1 year today
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2018
Posts: 388
1 year today
I honestly do not think I would have made it without sober recovery. The support I recieved in my November 2018 class was critical to my success. Many members through the year were extreamly helpful but a special thanks to Kaily and JimmyJlover. They still post regularly and are also just a few days away from the one year mark. Also, of course thanks to Dee who takes the time to post in our class on a regular basis
In addition to SR I also went to 10 one on one therapy sessions with an addiction counselor. I felt these sessions were quite productive but not as essential in my recovery as SR.
I also read several books and watched countless documentaries and youtube videos about alcoholism. I found many entertaining and/or helpful. However, none were a game changer like Annie Grace's "This Naked Mind." My only regret was not reading it until I was 7 months sober and already recovered from alcohol. I am sure my first 6 months would have been much easier had I read it day one of my sobriety.
I know everyone has a unique path to an alcohol free life but for me, I always kept 2 things in mind when I was in recovery.
1) motivation is the number one factor for success. I saw this advice posted by Anna and I took it to heart. I resolved that no matter what the situation, no matter how badly I wanted a drink, consuming alcohol was not an option. Thank you Anna for this advice. Everyday I would live it.
2) one day at a time. When I first heard this expression years ago, I thought it meant quitting alcohol was so awful all you could do was hope to stuggle through each day. This is obviously not what one day at a time is about. What it means is don't worry about all those future events that "require" drinking. Just don't drink today. Tomorrow you can deal with tomorrow. Then, when you do find yourself in those high trigger situations shorten it to one hour at a time, even 30 minutes at time. You will be through it before you know it and feel great about yourself.
Everyone has a very different timeline on how long it takes before they are recovered from alcohol. For me, it was about 6 months. Once I got to this point alcohol no longer had any say in how I live my life, the freedom from alcohol is absolutely amazing. When I was actively drinking I was convinced alcohol had to be a part of my life. Now alcohol has about the same appeal to me as a bottle of bleach.
In addition to SR I also went to 10 one on one therapy sessions with an addiction counselor. I felt these sessions were quite productive but not as essential in my recovery as SR.
I also read several books and watched countless documentaries and youtube videos about alcoholism. I found many entertaining and/or helpful. However, none were a game changer like Annie Grace's "This Naked Mind." My only regret was not reading it until I was 7 months sober and already recovered from alcohol. I am sure my first 6 months would have been much easier had I read it day one of my sobriety.
I know everyone has a unique path to an alcohol free life but for me, I always kept 2 things in mind when I was in recovery.
1) motivation is the number one factor for success. I saw this advice posted by Anna and I took it to heart. I resolved that no matter what the situation, no matter how badly I wanted a drink, consuming alcohol was not an option. Thank you Anna for this advice. Everyday I would live it.
2) one day at a time. When I first heard this expression years ago, I thought it meant quitting alcohol was so awful all you could do was hope to stuggle through each day. This is obviously not what one day at a time is about. What it means is don't worry about all those future events that "require" drinking. Just don't drink today. Tomorrow you can deal with tomorrow. Then, when you do find yourself in those high trigger situations shorten it to one hour at a time, even 30 minutes at time. You will be through it before you know it and feel great about yourself.
Everyone has a very different timeline on how long it takes before they are recovered from alcohol. For me, it was about 6 months. Once I got to this point alcohol no longer had any say in how I live my life, the freedom from alcohol is absolutely amazing. When I was actively drinking I was convinced alcohol had to be a part of my life. Now alcohol has about the same appeal to me as a bottle of bleach.
And thank you for your inspiring post. 
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