PJ fans in 12 step Recovery

SD48277 · September 2019

Rob,

njnancy · September 2019

We're all pulling for you Rob. Please share whenever you want. Non judgment zone.

Happy first weeks of sobriety! 😊

H.Chinaski · September 2019

Almost 5 months sober. No 12 stops or AA for me... not yet anyways as i'm not finding it as difficult as i thought it might be. Proud of myself for putting the bottle down. It had to happen!

hedonist · September 2019

Congratulations! Just shy of 16 months here, and I've been to one AA meeting, a while back. It's nice to know it's there should I need it, but thankfully (and surprisingly) feel my own strength is now my own higher power.

No matter how we find it or from where it stems, our will will persevere.

Just do your best!

Wobbie · September 2019

H.Chinaski said:

Almost 5 months sober. No 12 stops or AA for me... not yet anyways as i'm not finding it as difficult as i thought it might be. Proud of myself for putting the bottle down. It had to happen!

same with me. just read the first “step”....I don’t agree with that at all....I am NOT powerless. after 3 beers, yes, but not powerless to just not “get going.” honestly, drinking had just become a total routine for me. I was drinking 6 days a week and the non-drinking day was always a hungover waste of my life. the fact that this is my third straight non-drinking FRIDAY NIGHT is amazing, even to me.

I’m not judging or discounting anyone who finds peace or success with the 12 steps....it’s just not the way I’m gonna go.

mickeyrat · September 2019

Wobbie said:

H.Chinaski said:

Almost 5 months sober. No 12 stops or AA for me... not yet anyways as i'm not finding it as difficult as i thought it might be. Proud of myself for putting the bottle down. It had to happen!

same with me. just read the first “step”....I don’t agree with that at all....I am NOT powerless. after 3 beers, yes, but not powerless to just not “get going.” honestly, drinking had just become a total routine for me. I was drinking 6 days a week and the non-drinking day was always a hungover waste of my life. the fact that this is my third straight non-drinking FRIDAY NIGHT is amazing, even to me.

I’m not judging or discounting anyone who finds peace or success with the 12 steps....it’s just not the way I’m gonna go.

you read the first step from the outline?

IN the book on page 30 paragraph 2 the first 2 sentences are as follows...

"We learned we had to concede to our innermost selves we were alcoholic. This is the first step in recovery.

As defined by AA alcoholism is a question of choice and control, or lack thereof. Once I start I dont know when I'll stop or what will happen and I almost always start

The actual work is a bit different than those 12 numbered sentences.

Wobbie · September 2019

I could concede to page 30.

again, I think the road to recovery probably takes many different paths.

mickeyrat · September 2019

Wobbie said:

I could concede to page 30.

again, I think the road to recovery probably takes many different paths.

absolutely it does. Any number of ways to get and stay sober. The book and org recognize that. All too often a member of makes the false or incomplete claim that AA is the only way. False in that the literature doesnt make that assertion and incomplete because FOR THEM AA may be the only way.

mickeyrat · September 2019

Wobbie said:

I could concede to page 30.

again, I think the road to recovery probably takes many different paths.

just keep it simple. just worry about staying sober today. tomorrow and beyond arent here yet and will take care of themselves in due course.

kce8 · September 2019

And don't forget to be incredibly proud of yourself, every f..king single day!

mickeyrat · September 2019

for those who are able to make the decision and be able to follow through, good on ya. its awesome.

I would still encourage reading some of our literature anyway. You may find benefit to your journey without formally being a member and doing this work. Big Book , the 12 and 12 and the living sober book. you can be 12 step adjacent, if you will.

for many of you , its just a matter of breaking that routine. for others these steps are life giving.

either way, the thread exists to share experience and offer support where needed.

Wobbie · September 2019

yeah, Mickey....the “routine” and I have no doubt I’ll stay sober today even tho I’ll be watching a football game with drinkers.

BTW, I have no problem with other people who drink responsibly. I just didn’t happen to be able to do that.

deadendp · September 2019

Wobbie said:

yeah, Mickey....the “routine” and I have no doubt I’ll stay sober today even tho I’ll be watching a football game with drinkers.

BTW, I have no problem with other people who drink responsibly. I just didn’t happen to be able to do that.

So many people cannot see that in themselves.

mickeyrat · September 2019

deadendp said:

Wobbie said:

yeah, Mickey....the “routine” and I have no doubt I’ll stay sober today even tho I’ll be watching a football game with drinkers.

BTW, I have no problem with other people who drink responsibly. I just didn’t happen to be able to do that.

