PJ fans in 12 step Recovery

Ernie Vedder

Ernie Vedder

8 months today. By the grace of God. 

SmallestOceans

Ernie Vedder said:

8 months today. By the grace of God. 

Congrats. Stick with it!

Ernie Vedder

SmallestOceans said:

Ernie Vedder said:

8 months today. By the grace of God. 

Congrats. Stick with it!

Thanks! I'm hanging in there.

SmallestOceans

https://youtu.be/INx7Sb9ISM8

Ernie Vedder

SmallestOceans said:

https://youtu.be/INx7Sb9ISM8

Ah yes, makes sense now.

mickeyrat

okie dokie. yesterday marked my year anniversary on a job change. I feel  I had overstayed at the previous job but let fear stop me from moving forward in my career.

The switch happened so easy. 3 weeks from the time I submitted my online app I was starting at the new company.

Now I cant say I would have landed a comparable position had I found the courage sooner, but I can say that once I did, the door opened with ease.

so dont let fear keep you stuck.

njnancy

Ernie Vedder said:

8 months today. By the grace of God. 

mickeyrat said:

okie dokie. yesterday marked my year anniversary on a job change. I feel  I had overstayed at the previous job but let fear stop me from moving forward in my career.

The switch happened so easy. 3 weeks from the time I submitted my online app I was starting at the new company.

Now I cant say I would have landed a comparable position had I found the courage sooner, but I can say that once I did, the door opened with ease.

so dont let fear keep you stuck.

Congratulations on the new job. Change is a scary beast - but when you face your fears and come through okay it feels so good. I'm so happy for you and for your 8 year sober anniversary.

Ernie Vedder said:

8 months today. By the grace of God. 

Way to go! And you have 9 months coming up - one day at a time. 

Ernie Vedder

njnancy said:

Ernie Vedder said:

8 months today. By the grace of God. 

mickeyrat said:

okie dokie. yesterday marked my year anniversary on a job change. I feel  I had overstayed at the previous job but let fear stop me from moving forward in my career.

The switch happened so easy. 3 weeks from the time I submitted my online app I was starting at the new company.

Now I cant say I would have landed a comparable position had I found the courage sooner, but I can say that once I did, the door opened with ease.

so dont let fear keep you stuck.

Congratulations on the new job. Change is a scary beast - but when you face your fears and come through okay it feels so good. I'm so happy for you and for your 8 year sober anniversary.

Ernie Vedder said:

8 months today. By the grace of God. 

Way to go! And you have 9 months coming up - one day at a time. 

Thanks 

lastexitlondon

I've just found this page and over the last few nights ive read from the start eagerly waiting to see where everyone is at today. This thread has made me realise I have a problem. Of what level im just not sure but i asked for help today because of this thread. Thank you.

mickeyrat

lastexitlondon said:

I've just found this page and over the last few nights ive read from the start eagerly waiting to see where everyone is at today. This thread has made me realise I have a problem. Of what level im just not sure but i asked for help today because of this thread. Thank you.

awesome. 11 yrs 7 mon 11 days.
recovery has allowed me to gain/regain self-respect. Am working in an industry doing something I have always wanted to do.

plenty of personal work yet to do, but I have a proven template that works.

whatever the reason behind for your thinking you have a problem, it can be handled one day at a time.

Thoughts_Arrive

I've been free from my Facebook addiction for about 1 month now. 

Ernie Vedder

10 months sober!

lastexitlondon

I have so many reasons to quit. 
Ive stumbled along ive been doing dry week days. But now im going to take another step forward and try weekend this weekend. I have an operation sunday so that should be easier. I can't lie i enjoyed drinking but its poison.

lastexitlondon

Thoughts_Arrive said:

I've been free from my Facebook addiction for about 1 month now. 

I left fb behind nearly 4 years ago now. Best decision ever. For so many reasons keep going

lastexitlondon

Well done to all that are sober truly inspirational.. to me. 
Now that is really dealing with life. Nothing but admiration here

Thoughts_Arrive

lastexitlondon said:

Thoughts_Arrive said:

I've been free from my Facebook addiction for about 1 month now. 

