Losing non-recovery or career focused social media has been awesome for my mood. 7 months clean from facebook, facebook messenger, twitter, etc. I use LinkedIn sporadically for my job search and this site in the mornings to get going in a recovery mindset. Definitely relate to the idea of “Fakebook”, too many acquaintances boasting about how great life is only to relapse again because they weren’t doing the deal and working a program. I learned that some people I put in the friend category in my head were actually acquaintances by seeing who made similar efforts to mine to keep in touch by phone or in person. I need authentic emotional connection and for me that is much easier to interpret with voice at a minimum.
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This is my journey that I used to get (and stay) sober for the last almost 18 months:
It started with a glorious bottom, where I wanted to kill myself rather than continue to live my existence as it was. It started with the gift of desperation.
From there I called a rehab every single morning for 11 days before the finally had a bed available. I was carted off in to the mountains of Pennsylvania for a 30 day inpatient stay in rehab. It was not my first rehab, but I wiped my slate clean and took in everything I could.
Once I was discharged I immediately signed up for IOP, counseling (alcohol counselor) and mental health treatment (medication) through an integrated recovery center. I did my group for 4 months, counselor and medication for 6 months.
I also immediately started into AA and NA. I did a meeting a day for around 6 months. I still attend 5 meetings a week on average. I got a sponsor, started working steps and engaged in service work.
After 4 months of a terrible living situation I applied for public benefits and moved in to a sober living facility. I was there for 3 months before I moved in with an AA friend.
Other things I’ve done: Exercise, new hobbies, new friends, and a new outlook. I deleted dealers numbers, I don’t hang out in bars. I skipped events that had booze at them. I’ve read addiction related materials. I engage in volunteer work and charity events when I can.
I continue to work the steps. I pray. And I read the big book of Alcoholics Anonymous. Even today, I do one recovery related thing a day. It’s nice to have hobbies and new life, but that’s not recovery. Recovery is finding a program and sticking to it, even when I don’t want to. Recovery is completing my outpatient and following the suggestions of my counselor. Nothing I’ve done in recovery has been my own idea. I follow the path of people who have gotten and stayed sober.
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Wise words from a wise person. You are an inspiration.
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Folks like you are where I learned that plan
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