the reason for it all was, in the existential sense.

Over time, I realized that it depends on how we choose to look at things. I could view it as a curse, yes, but on the other hand, it certainly did make me tougher than nails.

Those who view themselves as victims usually falter, while those who view their tribulations as an opportunity for growth usually come out ahead.

How you choose to view your addiction is up to you.

For my part, I always keep Nietzsche's maxim in mind: