by abclimo » Tue Jan 10, 2012 5:15 pm
Archie: Hi and welcome. Congrats on your sobriety, it's a huge step! You know that using/drinking causes you problems, and the best way to take care of that is to totally avoid drinking/using. You've taken the first step by admitting that it's an issue and that's important. You need to tell yourself that you are worth getting clean/sober and keep telling yourself that you are worth it. I know some people who tape it on their mirror so they see it every morning when they're brushing their teeth, etc. Meetings are important. Find some meetings and go, but if you don't feel welcome at one, don't go back to that meeting. All meetings are NOT the same. It's important to get a phone list of people you can call BEFORE you use/drink. Find some people who live near you and network with those who have clean time, they can help you through the rough spots. Be prepared for temptation to rear it's ugly head at you, it will at some point and it's so much easier to have a game plan on what you'll do when it does. Find someone at the meetings that you feel really comfortable talking to openly and honestly and ask them to be your sponsor. When you first start going to meetings if you are not comfortable sharing, just listen, there's so much to be learned and you'll find that while everyone's pathways may be different, our journey's are very similar. Keep posting here, we do care. By being clean and helping others, it helps us all stay clean. We can't do it individually, but together we can get past this.