Love it . Very true 
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This week’s observation, random… Don’t preach to people who are sober that your way is better, there is no right or wrong way to get sober as long as that person does not use today they are as sober as you.
Isn’t it great at Xmas and birthdays when you give someone a gift and you watch their face as they open it and the joy this brings to them… Your sobriety is a gift so why not use it more often to put a smile on people’s faces, it’s surprising what just a smile and a hello can do.
Not everyone is going to live up to your expectations… Don’t get resentful… The bar you have set other people is too high, its not their responsibility to react it’s your responsibility to adapt.
Coming up to 2 years 6 months and bc I listen to others I’ve realised I don’t know everything yet 
Do things you don’t want to do, I’ve been in 2 places I didn’t want to be this week and both times I walked away wiser.
That’s my week and it’s only Thursday… Oh I’ve taken up swimming, I’ve gained about 2 stone in over 2 years of sobriety and now doing something about it… I don’t care about the weight bc in the early days your sobriety is your priority and now I have managed to remain sober for a little while everything else will fall into place as and when it’s ready.
Godspeed
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Things just aren’t the same… 2 years 6 months ish and I’ve lost something, PROBLEMS.
Every day used to be a living nightmare, every scenario had to be hidden behind drugs and alcohol until eventually the shit had to hit the fan. Mountains were made out of mole hills and life was ultimately unmanageable. Looking back I don’t think I had much to worry about apart from what I brought upon myself by my own actions. But now I have genuine real life obstacles to over come, things I should be freaking out about, yet I don’t have 1 single problem. Instead I have things that need to be looked at thought through and dealt with and if I don’t know the answer or there just isn’t a good one then that’s fine too. Sobriety gives you a chance at life but you gotta live some of it on life’s terms. And as for that serenity prayer, it’s not a prayer it’s a mantra for life that long term sobriety helps you achieve.
And if that all seems a lot to take in don’t panic… Its just for today.
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Were we wrong all this time?.. 2 years 6 months + and some days I’m wondering if maybe I’m not quite the alcoholic I thought I was, OK it was pretty nasty at first but I did quit and many people don’t so I couldn’t have been that bad.
Ain’t that the great myth… Irelevent of where I am today I was as close to death as I wanted to be and gratefully found a way out before it was too late.
So yeah if you’ve got any doubts about your addiction it really was that bad, you are not cured, it will be worse next time round, you may never be able to quit again and at no point are you going to be the lucky one or the exception to the rule. I’ve never met a person who told me they we’re an alcoholic once but now I only drink on a Friday. ( please prove me wrong and give me hope). I’m a gambling man but not when I know the odds are stacked against me.
That drinking game is rigged you ain’t coming out on top, you may not come out at all.
Godspeed.
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Wow! This one really hit home for me. Im grateful for my sobriety. But being sober has made me realize how sad and lonely I am. Drinking was an escape from my reality. So I spend most of my days pretending I’m happy. (Fake it and hopefully someday I’ll make it).
All the best on your journey.
Hugs
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No advice tonight it’s a reality check… A women at a local meeting was sober for 6 years and picked up a drink last weekend.
She’s dead now.
I don’t go to meetings just for the happy endings I go for the reality of alcohol. I hear of lots of relapses and see and hear how that goes, these keep me sober a bit longer and I’m pretty sure the death of this lady is going to stick with me for quite a while. My other half asked me why would she do that to herself and the children and family she left behind, she should have known what could happen.
I didn’t answer her… Only people like us know the answer to that.
No one else understands…
Godspeed
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Flashbacks and wishes - 2 years 7 months and my partner was going to bed tonight and I had a knee jerk reaction, I was about to say can you roll me a joint before you go up and suddenly remembered I don’t smoke any more and felt a bit sad for a few seconds. What a weird sensation. The best bit was she doesn’t smoke either and there are no drugs in the house anyway, have I got dementia 
anyway that agonising craving / obsession that how the hell am I going to get through today has literally boiled down to a mad 10 seconds, it really does get easier.
Saw an old drinking and drug buddy today and he said he wish he could stop, I guess we done a lot of wishing in the past but a wish is just a form of jealousy as far as other peoples sobriety is concerned. Best to stop wishing for it and start working for it. Don’t think I’ll ever be entirely happy about never getting wasted again so another day sober is the best I can wish for, at least we’ve
earnt that.
