Jim; My first year was very challenging tinged with moments of wonder and spiritual growth.I loved the improvement in my physical health right away and worked to reclaim my athletic life. The challenges were issues created by my addictions: (wreckage) divorce, broke, custody and the IRS came calling with very bad news. Through it all my therapist kept telling me, "stay with it, it will payoff." She was right of course, I am happy almost all the time and grateful. Recovery is a gift that never stops giving!
Thanks so much for that comment Tim! Reading it makes me realize this is the kind of valuable discussion I’d love to see. Because, with the opportunity to talk it out a little further, we can illuminate the fact that while yes, that first year of sobriety can be quite tough—all the kinds of things you describe—the paradox is that actually facing them, in a healthy way and with support of a sober network, it can actually shift into an awareness if “this is actually pretty awesome.” I remember first time a federal marshall showed up at my work looking to collect on student loans or something. I was terrified, ran away to avoid him. With the help of sober support I learned that we face our responsibilities, and trust. Going ahead and facing it removed the fear, and guess what—I got it taken care of. And that was a REALLY GOOD feeling. The kind of good feeling that makes using look not as attractive.
Jim: dead on! In my addictions I avoided/denied my problems which only exacerbated them. Small things became large due to neglect. In recovery I learned to rip the damn band-aid off and face things. Scary? Anxiety-provoking? Sure, but then relief. Shit was actually getting done for once! One example was my teeth. I was dental phobic (drilled without novacaine as a kid). I was told that everybody gets their teeth fixed when they get sober so I though well then, me too! I needed a lot of work but was so happy and proud to have faced this problem!
Jim; My first year was very challenging tinged with moments of wonder and spiritual growth.I loved the improvement in my physical health right away and worked to reclaim my athletic life. The challenges were issues created by my addictions: (wreckage) divorce, broke, custody and the IRS came calling with very bad news. Through it all my therapist kept telling me, "stay with it, it will payoff." She was right of course, I am happy almost all the time and grateful. Recovery is a gift that never stops giving!
Thanks so much for that comment Tim! Reading it makes me realize this is the kind of valuable discussion I’d love to see. Because, with the opportunity to talk it out a little further, we can illuminate the fact that while yes, that first year of sobriety can be quite tough—all the kinds of things you describe—the paradox is that actually facing them, in a healthy way and with support of a sober network, it can actually shift into an awareness if “this is actually pretty awesome.” I remember first time a federal marshall showed up at my work looking to collect on student loans or something. I was terrified, ran away to avoid him. With the help of sober support I learned that we face our responsibilities, and trust. Going ahead and facing it removed the fear, and guess what—I got it taken care of. And that was a REALLY GOOD feeling. The kind of good feeling that makes using look not as attractive.
Jim: dead on! In my addictions I avoided/denied my problems which only exacerbated them. Small things became large due to neglect. In recovery I learned to rip the damn band-aid off and face things. Scary? Anxiety-provoking? Sure, but then relief. Shit was actually getting done for once! One example was my teeth. I was dental phobic (drilled without novacaine as a kid). I was told that everybody gets their teeth fixed when they get sober so I though well then, me too! I needed a lot of work but was so happy and proud to have faced this problem!