Stress
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Texas
Posts: 665
Stress
I know stress is my main trigger. I'm going to go through withdrawal, again, tomorrow. My 15 year old nephew was shot and killed by his older brother a couple of weeks ago. I made it through the funeral sober. The minute I got home, I climbed into a bottle. It turns out alcohol does not help with grief. I'm sad. I think I'm going to continue to be sad when I'm sober. I'm at a complete loss as to how to (compartmentalize I think) this extreme emotion.
Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 211,439
I'm so sorry thats dreadful Auggie.
Have you considered grief counselling? I think that would do you a lot of good, certainly more than drinking will, Auggie.
Drinking never solves any pain. It just numbs us - if we're lucky, for a little while,..when the pain comes back we feel the need to drink again.
The wound stays raw that way and never gets a chance to heal.
We need to process tragedy, even awful tragedy, to get through it.
You're not alone either Auggie - lean on us here at SR
D
Have you considered grief counselling? I think that would do you a lot of good, certainly more than drinking will, Auggie.
Drinking never solves any pain. It just numbs us - if we're lucky, for a little while,..when the pain comes back we feel the need to drink again.
The wound stays raw that way and never gets a chance to heal.
We need to process tragedy, even awful tragedy, to get through it.
You're not alone either Auggie - lean on us here at SR
D
Member
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: UK
Posts: 6,902
I think sadness, grief, jealousy, stress.. and all those other negative emotions are always going to be there as they are part of life. Our recovery happens when we learn diffrent ways of reacting to them (dealing with them, instead of running away through alcohol for a few hours or days at a time - which as you say, nevr works, but we were always up for giving it one more shot).
Learning to live life, on life's terms, is a massive deal. It's how we maintain our sobriety one we have put the drink down. It's how sobriety starts to become more comfortable, tenable, and one day preferable to drinking. For me that is what AA and the 12-step program is for. Only the first step even mentions alcohol. The other eleven are all about learning to live life on life's terms, and accept those negative emotions in a way that they don't topple us.
I send my condolences to you for your loss, and for the sad and challenging times that you and your family still face. And especially, I wish you all the best for your recovery.
Learning to live life, on life's terms, is a massive deal. It's how we maintain our sobriety one we have put the drink down. It's how sobriety starts to become more comfortable, tenable, and one day preferable to drinking. For me that is what AA and the 12-step program is for. Only the first step even mentions alcohol. The other eleven are all about learning to live life on life's terms, and accept those negative emotions in a way that they don't topple us.
I send my condolences to you for your loss, and for the sad and challenging times that you and your family still face. And especially, I wish you all the best for your recovery.
Currently Active Users Viewing this Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
