4 Years today thanks to SoberRecovery and taking it one day at a time
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Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Los Angeles, CA
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4 Years today thanks to SoberRecovery and taking it one day at a time
I want to post here and share with this forum since I started my journey on this newcomers forum.
I just celebrated my 4 years of Sobriety, Thanks to this website and the 12 step programs. I never thought I would get through even one day, let alone one year.
(I apologize for saying "I" so much, but I am not sure how else I can share my story, without using this word
)
How it was:
I drank, Smoked and Used. I Suffered from depression, substances were a way for me to try and escape from myself. Of course it only worked very temporarily. Soon what went up came, down. I was stuck in the endless cycle of seeking relief, which unfortunately lead to feeling even lower then when I started.
Freedom:
I joined this website and posted on the Newcomers thread, It was suggested that I go to a meeting. What the heck is a "meeting" and why the heck would I want to go to sit around and feel uncomfortable. Needless to say, I reluctantly went to a meeting, I did not want to go but I honestly was ready to find a new way to live and I know my answers were no longer working for me. Many times in life the stuff that I don't want to do is the stuff I need to do.
I raised my hand as a newcomer and was approached by a old timer after the meeting. He gave me his card and told me to call him. I did not know why he wanted me to call him, I thought it was weird, but I wanted to change and I wanted to get off the train to nowhere. I called this person I met and he invited me to another meeting the next day, and then the next. He offered to be my temporary sponsor and to work the steps with.
I still was unsure about the whole "Step" thing but I read the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous and figured I should give it a try since I know of many people who have found relief and happiness from the program.
I gave it a try and quickly we began working the steps and reading the book together. I went to one meeting each day if I could, I called someone every day. I shared my story with others, I learned that many people have much crazier stories then me. I realized that I could easily have had a crazier story if I continued to drink and use. Each one of us has a place on Skid Row reserved if we continue to drink and use, at some point it will lead us there. Some get there faster then others. I was lucky to have gotten off the train to nowhere when I did.
Dealing with the "God" aspect of 12 Steps.
Try not to get hung up on the word. It is God of our understanding, weather that is a person with a white beard sitting on a throne or the Moon is up to you. Bottom line for me was realizing that I do not "run the world" and I alone have not been able to give up using. I meditated and asked the great spirit, the universe, the energy that causes our hearts to beat, I asked for guidance, I asked for Relief from addictions and alcohol.
As long as I continue to not take another drink or pill no matter what, to work hard, to exercise at least 15 minutes a day, to help others and to make amends for my past mistakes, I know that one day at a time I can stay sober and have a better life then I had before.
Depression: I suffer from depression. Sometimes 15 minutes of Exercise a day or eating healthy food does not "cure" depression. I needed to seek the counsel of a Medical Doctor who specializes in Addiction as well as a therapist. There is nothing to be ashamed of in this. Thankfully now I am at a time where if I exercise every day for at least 15 minutes I no longer need medication, but this is not always the case and has certainly not always been the case.
Thanks for letting me share.
I truly believe that every one of us here, is here for a reason, otherwise we would not be "wasting our time" with a addiction recovery forum.
If someone truly wants to change there lives and wants to give up Alcohol or Drugs, then there is no better time to be alive in then today. We have more free resources and meetings available then ever before in the History of Mankind. As much as I used to think I knew everything, I needed to quickly give up that mindset since it is our minds thinking that we are "Kings of the world" which leads us to use and abuse our bodies, since we think we are indestructible until it is too late.
If we are still using we should know that the Icebergs are floating in the Sea and that we are a large ship traveling in the darkness, if we continue to use, we can strike a iceberg and sink fast at any moment in time.
This website serves as a radio warning to us, We can avoid the obstacles in our paths as long as we give up Alcohol and Drugs.
Our minds will play tricks on us and try and tell us, we can "Moderate" our drinking. We don't really have a problem.... etc. etc. Ultimatley we know exactly where that thinking gets us, back onto the roller coaster of using. How many times do we need to make the same mistakes over and over before we realize that there is another way.
I needed to write down on a piece of paper, Why I wanted to give up using. Anytime I thought that I wanted to drink and use again, I would refer to the paper and remind myself why I wanted to give up using.
We Humans forget things very fast, which is why even if we have years and years of Sobriety we need to constantly be on guard because if we forget about why we wanted to give up using, we soon might be tempted to go back down that dark road again.
I thank you for being here for me, 4 years I have been free and I can only do it with your help and with taking it one hour, one day at a time. My life is so much better now then it ever was while using or drinking.
Thank you for being you.
I wish you only the best.
If you are new here, please give Sobriety as much of your energy as you gave to using. It takes much less effort to stay sober then to Use. It's true. It really is. It's not easy, but life is a lot easier when you don't have to worry about Jail, DUI's, CPS, getting Fired for drinking, Cars getting Towed away, Waking up hung over, BlackOuts, sleeping around with the wrong people while under the influence, etc. That is all hard stuff to deal with each and every day.
