by abclimo » Tue Jan 10, 2012 5:32 pm
Deb: Hi and welcome! I hope you were able to find a meeting to go to. If you went to that meeting and didn't feel welcomed when you walked in, don't go back, but find some others in your area to go to. In case you didn't go, I'll give you a quick overview of what it's like. You'll meet a bunch of really nice people in the meetings, definitely take a phone list and call someone before you drink. People will be putting their hands up and sharing where they've been with their addiction and where they are at in their recovery. There is a huge difference between just being sober and being in recovery. If you don't feel comfortable sharing, just listen. Even though all our pathways may be different, our journeys are the same. We're people with addiction and the desire to be clean/sober. You've taken a huge first step by admitting that you have an issue, some people die before they can even admit that. Keep going to meetings and when you find a person that you feel you can talk to honestly and openly, ask them to be your sponsor. They'll help you get through the rough spots. Don't be worried about what your friends and family will think. I'm sure that given the choice of you going to meetings or possibly dying from your addiction, they'll choose the meetings. With the disease of addiction, we cannot do this on our own, but by helping each other, we can do this. You need to keep telling yourself that you can do this. If telling yourself that you'll never drink again feels too overwhelming, tell yourself you won't drink for the next 24 hours or for the next hour, or the next 15 minutes, break it down so you're not overwhelmed by it. I found that journaling helped me so much. When I would feel the need to use/drink, I would journal what else I was feeling. After a while, I went back and read what I was writing about, and found that so much of the time, it was because I felt so stressed and hated the way I was feeling. By dealing with that, it was a huge help with my addiction because when I would feel like that, I would figure out something else to do to distract myself. Definitely find things to do to keep yourself busy. You are worth doing this and you need to keep telling yourself about how much better your life will be when you don't have all the issues that using/drinking brings about. Keep posting here, we do care!
Deb: Hi and welcome! I hope you were able to find a meeting to go to. If you went to that meeting and didn't feel welcomed when you walked in, don't go back, but find some others in your area to go to. In case you didn't go, I'll give you a quick overview of what it's like. You'll meet a bunch of really nice people in the meetings, definitely take a phone list and call someone before you drink. People will be putting their hands up and sharing where they've been with their addiction and where they are at in their recovery. There is a huge difference between just being sober and being in recovery. If you don't feel comfortable sharing, just listen. Even though all our pathways may be different, our journeys are the same. We're people with addiction and the desire to be clean/sober. You've taken a huge first step by admitting that you have an issue, some people die before they can even admit that. Keep going to meetings and when you find a person that you feel you can talk to honestly and openly, ask them to be your sponsor. They'll help you get through the rough spots. Don't be worried about what your friends and family will think. I'm sure that given the choice of you going to meetings or possibly dying from your addiction, they'll choose the meetings. With the disease of addiction, we cannot do this on our own, but by helping each other, we can do this. You need to keep telling yourself that you can do this. If telling yourself that you'll never drink again feels too overwhelming, tell yourself you won't drink for the next 24 hours or for the next hour, or the next 15 minutes, break it down so you're not overwhelmed by it. I found that journaling helped me so much. When I would feel the need to use/drink, I would journal what else I was feeling. After a while, I went back and read what I was writing about, and found that so much of the time, it was because I felt so stressed and hated the way I was feeling. By dealing with that, it was a huge help with my addiction because when I would feel like that, I would figure out something else to do to distract myself. Definitely find things to do to keep yourself busy. You are worth doing this and you need to keep telling yourself about how much better your life will be when you don't have all the issues that using/drinking brings about. Keep posting here, we do care!