stickyone

Good morning everyone
today I work on day 291. I had some thoughts running through my mind as I read my old post and other post as well. In 2012 I made a decision to stop drinking and recreational drug use. I remained sober and clean somewhat. I say somewhat because along the line I began to abuse my pain medicine. When I got clean in 2012 I wasn't working any program or even really counting days, yet I have not drank or used a recreational drugs. When I look back yes I was sober but I didn't put any work in self care or mental health. I see now that by doing so my addictive self disrupted my vision and made it feel okay to abuse my medicine because it was prescribed. I guess what I got out this is that recovery is non stop. Even though I don't use it drink work needs to be done on my mental health and happiness. Not trying to make others feel bad about relapsing years of being sober. I see that not taking care of our mental health opens the doors with the red carpet for relapse early and seasoned in recovery. So I just started my time over 291 days of hard work and dedication with my mental health and commitment to recovery.

Dee74

hey stickyone

yeah recovery is more than just abstinence for me - its about being sober and being happy about it.
whatever needs to be done to help me live in a state of contentment and happiness, I do.

D

stickyone

Thanks Dee

​​​​​​I Had a memory of a person my first at time getting sober. He was more than 5 years sober went to meetings just for a signature to stay in halfway home. Which is his own path but all I remember was he was a very grumpy person all the time. He was sober but didn't display any type of happiness. I'll stay in my lane and keep driving towards recovery.

FreeOwl

yep. Absolutely. Mental health, self work, progress-not-perfection and attention to living our most present and rewarding lives are the prescription for long term sobriety and happiness.

Steely

Great post stickyone.

anxiousrock

Great post. My mental health is getting worse every day, and I've been sober 2 months. I'm working a program but it kind of makes me sad? I don't know if this makes sense. I have NO self care at all.

Mizz

If the program you are working is not working for you then build your own program.
what does self care look like for your life?

For me:
Exercise daily
Prayer daily
Gratitude daily
Engage with others in sobriety daily
Wake early and sleep early
Eat healthy foods daily

I drink hot teas at night. Read all kinds of different materials. Maintain positive friendships and relationships. I make sure that I am not overly stressed and keep my anxiety down by doing all of the above.

One small change can do so much for our mental and emotional health. Just one small little change. It could be a walk everyday at lunch or after dinner. Soon enough that one small change leads to other small changes and before you know it..... You have made all kinds of positive changes in the right direction!

BeABetterMan

Yeah man. I know you don't do AA, but a pretty common saying is, "God loved me so much he made me an alcoholic." In time I came to understand that. If not for my addiction, I wonder how much I'd really work on my mental health, and growth, and spirituality. Today as I move through the world I am more cognizant of the wake that I'm leaving. At the end of the day I typically take stock of the day and how I treated people and where I could do better. I also use exercise, not only to look better, but really for my mental health. Lots of us come and participate on these boards. And whether we know it or not, we are learning how to be better humans. This is a skill I never cared to learn. Not that I was a "bad" person, just that self examination was not part of my day. Steel is forged by fire. And without challenge there is no growth. I may not be all that, but I'm the best version of myself today and I owe it at least partly to my addiction and certainly to the folks and my God that help me address it.

Good post. Growth.

stickyone

No shame in seeing a doctor. I was working with 2 doctors who really help me understand what I was really feeling. Till this day I still utilized the tools they have given me to help cope with stress and anxiety and the big one depression I think it depends on what you are sad about. I used to just cover up all my emotions and let it build up inside which isn't very healthy or helpful. I get sad for example when someone tells you something about you that is true and your ashamed of being called on it. I have to look at the person it's coming from does it hold truth, is it something that could hurt my recovery? If so I have to take responsibility and do my part to correct my path. Self care can come in many forms . For me the hardest is saying no.

BeABetterMan

Well, AR. Can you do ONE thing tomorrow? Pick anything. Take a walk, call a sober friend, pray, eat better? I've found that when I think of ALL of the things I SHOULD be doing it feels overwhelming. You eat an elephant one bite at a time. Start small, REALLY SMALL if you have to. And I disagree, you come to this website to read and to learn and to participate...that is a form of self-care. Your self-care doesn't have to look like everyone else's. And it doesn't always feel good. Even crying can be self-care.

One thing I like to do is read the daily readings in this forum. You don't have to be an AA to get value from them.
https://www.soberrecovery.com/forums...-step-support/

stickyone

Hey BABM Yes growth. Change will come no matter what. Good or bad. But when you go through it . Grow through it. And for AA I just not active now but I always am open for anything that can support my recovery. When restrictions lift I am going to go to some physical meetings.
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