Staying sober, removes all those hardships and leaves me with just needing to deal with the normal "Life" day to day stuff, which is hard enough on it's own
I just celebrated my 4 years of Sobriety, Thanks to this website and the 12 step programs. I never thought I would get through even one day, let alone one year.
(I apologize for saying "I" so much, but I am not sure how else I can share my story, without using this word
)How it was:
I drank, Smoked and Used. I Suffered from depression, substances were a way for me to try and escape from myself. Of course it only worked very temporarily. Soon what went up came, down. I was stuck in the endless cycle of seeking relief, which unfortunately lead to feeling even lower then when I started.
Freedom:
I joined this website and posted on the Newcomers thread, It was suggested that I go to a meeting. What the heck is a "meeting" and why the heck would I want to go to sit around and feel uncomfortable. Needless to say, I reluctantly went to a meeting, I did not want to go but I honestly was ready to find a new way to live and I know my answers were no longer working for me. Many times in life the stuff that I don't want to do is the stuff I need to do.
I raised my hand as a newcomer and was approached by a old timer after the meeting. He gave me his card and told me to call him. I did not know why he wanted me to call him, I thought it was weird, but I wanted to change and I wanted to get off the train to nowhere. I called this person I met and he invited me to another meeting the next day, and then the next. He offered to be my temporary sponsor and to work the steps with.
I still was unsure about the whole "Step" thing but I read the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous and figured I should give it a try since I know of many people who have found relief and happiness from the program.
I gave it a try and quickly we began working the steps and reading the book together. I went to one meeting each day if I could, I called someone every day. I shared my story with others, I learned that many people have much crazier stories then me. I realized that I could easily have had a crazier story if I continued to drink and use. Each one of us has a place on Skid Row reserved if we continue to drink and use, at some point it will lead us there. Some get there faster then others. I was lucky to have gotten off the train to nowhere when I did.
Dealing with the "God" aspect of 12 Steps.
Try not to get hung up on the word. It is God of our understanding, weather that is a person with a white beard sitting on a throne or the Moon is up to you. Bottom line for me was realizing that I do not "run the world"
and I alone have not been able to give up using. I meditated and asked the great spirit, the universe, the energy that causes our hearts to beat, I asked for guidance, I asked for Relief from addictions and alcohol. As long as I continue to not take another drink or pill no matter what, to work hard, to exercise at least 15 minutes a day, to help others and to make amends for my past mistakes, I know that one day at a time I can stay sober and have a better life then I had before.
Depression: I suffer from depression. Sometimes 15 minutes of Exercise a day or eating healthy food does not "cure" depression. I needed to seek the counsel of a Medical Doctor who specializes in Addiction as well as a therapist. There is nothing to be ashamed of in this. Thankfully now I am at a time where if I exercise every day for at least 15 minutes I no longer need medication, but this is not always the case and has certainly not always been the case.
Thanks for letting me share.
I truly believe that every one of us here, is here for a reason, otherwise we would not be "wasting our time" with a addiction recovery forum.
If someone truly wants to change there lives and wants to give up Alcohol or Drugs, then there is no better time to be alive in then today. We have more free resources and meetings available then ever before in the History of Mankind. As much as I used to think I knew everything, I needed to quickly give up that mindset since it is our minds thinking that we are "Kings of the world" which leads us to use and abuse our bodies, since we think we are indestructible until it is too late.
If we are still using we should know that the Icebergs are floating in the Sea and that we are a large ship traveling in the darkness, if we continue to use, we can strike a iceberg and sink fast at any moment in time.
This website serves as a radio warning to us, We can avoid the obstacles in our paths as long as we give up Alcohol and Drugs.
Our minds will play tricks on us and try and tell us, we can "Moderate" our drinking. We don't really have a problem.... etc. etc. Ultimatley we know exactly where that thinking gets us, back onto the roller coaster of using. How many times do we need to make the same mistakes over and over before we realize that there is another way.
I needed to write down on a piece of paper, Why I wanted to give up using. Anytime I thought that I wanted to drink and use again, I would refer to the paper and remind myself why I wanted to give up using.
We Humans forget things very fast, which is why even if we have years and years of Sobriety we need to constantly be on guard because if we forget about why we wanted to give up using, we soon might be tempted to go back down that dark road again.
I thank you for being here for me, 4 years I have been free and I can only do it with your help and with taking it one hour, one day at a time. My life is so much better now then it ever was while using or drinking.
Thank you for being you.
I wish you only the best.
If you are new here, please give Sobriety as much of your energy as you gave to using. It takes much less effort to stay sober then to Use. It's true. It really is. It's not easy, but life is a lot easier when you don't have to worry about Jail, DUI's, CPS, getting Fired for drinking, Cars getting Towed away, Waking up hung over, BlackOuts, sleeping around with the wrong people while under the influence, etc. That is all hard stuff to deal with each and every day.
Staying sober, removes all those hardships and leaves me with just needing to deal with the normal "Life" day to day stuff, which is hard enough on it's own
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