miamifella

You are not the first mental health professional who has faced that problem. Are you not part of a professional organization that can advise you?

miamifella

Wait? How can you get licensed as a social worker without a degree?

freshstart57

The first thing I needed to do was to realize that continuing to live my drinking life was to continue to accept the clinical depression and crushing anxiety I was experiencing. The idea of quitting was a big obstacle to me, I found it terrifying.

There came the day when I decided that I would experience this mess sober for a change. I decided that whatever it was, I needed to be sober to deal with it. It only took a moment, that moment when I decided I would never drink again, for me to feel better, knowing that I never had to do the horrible soul sucking things that addicts do ever again. My problems that I tried to solve with alcohol shrank along with my withdrawal symptoms.

While AA is a God Send for some, there are others that find AA to be unsuitable for them. There are many other choices you can make, take a look in our Secular Connections forum. Regardless, every program you choose requires a firm commitment to never drink again.

I wish you the best.

Roselian

IT does not work like that in my country. You can work and you do not a lisense or anything.

Normally you cant get work without a degree but it happens a lot that you get hired even though you do not have a degree.

hypochondriac

How are you doing today Roselian? x

Jilllian

As others have mentioned, you can go out of town for meetings. And/or see a therapist 1:1.
I would be (and am) afraid to attend meetings because of fear of losing my job in case of running into patients. That said, I haven't yet learned about closed meeting or how to access them. It's a learning process.

I have lost a job in the past as the result of my supervisor finding out that I was receiving mental health therapy (my therapist was a close friend of hers and breached confidentiality).

It IS a very legitimate fear, in my opinion, and DOES happen.

The point is, if you DO lose your job as the result of helping yourself, is that scenario worse than NOT helping yourself in the long run? And how there are you for your patients if you're not helping yourself? It becomes "just preaching" at that point, like a double standard. And that may or may not weigh on your conscience, but doesn't help the patients as much as you being there totally for them would be.

In your job, your first responsibility is to your patients. You must be totally there for them. Can you be while you're using?

I wish you luck. I've been there.

Roselian

I am sober but i have a terrible hangover. My home looks like a dump , It really does look like that I am very sick person.

I feel kind of attacked by some people at sober recovery though. I dont know if it is just me or what. But most people are really nice.

I will not kill myself. But I would be so happy if the doctor told me I had cancer or Aids or something. That would be so good ; )

justhadenough

Hi,

Please don't feel that way. No one was attacking you-I think people were just confused as you started 2 quite different posts with conflicting info.

Has any of the advice you've received been helpful? Please stay around-it is a helpful site.x

Jilllian

yes, as justhadenough said.
please stay.
we have all been there, although with somewhat different experiences.
you are very self-aware, and that is great.
it's hard, over the computer, sometimes, to convey the message we really want to send, which is "we care, we want you to succeed, and we're here for you."
please stick around.
you're never alone here, and always in good company.

hypochondriac

I was there once too Roselian. Not too long ago. Alcohol sucked all the will to live out of me. It does get better with sobriety but we have to work hard at it. Which is hard sometimes. But it's worth it

Have you considered what you are going to do now? x

Mark75

I felt like that a lot when I was in rehab, which I had to go or lose my job. I felt I was getting attacked all the time.

Turns out I wasn't... It was my alcoholic thinking... all the denial and, especially, all the justification.

You are not being attacked, your "disease" is... separate yourself from all the BS that comes with alcoholism and addiction, and you will see. All of us have a different style, some are warm and fuzzy and some are straight shooters and others can be brutally honest. But we are all on your side, united against alcoholism.

I ran into a bunch of people I know from outside AA at AA today. A nice picnic. There were teachers, doctors, anesthesiologists, mechanics and retired... We are there for the same reason. I think no less of any of them, in fact, I admire them, doing the tough job of getting recovered and helping others to do the same.

Dee74

I really hope you'll reach out and get some help Roselian - noone should have to do this alone.

I hope you'll stick around here too

D

Db1105

Just go to an open AA meeting and if anyone questions you just say you're doing it for your job.

soberbrooke

The people I have most in my life are mirrors of me. If I can look at them, and see me, then it is easier to help them. I am in AA because they are just like me, they mirror to me exactly what I am.
They also mirror to me exactly what I want to be like, and what I want out of my life.