bark4sark88

I've been sober for over 30 days now and have been attending meetings nearly daily and am close to finding a sponsor. Things are going well in school as well as work.
My rent ended in my old place on Oct 1st, so I've been staying with my parents till I move into my new place Nov 1st.

My dad is a recovering alcoholic as well and I've always looked up to him for advice on life as well as being sober. He has a very good job and is a great guy, I'm really close with him. He's been sober for nearly 3 years but today my mom told me he started drinking again, and I thought I noticed something with his speech earlier today but I wrote it off. Apparently he's been drinking the last few weeks now...
This is very hard for me right now, I'm still very early in my recovery and finding out this news has shaken me to my core. He never did AA but went to inpatient rehab for a few months and we all thought he would never drink again.
He nearly lost his job and his family due to his drinking, so I never thought he would dare pick up a bottle.
I'm just lost right now . . . This guy who I look up to so much, who I respect so much, can't stop his drinking.
I'm going to a meeting in 30 min and I will talk about it there so I hope I will feel better.
I just needed to type this out to the SR community, not feeling too good right now.

least

That's a rotten shame about your father. Only thing I can think of is please do this for yourself, no matter what he's doing with his life. Who knows, you might be inspiration for him to get sober again. I'm sorry you had to encounter this. I'd be disappointed too.

:ghug3

Bikeguy

That's a really tough and crappy situation to be in. The first person you have to help is yourself, possibly with him watching you he will realize what a mistake he has made starting to drink again. Could you invite him along next time you go to a meeting? Good job on the 30 days, hang in there.

Hevyn

That must have been a shock, bark. At a time when you don't need it.

I hope you'll feel better after discussing it in your meeting. Maybe you and your dad can have a talk about it at some point. I'm not sure what to advise here - maybe someone else will have a suggestion. Here's hoping he'll get back on track without any further damage. Glad you told us about it, though.

Dee74

I'm sorry - that must be tough to realise.

I'm glad you're still focused and that you're reaching out for help...
Maybe your example will help your Dad, bark - never know

D

BadCompany

Don't preach. Just lead by example. Hopefully he will follow.

R3COV3RY

I'm with everyone else on this one - I bet your dad looks at you and your sobriety as an example to follow. If it were me, I would talk with my Dad about it. There's no sense in not discussing the elephant in the room and it sounds like it's a recent development. See if you can't nip this thing in the bud before it spirals out of control. Good luck to you and your Dad and make sure you come back here if you need a shoulder to lean on

Dano1975

Sorry to hear about your Dad's relapse. This is a great of example of sobriety being an ongoing process, alcoholics need to build up reserves through meetings or therapy or some kind of support system that reminds them of how bad it can be and how far they've come, even if they've got years under their belt. Alcoholism is a sneaky disease, it lays in wait for a moment of weakness, then tricks you into thinking you can handle drinking again. I agree with the others here about being an example for your Father, try to get him to come to some meetings with you.

bark4sark88

Just got back from the meeting which helped a lot. Thanks for the responses here you guys, I'm feeling better. I'll try talking to him tomorrow when I get home and hopefully he is sober. I'll try suggesting that he goes to a meeting with me at some point, not sure if he'll go though . . . he's always never been a believer in AA.

sugarbear1

Ask him to a meeting. Prayers to both of you

R3COV3RY

You can also suggest SR for him! I'm definitely the type of guy who doesn't like to work his crap out in the open so a forum like this provides a great opportunity to interact with others while not having to be face to face with anyone. He might be open to it.