Squizz

You're not drunk, right now are you? LOL.

Natom

Drunk on the power of love. A force from above.......and etc. If I was drunk I'd be asleep in a puddle of my own vomit I'd imagine.

Natom.

Dee74

I think the original thread topic was a good one - let's refocus

D

Natom

Relationships are a very important part of our recovery. Our relationships with our family improve beyond our wildest beliefs. We are also able to have relationships with friends and with lovers. We are once again able to feel true emotions, and to not be scared of them. And that is one of the best things about recovery.

Natom.

soberlicious

the "hereafter"? not a fan, sorry...I think I'm better off discussing what has worked for me in the "here and now".

I know that I shared a different opinion than your OP, and I'm not sharing that to be combative. Additionally, I have zero interest in being "right". My addiction killed me (for all intents and purposes...no pulse, no heartbeat for a minute=literally dead). My stance on my abstinence having no conditions is very, very important to me. It is what has helped me save my own life. It may help someone else too. That's why I share it.

You're not the first, and you won't be the last
.
You have no idea...
Well, I don't believe in monogamy and I'm probably old enough to be your mother, but yeah...ok...let's do it! LOL

HereIAm321

There's nothing like a feisty, strong, independent woman.

LindaLou

for me, it was when the pain of getting drunk exceeded the pain of reality. it was take another drink and kill myself or get help.[/QUOTE]

This is absolutely me. I can't stop at 1, and I nearly always drink until "what's the point, life isn't worth the hassle, I just want to kill myself and stop the pain". I've even planned it. Grateful I never went thru with it.

The pain is only that bad when I drink! I never feel like that sober. So for me it's like drinking a poison that will one day kill me.

Thanks for the great post!!

vegibean

You know, you should be able to fit all of that into a signature on here so anytime someone sees your post, they get that as a reminder. Good post MI.

quitforme79

Love this...thanks MIR

debsam

MiRecovery...outstanding list...you nailed it for me

lilgolden73

Great post!! Thanks so much!

Threshold

I feel like I am living the less obvious interpretation of this. When I first got sober I thought (based on hearsay) that my relationships would pretty much all get better. I'd love them more, they'd love me more. Less fighting, more understanding and all that. You know IMPROVE..in the Hallmark card sort of way.

But that didn't happen. Instead I realized that one of the reasons I substance abused was to try to numb myself into staying in bad relationships. I got clean, lost my tolerance for those relationships and some of those people had NO use for sober me. Many of those relationships ended or became distant. That IS a way of them improving, just not the way I first fantasized about it.

andisa

This entire thread is brilliant. Even the Natom/ Soberlicious entertain marriage part as it provided comic relief in an otherwise very serious, heavy thread. Nice balance. Dee's prompt to get back on track was so well executed as well. I appreciate the thoughtfulness of everyone here, so much!

What's so fascinating about MI's list is how it is so general, and hence, open to personal interpretation. That it bled over into discussions about relationships and escapism is so relevant to me. It's all interconnected in addiction. This thread neatly demonstrates that. Addiction is so pervasive a force in all areas of life. But a symptom, not the source.

2granddaughters

And when you think you have your list all figured out ... things change and you start your list over.

I swear this week I saw Step 2 in a new light.. the meaning of the words changed.

Therefore all the other Steps changed to some degree as well. (I love/hate it when that happens)

I am always learning something if I keep working my program and that fact is reinforced by my continual communication with the oldtimers. They are learning too.

All the best.

Bob R

MIRecovery

Aint that the trurth. I am shooting at a moving target because I am growing and changing, the world is changing and being the alcoholic that I am change is something that has never been one of my strong points. Thank goodness for those that have gone before me to let me know what did and did not work for them.

soberlicious

Yes, I agree. The Buddha says life is impermanent. It is not the impermanence that brings the suffering, it is the resistance to it that does.
I love that someone else also "love/hate"s things! I do this all the time.

MIRecovery

"It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change."

Charles Darwin ...