Truth and tough love

I forgot which thread I’d clicked on, and read this out of context. :hear_no_evil: :rofl: Good thing I kept reading!

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What about Family Man? Great Nicholas Cage movie!

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Not seen those. I don’t think.

Must not be many horror fans around here…

2700

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I tried to get committed to the psych hospital, they said go to this auxiliary outpatient detox, so somehow I managed to drive myself there for almost 3 weeks. Then, after the detox was over, I went back to the hospital, got admitted for 11 days. From there I spent 4 months in IOP, had 2 therapist (my regular one and my addiction one from center where I did IOP) and a psychiatrist. Saw the therapists each week and the psychiatrist every 2 weeks. Took 5 months off work. I racked up 12,000 bucks in debt (not including the medical bills). When I went back to work it felt impossible. Thankfully everyone knew (I told everyone that I was quitting the night I decided to try getting into the hospital) that I was quitting. Not just alcohol, but benzos as well.

I go to therapy every week with my addiction specialist. I got rid of my previous therapist because when I went back to work she accused me of drinking again. It was heartbreaking. See my psychiatrist every month. On here everyday, and I’m part of another group of sober people I’ve become close with.

Much easier and much cheaper ways out there, but it’s not impossible to do whatever it takes.

Edit: Also, books, podcasts, all the mahjong solitaire on my phone. I can’t play mahjong anymore because it is heavily connected to the anxiety I experienced in those first 8 months. Ended up buying a new PC so I could play bigger, different games.

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It took me a second to remember what the conversation was myself. LOL. Speed gone in 60 seconds!!

Got to thinking this morning, a dangerous task for me lol.

And the promises were my train of thought. Specifically the “sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly” aspect.

We can lead a horse of to water, but we can’t make them drink. They have to be thirsty enough to want that water.

Not a soul here quit there first time trying, but we kept trying.

To those who are still having a quitting problem, keep trying, do all you can, drink the water. For us who have found some sobriety, keep leading the horses to the water and trying to get them to drink.

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Love this, my friend. I am going to add: If the horse refuses to drink, there is no value to anyone (other than to stoke one’s own ego) in harassing or beating the horse. Just because a horse might be dying of thirst, it is ineffective to try to hold it down and pour water down it’s throat.

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I agree in principle, however a fundamental part of leadership is encouraging others to do more than they themselves believe possible. Some of the best leaders, coaches and mentors I have had wanted more from me than I wanted for myself, because they believed I was capable of better…and they were right.

A leader knows the way, shows the way, and goes the way.

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Totally agree, but shaming, condescending, harassment and rudeness are not effective leadership techniques. Encouraging, inspiring people and showing them what is possible are.

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I think it all depends on the individual person and where they are on their journey. Some of us need more compassion than tough love. Others would welcome some tough love to help them get on track. The delicate part is telling the difference.

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That’s why this thread exists. It’s here for people who benefit from tough love. And for those who aren’t, well they aren’t reading this thread.

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Yes, I agree. That is the beauty of this site and the many threads.

Now you got me thinking. How many total threads are there? @NewPerspective @C-sun @SassyRocks perhaps you have the answer?

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Way too many to count. I can’t keep up with them.

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I wish you the best. My first try, I made it 6 months. Took me 2 years to stay quit longer than 2 weeks after that.

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The best I ever did on my own was about 60 days

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Best I did on my own was 45 days. The 6 months on my first try was thanks to AA, IOP and addiction based counseling. I quit those things, and didn’t last long.

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Sounds like St. Augustine could have used some AA in his life :joy:

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Those are some wonderful thoughts!!

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