Sobriety Survival101

Thoughts  I can change my thoughts. The thoughts that, I think today are under my control. The thoughts that I think today are what I will see manifest in my life tomorrow. If I am changing thought patterns, it will take a degree of recognition and discipline on my part. The recognition lies in noticing how what I think manifests in my day to day life. How is what I expect in my life related to what actually happens? Today I acknowledge the creative power of my thoughts. Like a sculptor with raw clay who co-creates a work of art with the medium, I am the co-creator of my thoughts. I am the energy, and thought is my medium. I understand the role I play in  co-creating my reality. Nothing great is created suddenly, any more  than a bunch of grapes or a fig. I answer you that  there must be time. Let it first blossom, then bear  fruit, then ripen. Epictetus

I liked this reflection today from day by day app- Reflection for the Day We are often told in the Program that “more will be revealed.” As we are restored to health and become increasingly able to live comfortably in the real world without using chemicals, we begin to see many things in a new light. Many of us have come to realize, for example, that our arch-enemy, anger, comes disguised in many shapes and colors: intolerance, contempt, snobbishness, rigidity, tension, sarcasm, distrust, anxiety, envy, hatred, cynicism, discontent, self-pity, malice, suspicion, jealousy. Do I let my feelings get the best of me? Today I Pray May I recognize that my anger, like a dancer at a masquerade, wears many forms and many faces. May I strip off its several masks and know it for what it is. Today I Will Remember Anger wears a thousand masks. __________________________________________________ Feelings are the hardest part of sobriety in my opinion, early sobriety my feelings were confused with fact...

Address mental health issues .  Mental health disorders affect some 42.5 million people in the United States, per the  New York Association of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services . Many people are suffering from a mental health issue and don’t know it. When you’re choosing a rehab facility, opt for one that is staffed with competent and licensed psychology professionals that can screen for mental illness.Treating addiction and failing to treat mental illness is a recipe for disaster. Without learning how to handle your illness and getting the required medicated treatment, if necessary, you are likely to leave rehab ill-equipped for handling the symptoms that arise that may make you feel more inclined to use again in effort to dampen those symptoms. Among individuals with a mental health disorder, 29 percent are drug or alcohol abusers, according to  Helpguide . Participate in support groups.  Support groups have long been held as a helpful and effective method of con...

The purpose of aftercare isn’t just to keep you from drinking, using drugs,  or returning to harmful eating habits . The ultimate purpose is to keep you engaged in recovery as you make the transition from rehab to real life. For some people, this may mean avoiding addictive behavior completely. Others may go back to their old behaviors.  As you face the challenges of a sober life , aftercare services can help you in the following ways: By helping you make  healthy choices about your lifestyle, activities, and relationships By reinforcing the skills you learned for coping with stress and strong emotions By teaching you how to identify your own triggers and prevent a relapse By teaching you how to minimize the damage of a relapse if you do slip back into destructive behavior By giving you access to supportive individuals and groups who can help you through the recovery process If you’re searching for a rehab facility for yourself or a loved one, choosing a facility with a s...

 Day By Day-® Sharing feelings Many of us just did what other people did: We took drugs. But we felt so different from “normal” people. Why? Because of the way we did drugs and because drugs were so unfulfilling for us. It’s a joke among us recovering addicts that we tried so hard to look normal. Nonaddicts didn’t know our torment, didn’t know that we lived in another world. While high, we felt moments of euphoria and false well-being. When the drugs wore off, we suffered centuries of misery. Both are feelings that “normal” people did not experience. In the fellowship, however, we share all our feelings because we know that we are among friends, we know that we are finally home. Do I share my true feelings with others? Higher Power, I pray for the willingness to see my true feelings more clearly and to share myself with my fellow addicts. The feelings I will share today are God help me to stay clean and sober today!

From Life With Hope© - STEP SIX Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.  p.25  The spiritual principle of Step Six is willingness . At first, this step seemed to be an impossible undertaking until we realized that we were talking about a lifelong process. Our newfound awareness of our defects of character, as well as the realization that the removal of them might take the rest of our lives, was, for some of us, difficult and painful. But all that was required was to become entirely ready to let go of the defects of character that were blocking our relationship with a Higher Power. What we needed was a readiness to let go, and an openness to allow our loving God to do deep and lasting work in our hearts and minds. Character defects are, by their very nature, expressions of self-will. We realized that by practicing them it was impossible to practice spiritual principles. We could no longer afford to deny or suppress our defects with drugs or self-w...

Reflection for the Day As long as I stubbornly hang on to the conviction that I can live solely by my individual strength and intelligence, a working faith in my Higher Power is impossible. This is true, no matter how strongly I believe that God exists. My religious beliefs—no matter how sincere —will remain forever lifeless if I continue trying to play God myself. What it comes down to, we find, is that, as long as we place self-reliance first, true reliance upon a Higher Power is out of the question.  How strong is my desire to seek and do God’s will? Today I Pray I pray that I may not place my self-reliance above reliance on God. May I know that there is no conflict between taking responsibility for my own actions, which I have been taught is the essence of maturity, and looking to God for guidance. May I remember that if I stick to the “do it myself” rule, it is like refusing to ask for a road map from a tourist information bureau—and wandering around forever lost. Today I Will...