I hope you are well. Up until about 18 months ago I was 6 years sober from drugs. I then had 4 relapses a few months apart in each case. They were massive benders. One of which left me unconscious in the street and requiring hospital admission. I am currently 5 months sober.
I’m hoping to connect with people in similar situations to share advice and to hopefully expand my support network. Seems to be the cravings can be strong and the dreams about it are intense. Look forward to hopefully hearing from some of you.
Welcome Ulric,
Congratulations on your 5 months sober.
You are lucky to be alive. I learn a lot from people like you. I continue to hear each time someone goes out it gets worse and worse.
I have built a great support network here and at AA. And I am not afraid to ask for help. I know if I go back out I could die.
Glad you are here! TS is a great place to find resources and support for combating addiction and living a sober life! Great work getting back to five months, I know how hard it can be to put together long stretches of sober time after having extended sobriety. It sounds like you had some close calls, hopefully you can use those situations to fuel your sober journey.
A couple tools that help me while anxious or dealing with urges to use/drink are the 4-7-8 breathing exercise and the DBT opposite action tool!
From what I hear using/drinking dreams are pretty common when getting sober. I personally have had half a dozen which have ranged from odd to disturbing. I had most of them within the first few months of getting sober, maybe only one past the 9 month mark!
Thanks for sharing Ulric, being honest about your struggle is a step in the right direction! Don’t hesitate to reach out if you need additional support!
Thank you both. I used exercise and martial arts first time round. I joined an MMA gym as it was the most self harming thing I could think of. Luckily for me I found a community and have made good friends.
I was a daily user but my last relapses were binges. Weekends and down time are potential trigger for me.
It’s a lot easier to be in recovery when i have other people to talk to about it this is a great place but the 12 step recovery group made a difference for me and yes a higher power helps me stay clean everyday but it’s really not a religious thing it started with being willing to admit that there’s a power greater than i that will help me stay clean that’s a good starting place.
Hey Ulric,
You might want to check out smart recovery meetings. It‘s a program for building sobriety without following the 12 steps or using the higher power principle:
TS is a great place to connect ans to learn from each other. Glad you are here with us.
