When things are going shitty what do you reflect on to get you through the day? Do you think about the way things used to be? Are there any particular AA quotes or "mantras" that are meaningful to you and keep you from crawling back inside a bottle and staying there? What gives you the strength you need during those moments of hesitation?
Hey Tipsy, One that works for me is thinking back of how bad the jail food was!! Or a night of heavy drinking where i made a mess of everything. I have to remember where i came from, and my last drunk. if i dont remember that last drunk i probably havent had it yet!! u take care Wagon
Hey tipsy , early in my sobriety I probably said the serenity prayer 20 times a day. Whenever possible I also hit an extra meeting, sometimes just taking a walk helped.
keep posting
Bryan
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Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life. Romans 8:6 , The Message
Breathe in, breathe out. Then if I can possibly even get out of bed: right foot, left foot. Stay in constant contact with other AAs. Try to fill my time with AA stuff. Yard work. Pray if I can. Allot of times during crisis and tragedy I get resentful at God to point of feeling agnostic so prayer can be the toughest thing. I try to remember the deal I made with God about trying to do what he would have me if HE would take away the drinking problem. If I ever relapse I will try and remember to make a better deal next time in exchange for my will. Remember that this ONLY FEELS unbearable and permanent.
I also think back to how badly I felt right before I got sober. "Pitiful Incomprehensible Demoralization" That's how Bill W put it and we all know how bad that feels. I also "Think through the drink" If I drink what will the consequences be? What will happen is I'll lose everything that I've built since I got sober and I'll be at the bottom of that dark lonely hole where there's no light and no hope. I don't want to go back there, I'm afraid of going back there. If I do go back there I may never find my way back into the sun and I'll die alone in the dark.
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Work like you don't need the money
Love like you've never been hurt, and
dance like no one is watching.
I remember the times I had some AA in me and felt invincible, and went back out only to find the consequences just as horrific, if not worse. I too like to play the tape all the way through nowadays.
I also take a moment to acknowledge that my Higher Power is in control, and can turn my day around when I can't. Then I listen for what I should do next. Chill out (mentally)? Go to a meeting? Call someone in AA? Make a gratitude list? All these things work for me.
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~~"It's hard to be hateful when you're grateful."~~
Hey tipsy , early in my sobriety I probably said the serenity prayer 20 times a day. Whenever possible I also hit an extra meeting, sometimes just taking a walk helped.
keep posting
Bryan
that worked well for me also (still does). Taking care of H.A.L.T. usually does too. most times when I'm stressed out, I skip meals, don't sleep well, isolate, and as a result get irritable as hell. It's a viscious cycle TM, that's we in sobriety, we have to learn to take care of ourselves. Three squares, 8 hours of rest, exercise, have some fun with some fellow AAs rinse and repeat. I was so remedial that I had to create a weekly schedule that included eating, sleeping, bathing, house work, meetings, exercise.... It took about 6 months to get it down, but everytime I got wacked out about something I could look at my schedule and see that I was not eating, sleeping, exercising..... It's very hard to form and maintain routines, but you gotta do it.
Someone said the other day, "I know I have another drunk in me, but I don't know if I have another recovery in me." Scared the crap out of me. I might never make it back if I go out there. And the door inside of me that, in recovery, has cracked ever so slightly to let me catch a little glimpse of who I might be -- maybe who God meant for me to be -- will slam shut, maybe for good.
I always liked, "play back the tape!!!" I so dont want to be where I used to be. Granted some days I think I wasnt all that bad until, like last night at dinner, my kids reminded me of the time I rode my bike, with my water bottle of vodka, to my sons baseball game!!! They reminded me of how embarrassed they were!!! As hurtful as it is to hear those things, its a good reminder of where I was!!!!
Gratitude is also huge for me! I thank God every day for what and who I am today because of his grace!!!! Couldnt have done it alone!
Lani
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"We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have. "
