soberclover

I'm curious to see what people's thoughts are on this. I came into recovery 30 years ago on June 10, 1990, and was clean and sober for 14 years. Cocaine was my drug of choice. I drank again after that 14 years for the next 8ish years and became sober on November 24, 2012, although I never used cocaine during that time period. Only alcohol. I've been in the NA and AA fellowship throughout the years but never really jumped in again when I got sober. I found SR to be most helpful. My question is what should I consider my recovery date? I know what the NA/AA response would be. I've been recognizing both as they are each significant milestones for me. Is that strange?

least

Boy, I don't know... I guess I'd recognize both of them as they both are important. I'm sorry this didn't answer your question, but I honestly think I would recognize both dates.

Dee74

Some people have different dates for each thing...others just one date.;

Its one of those 'to thine own self be true' things I think SoberClover

D

fini

it’s really something you need to decide for yourself, soberclover.
if, after you do that, it somehow doesn’t sit right, you can change it.

DreamCatcher17

I do not find that strange at all.
I am sober from Meth for 13 years.
I am sober from alcohol 2.75 years
These are 2 very different addictions to me.
Both happened at very different times in my life.

You do you!

Aellyce

You are saying "cocaine was my drug of choice". Did you have a problem with alcohol? If not, I personally would just use the date that marks my recovery from a problematic substance. I do use certain psychoactive chemicals (heck, even caffeine is that, or some medications) occasionally for their beneficial effects, without any desire for excess, and never feel they interfere with my recovery from alcohol addiction. But, as others said, this choice is best to be made by you, using whatever reminds/helps you the most positively.

MythOfSisyphus

I suppose you can track the date(s) in any way you like! For me it's alcohol; while I did some drugs 'back in the day' it was never a big part of my life nor something I did compulsively. Occasionally I would do acid or mushrooms if a friend managed to score some and while I enjoyed it at the time if there wasn't anything out there I just drank. Everyone is different and booze was different for me. I think on some level I knew right from the first year I drank that I didn't drink like normal people. I should note that I quit doing drugs at least ten years before I quit drinking.

AAPJ

For me all mind altering substances fall into one bucket so one sobriety date for me. But I can see having separate dates for more than one substance. Perfectly reasonable if you think both dates are significant.

DriGuy

I think of drugs as one problem and alcohol as another. Tobacco could be yet another. I view them separately, and I quit each one at separate times, and years and years apart. The way I look at it I have a druggie birthday that was back in college, tobacco birthday about 4 years later and a sobriety birthday 20 years after that. I never considered looking at it any other way. Of course, just because I never considered it any other way doesn't mean there isn't. It's just the way I do it. I've never thought about it until now.

StartAnew68

I'm no expert but do we actually recover? We achieve sobriety. We get through each day without out substance of choice but in most cases that black cloud (size depending on where we are in our lives and thoughts) of addiction is something we need to be wary of.

Dee74

I'm a lot different to the guy I was back in 2007.
I prefer the term 'recovering' because that makes it a present tense thing, but I'm not living in fear or expectation of a relapse.

D

FreeOwl

I think the answer to this will be as varied as there are people in recovery.

Bottom line is; what do those dates mean to you and what will you choose to look at them as.

The date is perhaps less important than the commitment you carry today. If the line in the sand that gives you strength to remain in recovery today is "I've been in recovery since 1990" - then use that date. If you feel compelled to 'reset' your date to acknowledge your relapse(s) during that time.... then use that approach and 'reset' your date to 2012.

Your recovery date isn't for anyone else. You don't owe anyone a certain way of representing yourself.

What matters is YOU, YOUR recovery, YOUR sources of strength and your own unique 'wiring'.

I recently posted about my having gone back to using marijuana. I don't consider that a 'reset' of my recovery. Many will. That's ok. For me, it would be demoralizing and defeatist to say that my recovery is back to zero. That my sobriety from alcohol is null and void because of a re-emergence of addictive patterns of use with weed. I will move on from that and marijuana will fade back into the category of alcohol and I will have grown and deepened my recovery from it. To me, that's not a failure. To others in the program, it will be. But I don't serve others in the program by getting wrapped up in our disagreement. I offer my perspective, experience, strength and hope.... I offer my authenticity and my honesty..... I need to also offer myself what will support my continued recovery.