Sobriety Survival101

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