To the newbies

Hello!

There are a lot of you new here. We will see more in the coming weeks as well. You are going to ask a lot of questions, get a lot advice, and hopefully have a lot of fun and fellowship while you are here.

Before I get into my journey…lets talk about what us “old timers” see here…every year at this time.

Some of you will make it. Some of you will not. Some of you will listen, ask questions, seek help from us. Some of you wont.
Some of you will be passive watchers learning. Some of you will be extremely involved.
Some of you will wear your heart on your cuff and bare your soul to us. Some of you will fight us, because our advice wont work for you.

We are all so similar and all so unique at the same time. Our addictions took alot.

For me…this is my journey.

I was a heavey drinker for 2 and half decades. Truth be told, i always knew I had a problem…And I always knew I could fix it. (I was wrong!)

What lead me here was a going away party I threw. It was full of booze and women. The going away party was for me. For the next day, I had planned to pull a lawn chair to the middle of my back yard, drink a bottle of Jack, then put a gun in my mouth and say good bye.

The gun was in my mouth, and I heard “try sober”…the rest is history.

I tried going to AA the next day…just couldnt get myself to actually go. I drove to 5 different meetings, each time chickened out and drove home.

I lay crying on the couch. I decided maybe If I kept track of my days, it might help. I looked at my APP store…and found Home…this wonderful forumn.

I got here like many people. The AA group suggested I go to a meeting…I proudly proclaimed I didnt need AA. It was suggested, that I keep it as an option. I survived 89 days here without AA. I lived on here…listening, participating…and for 89 days, my soberiety got better.

I also did a lot of other stuff in those days to enhance my soberiety…for the most part it helped.

Then day 89 came. I was worried, the cravings were dad. Day 90 just happened to be the anniversary of the death of one of my sailors. It always tore me up that I didnt deliver him safely to his mother.

As day 89 progressed, the urge to drink strengthened. I did go to sleep sober…but day 90?

I knew deep down, I wasnt going to make it. So, i actually attended an AA meeting. It was wonderful!

My AA journey probably wasnt typical. I went to meetings about 3 or 4 times a week. Worked all the steps on my own, initially. It helped, but I needed more. I broke down and got a sponsor…and did all the steps with help.

Last March I hit 4 years sober. That day, I started Recovery Dharma. I wanted something knew, I felt I was stagnating in AA. My sobriety is important to me, so I wanted to keep working on it…get new tools for my tool kit.

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE, LOVE LOVE IT!

The point of all that, keep working on being sober, if something isnt working…dont give up, dont give in…get on here and find another way.

My life now is so much better. There are good days, bad days, fantastic days, and miserable days. Thats life. However, being sober just makes everything better.

If you are new, and are still reading…here is a little more advice.

There is a good chance your emotions are going to be all over the place, you are going to be raw, irritable, sad, guilt ridden. You are also going to find a LOT of good stuff too.

Stick around, be active…

YOU ARE WORTH A SOBER LIFE!

Much Love,

Thirdmonkey

167 Likes

Well done Scott.
Thank you for that share.
And Happy Sober New Year.
I’m glad I found you and so many others on here almost 3 years ago. The support here is amazing. All I had to do was ask for help. And I always got it here.
:pray:t2::heart:

23 Likes

This was great. Thank you for sharing this.

11 Likes

@Thirdmonkey
Loved reading your story
:unicorn:

12 Likes

That was a good read. For the newcomers as well for me. Glad to be a part of this tribe for years, glad to be sober for years.
Thank you for being here and making this forum be the backup for so many of us :pray:

12 Likes

Thank you for your beautifull share and all the support within it.
Have a lovely day :slightly_smiling_face:

4 Likes

Great share and great advice for newcomers Monkey :pray::sunflower:

5 Likes

Fantastic, buddy.

4 Likes

Thank you everyone…hopefully the newbies read it too! Love everyone of you

10 Likes

Thank you and happy new year! Where is Recovery Dharma?

4 Likes

Love this!! So grateful for you and that you are here my friend!!!

3 Likes

Great post! Thanks for putting it together :+1:

2 Likes

Its not a prevelant as AA…if you google Recovery Dharma near me…you should find some.

1 Like

Thank you for sharing. Your story is inspiring and is a great message for newbies and people who have been on this journey around you.
Peace!

6 Likes

This story gives me chills @Thirdmonkey, especially when I think of the impact you have here and no question IRL. Thank you for sharing this. Grateful for you and your words. :orange_heart:

And bumping for the Newbies!

10 Likes

Im fresh to this app and this hit hard man i appreciate every single word. Congrats on your four years man and keep up the great work.

10 Likes

Welcome! Thus place changed my life

5 Likes

Thank you for your post, i couldn’t have gotten this far without this site and more importantly the people on it, for me your all lifesavers and i love you all very much :heart:

9 Likes

Thank you for your share, Scott. The message from the Divine, the red letter days, these happen to so many of us in unique ways. It’s great to hear we are all part of a whole, necessary warps and woofs to make the pattern of living.

To the newcomer, we welcome you warmly. We need you and your experience to help grow our sobriety!

8 Likes

This place has been a blessing!

2 Likes