I left fb behind nearly 4 years ago now. Best decision ever. For so many reasons keep going

Surprisingly, I haven't really missed it. I feel disconnected though. But I do not miss the depression and anxiety it can cause by comparing with others.
This is the longest I've stayed off it. 

lastexitlondon

Yeah i missed the friends i made on tour.really sad to loose contact.but i had to go. I strangely felt alone without it and outside but soon realised nobody is "inside" they are all alone and outside.it really is full of sadness and narcissistic people who do not actually care about YOU.

Thoughts_Arrive

lastexitlondon said:

Yeah i missed the friends i made on tour.really sad to loose contact.but i had to go. I strangely felt alone without it and outside but soon realised nobody is "inside" they are all alone and outside.it really is full of sadness and narcissistic people who do not actually care about YOU.

Yeah, I got sick of the narcissism and sick of people seeing my comments on posts on their newsfeed and replying to it or trying to argue with me.

njnancy

lastexitlondon said:

I've just found this page and over the last few nights ive read from the start eagerly waiting to see where everyone is at today. This thread has made me realise I have a problem. Of what level im just not sure but i asked for help today because of this thread. Thank you.

I'm so glad you found us! And realizing you have a problem is the first step. Actually, we kinda know we have a problem for quite awhile before we admit it out loud, at least i did, but when somebody else says it, defenses go up. I fought all the different ideas of sobriety for over 2 years - I didn't want to stop drinking, I love to drink - God I love to drink. And I was dealing with an onset of anxiety and depression at the same time and I just wanted to be 'crazy' and fix that and then I wouldn't have a consumption problems, esp consumption behavior and the awful next morning filled with remorse and embarrassment. But I had been abusing alcohol and other stuff at different points of my life for a long time before the mental health problems popped up. They were just a good excuse (or so I thought). It isn't easy. But I'm so proud that you admitted to us and to someone else in your life that you have a problem - that is huge and I am proud of your honesty. Now what do you do, right?
I just had my sober anniversary on November 13th - it's been 21 years and 3 weeks of  total sobriety - not just alcohol but any mood altering substance. I'm a coffee junkie now, you can't make me stop drinking my coffee - it's like air to me. And I also have been a smoker for a long time, but I am 5 months without a cigarette - last one I had was beginning of July. I am using a vape thingy, but the craving is basically gone. They absolutely add crap to make your more addicted to the cigarettes. I've gone out at 3am to get a pack. But the vape is just menthol and nicotine and I'm going to switch to non -nicotine vaping soon. I hardly use it though, much different than my obsession with cigarettes for more years than I'd like to admit.
I can't tell you exactly what changed my wanting to be be sober to just not wanting to drink one day. It happened just like that. One day I woke up and it was gone. I have had a lot of loss in my life so I have my problems with God as my higher power. I don't see how he could take my siblings from me and from their families. I can't make peace with it. My father died, at 67, less than a month after I stopped drinking for real. It was my first immediate family death and it was painful, but I didn't think of drinking. It had been taken from. I know it sounds crazy but it's true. I have never wanted to drink in all these years. I have wanted to escape, after a shitty day, week, year and I realize I can't go have a glass of wine with the girls or whatnot. I don't think I've ever just had a glass of anything, from the very beginning. I loved it, and I never wanted to stop. I have coping mechanisms and sleep is my escape when things get really intense - when I wake up from a nap I'm in a different state of mind.

And the first time my one on one therapist suggested I attend an AA meeting, I almost lost my mind. Why would I go talk to alcoholics? I wasn't like them! I just had some problems and I didn't need to hear what they had to say because I had a pre-conceived idea of what kinds of people were alcoholics and I was just a problem drinker. Several rehabs and years later and it was AA that saved my life. I finally decided to give it my all and see what happened - went everyday, sometimes twice a day - that was my homebase because it was safe and the people were just like me, not what I'd imagined. They understood me cause they were going through the same thing. It felt good to have other people say things and I'd realize that I did the same thing. I wasn't alone - I had people who knew me better than I knew myself.

I was a hard case and many thought I wouldn't make it, but here I am. And here you are. You might be surprised at who you bump into at a meeting, if you choose to go. Just keep coming back here and letting us know what's up with you. I don't want you to feel alone, cause you're not. 
Nancy