This read has helped me more than what you may ever know.Currently I am experiencing PAWS which I never knew existed.
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This was so helpful, thank you so much! I’ve been trying to figure out where I’m at in the stages and where I go next and this really helps. Especially a broad overview of some time frames because it’s so hard to grasp each day forward.
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Such a good post. Thank you for writing it.
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TYVM Dan for making this post!! Definitely book mark!!
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Thank you for the recommendations.
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I deepened and intensified my interest in a hobby in order to get through the first phases of recovery, especially getting through the long insomniac nights. I offer tutorials on that hobby free of charge, and making the tutorials also helps keep me sober. Godspeed to all in recovery.
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Here here my feeling s exactly 
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Reset for the umpteenth time but this time I feel that it will work! And guess what I did? There is a dolly I really want, and I gave the price of her to a friend. If I do not have The Stuff for a whole month, she will get the dolly for me. If I mess up, she gets to keep the money. So that will be an extra incentive because I really want that dolly! Have you tried something similar?
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Man, this was extremely helpful to me. I relapsed this past year for a few months and didn’t even realize how much my drinking had escalated until I started having AFib and realized how much of a beer gut I had gotten. You’re right, I wasn’t successful cause I didn’t have a plan. Thanks for the blueprint … I hand wrote it out in a journal and will keep documenting progress. Thanks for saying that it’s important to re-read your journal, something I had never done before, so that you can remember how bad I’ve made myself feel drinking into a corner. The pink cloud is something that always got me and that I never was even aware of before. Amazing how the mind tricks you into thinking you can do it without going down the hole again. Thanks for the motivation. 
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Thank you so much for that brilliant write up! The pink phase is the dangerous one I was clean 14 years forgot to keep working my recovery the relapse was for only 6 months but it was a million times worse than the first time I went into rehab.
My plan is to learn boundaries how to create them for myself as well as setting boundaries for those around me and to stop people pleasing. My plan is to remember to ask for help before you pick up a drink as a coping mechanism I have 3 children life is chaotic and I lost myself in that all so self love is what I am working on too. I have just come out of akeso psychiatric clinic I was in the duel diagnosis ward for alcohol and I have bipolar and a severe anxiety disorder! The craziest thing being in groups is I know all that stuff but doesn’t matter what you know it’s what you do with what you been taught! Today is another clean day and I will just go minute by minute anxiety is paralysing
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Hi I have almost 60 days sober and clean. I am just keeping on putting God first and not drinking or anything else next not prescribed to me. I will stay sober and clean the rest of my life.
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Hi @kasey-York welcome to ts congratulations on your sobriety I’m very glad your here please keep coming back I like folk who are putting their higher power first 
my higher powers working through me in spades in my recovery keep the faith 
Excellent information! All beginners should have this info packaged just this way at the beginning of their journey!
I would like to add something that made a huge difference for me in every stage of this journey & continues thru today, if that’s okay.
Mindfulness practice helps to keep me present in the moment of now.
Time traveling caused a lot of my anxiety, mostly during the withdrawl stage & thru the first 90 days.
Revisiting my past only causes my cravings to worsen. It brings up the very things I have been supressing for years that I had no coping skills for in the first place.
Predicting the future length of my misery caused me full blown panic attacks & only made it harder to stay focused on the end zone during withdrawal.
I believe my success is mostly due to finding a good mindfulness practice. For me, art & meditation have kept my thoughts away from my DOC & focused on ME.
I am a little more than 2 yrs clean & sober with a daily mindfulness routine & I continue to use it as a coping skill when life gets overwhelming or I decide time traveling is a good idea.
I truly believe I owe my life to my ability to be present in the now.
I hope this info helps someone else as much as it helped me. 
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Give up your plan for God’s plan.
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My new plan is to stay here, and stay connected but with a different approach.
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Great decision. We all benefit from you staying!
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Thank you! I can’t express how much I needed this to construct my own plan. Mahalo!
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Great read! Thank you.
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Welcome Carl so glad you are here.
I bookmarked this post for future reference. I have heard of SMART, but am not comfortable with using my insurance on it. Thoughts?
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