So many people cannot see that in themselves.

A Judge usually is though. eventually.

Wobbie · September 2019

mickeyrat said:

deadendp said:

Wobbie said:

yeah, Mickey....the “routine” and I have no doubt I’ll stay sober today even tho I’ll be watching a football game with drinkers.

BTW, I have no problem with other people who drink responsibly. I just didn’t happen to be able to do that.

So many people cannot see that in themselves.

A Judge usually is though. eventually.

Wobbie · September 2019

mickey and others - do you have other “crutches”?

I chewed skoal for 30+ years. I git cancer (not oral) in 2011 and quit. I started up again in the past 2-3 years. I can envision my chew habit escalating...

hedonist · September 2019

Wobbie said:

yeah, Mickey....the “routine” and I have no doubt I’ll stay sober today even tho I’ll be watching a football game with drinkers.

BTW, I have no problem with other people who drink responsibly. I just didn’t happen to be able to do that.

Amen to this, Wob. I was drinking responsibly, I thought, until I realized I'd been wearing blinders, and being irreparably irresponsible to the one who matters more than anyone to me - myself.

As to crutches? Smoking tobacco, still. I love it and while I've cut down a lot, I currently have no plans to quit.

And you know about my long-term cannabinoidical relationship

mickeyrat · September 2019

Wobbie said:

mickey and others - do you have other “crutches”?

I chewed skoal for 30+ years. I git cancer (not oral) in 2011 and quit. I started up again in the past 2-3 years. I can envision my chew habit escalating...

cigarettes were the first thing I picked up at 13 and the last thing I put down almost exactly 30 yrs later at 43.

not sure where you are at age and health/weight wise, but do watch your eating habits. The weight creep had me now about 80 lbs over whats most comfortable for me. 50-60 of which came after I quit 8 yrs ago.

portion control.......

Wobbie · September 2019

age is old.

health is good.

weight is below optimal.

njnancy · September 2019

hedonist said:

Wobbie said:

yeah, Mickey....the “routine” and I have no doubt I’ll stay sober today even tho I’ll be watching a football game with drinkers.

BTW, I have no problem with other people who drink responsibly. I just didn’t happen to be able to do that.

Amen to this, Wob. I was drinking responsibly, I thought, until I realized I'd been wearing blinders, and being irreparably irresponsible to the one who matters more than anyone to me - myself.

As to crutches? Smoking tobacco, still. I love it and while I've cut down a lot, I currently have no plans to quit.

And you know about my long-term cannabinoidical relationship

I used to think everyone was looking at me when watching TV & a "drink responsibly" commercial would come on. Red flag.

I started smoking (& drinking) around 14. I smoked for 20 years after I got sober. AA meetings were one of the few places I could smoke openly as most everyone else did, & heavily. I quit smoking July 2017 which i never imagined i would do. I figured I'd passed all the "milestones " but my doctor told me to try e cigarettes. I did both for awhile & then just didn't buy cigarettes. I still vape, keeping my eye on all the news about it. My doctor is a pulmonary specialist & has told me not to stop at risk of starting cigs again. My 2nd precautionary lung scan is next month which is a scary reminder about smoking.

Im a coffee addict, all day, every day & can be a carbohydrate addict but I only indulge on occasion cause it puts weight on real quick. .

If I had money I would definitely use retail therapy but I don't & I'm not a gambler.

I use meditation, writing, reading, yoga, naps, gardening. I did a lot of outdoor stuff in my early sobriety & did a lot of cooking & baking. I am a prodigious reader. I started doing cross stitch & got real skilled at it.

I've seen a lot of people turn to exercise as a healthy addiction. Not me.

I got pregnant during my first year of sobriety & my son definitely filled that hole in my soul that booze had. Being a single mom definitely also filled my need for gratification that I no longer got from a career.

I had a hell of a time getting sober & what I personally got from AA was a sense of family (after I stopped thinking it was a cult that I didn't belong in). I had never found so many people who I related with about drinking & could even laugh at the darkest of memories. People who knew me my whole life couldn't relate on this part of my life. Took away that feeling of being "the only one".

It also gave me a sense of structure since I had just become disabled & no longer was on anyone's clock. Or had to leave the house, so that helped greatly.

The rest came with time.

And life has had its ups & lots of downs. Im dually diagnosed so I have therapy & my struggles are with the non drinking part of my status. They affect my life greatly at times. But nothing is worth picking up again. Nothing. This is who I am.

PJ fans in 12 step Recovery

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