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I don’t pretend to know best but I do know better. Part of being a sponsor is to point out people’s character defects so that once being aware of them the work can start to try and remove them. People don’t like to know just like I didn’t like to know but in addiction and recovery we have many faults. We think our only problem is drink or drugs etc but is just quitting enough to make us happy?.. Maybe for a short while.
But I could never truly be content with being exactly the same person I used to be with drink removed, I would hate it.
On occasions people have said to me " You don’t know me well enough" when I’ve suggested where they are at fault but I know you very well indeed if you are an alcoholic addict. That’s all I need to know.
Nobody could tell me anything in the early days without me either getting pissed off, ignore it or I knew everything anyway.
You don’t know as much as you think, other peoples advice is not criticism it’s help. Your not thinking clearly, other peoples advice is proven. Most of us weren’t thinking at all just wishing and hoping it would all just disappear and get better soon, other peoples advice has lived through the experience and can get you to where you want to be.
Listen listen listen to long term sobriety and work work work.
Godspeed.
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When I couldn’t stay sober for 1 day I eventually had to look for people that could and do what they did. After a day I needed to find out how others could not drink for a week, this pattern has not finished. Soon I’ll be 1000 days and even yesterday I found someone a couple of months ahead of me doing something I don’t do, now I do. In sobriety we must remain a moving target we must continually learn and practice a new way of living or complacency sets in. At 1000 days I can honestly say I’ve cracked it and yet I see people relapse after 5 or 10 years so I know cracking it is not something I need to consider. Gratitude, brotherly love and a will to keep learning are a far safer way than hanging my hat up and saying I’ve made it.
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Love your thread and insights Paul. Thank you 
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I second this. My old phone wouldn’t let me use sober time anymore because it needed updated and my phone couldn’t do it but now I’ve got a new phone and just catching up. Love this thread @Dolse71 . Great reminders and motivation 
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Remembering gratitude - In the early days it was important to find things to be grateful for and write a list everyday. This kept me spiritually fit bc without alcohol and drugs life seemed pretty pointless, boring and each day was one long drag. Gratitude helped find the reason for why I was doing what I was doing, feeling how I was feeling and remind me of what there is to gain instead of what I was leaving behind. As time went by the written gratitude list got shorter but my mental gratitude became automatic, now though I think I’ve probably fell into a life that other people would regard as “normal” but I didn’t get sober to become normal I got sober to strive to be a better person in every department. So I must never forget all the things I’m still grateful and need to do a mental spot check once in a while.
This gratitude keeps me just above normal, gives me a gift that can be passed on to other people.
Maybe we can brighten up someone else’s “normal” life by bringing a small part of our joy into it.
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This all sounds so familiar to me
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This is beautiful.
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2 years 10 months tomorrow, I’ve just realised I have so much less of everything
Drink less
Drug less
Think less
Worry less
Selfless
Fearless
Stress less
Less anxiety
Less depression
Less panic attacks
Less emotional over reacting
Less boredom
Less expectations
Less problems
Less bad attitude
Less ego
Less anger
Less hate
Less regrets
And yet because I didn’t pick up today I have so much more.
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Love this . Absolutely true
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Love this!! 
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That’s great 
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Feeling the feels… At the start it all feels like fun hanging out with new friends, having a laugh, getting drunk and high… Then slowly everyone disappears and we’re left chasing that feeling of freedom whilst at the same time falling into that trap… Numbness, fear and pain replace the laughs. Mentally and emotionally, physically and spiritually we have become unable to cope with life and the solution we have found is a substance to produce more numbness and darkness.
THIS HAS TO CHANGE…
somewhere we find strength and courage to make that change although at the time it feels more like admitting a weakness, this brings more pain, early recovery is pain.
If you felt alone in addiction it’s nothing compared to the oneness of recovery, a fear of the now and the unknown.
But time is a great healer and with the continued absence of chemicals our emotions become on high alert varying from extreme spiritual elation to total depression, this too will pass.
How then down the road did we learn to live a ’ normal ’ life. We always felt normal was not enough.
WE ARE FAR FROM NORMAL, a famous person once said “Addicts know the truth”
We get a second chance at life and a few years later our emotions are finally real and for the first time we own them instead of them owning us.
I’m not going to explain what I feel now, stick around and find out for yourself bc I don’t want to ruin the surprise…
Godspeed.
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