Sobriety Survival101

The Role of an AA Sponsor The AA sponsor fulfills a number of useful functions including: * This is an individual who will usually have more experience in the program than the sponsee. This means that they will be able to share their wisdom and experience. * Most sponsors will tell their sponsee to contact them at any time of the day or night if it is an emergency. The urge to  relapse  can come at any time, and having somebody to contact can make all the difference. * A sponsor can just be a good friend. One of the things that people worry about when they first enter recovery is that they will never be able to form meaningful relationships without their chemical crutch. What they learn is that friendships in sobriety can be stronger than anything they have ever experienced previously. One of their most important relationships may be with their sponsor. * This is an individual who will offer encouragement and provide praise for achievements.

My Sober Life Day 45: Recover from a Relapse Relapse doesn’t mean you flunked recovery. Call your sponsor to help you get back on track. We learn from our mistakes and become even stronger. Action If we relapse, we may feel shame, blame, and guilt, but these thoughts can just sink us deeper into negativity. Instead, we must get help immediately. Never try to handle a relapse alone! After getting help, we must focus on the positive by learning from our mistake so it doesn’t happen again. Make sure you have a Relapse Response Plan that includes the name and phone number of the person you will call for help and where you can go (to the home of your sponsor, a family member, or friend). Thought for the Day “Those who slip know they can reclaim the program if they choose. Nothing is entirely lost and their Higher Power is always there, ready to help.” —Adapted from  Twenty-Four Hours a Day, Decemb er 6

STEP FOUR: Take a searching and fearless moral inventory. We must find out what we've got, what we need to get rid of, and what we need to acquire. There are 20 character defects to ask about -- the individual wrongs are not necessary to go over, just the defects that caused them. Going over the questions, you ask that the person be honest and admit his defects to himself, to you, and to God (where two or more are gathered in His name, there shall He be.) By admitting, the person also takes. STEP FIVE: The inventory is of our defects, not our incidents. Here are the defects: Resentment, Anger  Fear, Cowardice  Self pity  Self justification  Self importance, Egotism  Self condemnation, Guilt  Lying, Evasiveness, Dishonesty  Impatience  Hate  False pride, Phoniness, Denial  Jealousy Envy Laziness Procrastination Insincerity Negative Thinking Immoral thinking Perfectionism, Intolerance Criticizing, Loose Talk, Gossip Greed Now that you've admitted these defects, ask, "Don'

Simple Ways to Help Stress

Listed below are common reservations addicts may have when going through addiction recovery. Not being able to cope with loss:  “If my parent/spouse passes away, I will have to use to get through it.” When a death of someone close to you actually happens, it is really not a reason to use. If you use in order to cope with the loss, you are robbing yourself from having genuine emotions and mourning organically. Walking through the feelings of grief is actually a gift, especially if you have been using for a long time in order to numb yourself from negative feelings. You will be surprised to find that it is possible to mourn without the use of substances. In healing from these losses while being sober, you are able to live through such tragedies and grow from the experience. Keeping alcohol or paraphernalia in your possession:  It is never a good idea to keep these items in your home because if you find yourself in the mood to use, it will be that much easier to

How to Choose an AA Sponsor Sponsorship as an AA Tool One of most powerful tools to help people stay sober in AA is the  sponsor . This individual is there to offer guidance and support to a  sponsee . The sponsor is not only a person to guide the member through the AA program, but to also be there to listen. Being able to rely on a sympathetic ear can be particularly important when the individual feels on the verge of relapse. Choosing the right sponsor is important, because otherwise the relationship could prove to be disastrous. The Importance of Sponsorship in AA Sponsorship has been an important element from AA right from the beginning. The founding members realized that that the thing that was keeping them sober was helping other people. In fact the organization originated from one alcoholic reaching out to help another. At the time  Bill Wilson  was struggling to stay sober on his own. He was on the verge of relapse when he got the idea of helping another alcoholic. He rang arou

You may be familiar with some version of the Drop the Rock parable. It's about the Twelve Step group members who set sail on the ship Recovery across the sea of Life for the island of Serenity. As the parable is usually told, soon after the boat pulls away from the dock, the passengers realize that some of their friends are not yet on board. Sure enough, their friend Mary comes running down the street and onto the dock. The people on the boat cheer her on. "Dive in and swim, Mary!" they shout. "You can do it!" Mary dives into the water and swims for the boat as fast and hard as she can. But as she gets close to the boat, she slows and struggles to stay afloat. Everyone on board can see why: a heavy rock is hanging from a snarl of strings around Mary's neck. "Drop the rock!" they all shout. "Let go! Drop the rock!" Treading water, Mary looks down at the rock. She realizes it contains her fear, resentments, self-pity, anger, intolerance, an

Ways to a faith that works    The Spiritual Experience •           In what ways is my being sober today evidence of having tapped an unsuspected inner resource which I may identify with [my own] conception of a Power greater than [myself]? (567: 4-568: 0) •           How does one go about accepting spiritual help? Might one’s spiritual life then include our constant thought of others and how we may help meet their needs ? (20: 0)   Can I accept that the concept of “others” includes me? •           How do Dr. Carl Jung's reflections on vital spiritual experiences as the solution to our problem apply to my recovery? (27: 4, 5) •           How might William James’ Varieties of Religious Experience be of use to me? (28: 3) •           Have I experienced the presence of a higher power? Be specific.   “There is a solution. Almost none of us liked the self-searching, the leveling of our pride, the confession of shortcomings which the process requir