Hello everyone. My name is Denise and I'm new to this group and I'm an alcoholic. As of yesterday I was on day 12 of sobriety. Today I'm starting over. I feel horrible that I slipped up, but I know I can do this. I hope to meet some new friends in here.
Glad to see you coming in to this group, in a few days you can get to know us all. In the book section of this site, is an online version of the book of Alcoholic Anoyomous. If you read parts of the first 164 pages, you'll probably find a lot of similarities. Have you thought about going to an AA Meeting? In your area. the meetings are also online, I will get back to you with the site (have to look it up, I am new to this board too.
Welcome, glad you are here. In the daily topic (Posts) Under A another day, another date, I think , anyway it is a post by Phil, He has the 1st step posted in there, check it out.
Hi DLM, it's kind of hard to stop drinking right around the biggest drinking day of the year,so good for you that you where able to stop for 12 days. I'm glad your back today! Do try and make it to meetings in the new year. I found them to be so helpful to me and keeping me sober. I too go to a couple of sober web sites to help me stay sober when I cannot make a meeting. As suggested above,it will be most helpful to read the big book to help you on your way. Remember it does not all have to relate to you,just take what you need and leave the rest. Happy Sober day to you and Happy New Year!
Thanks for the information. I just orderd the book online. I really appreciate everything. I'm going to fix my black eyed peas now, but I am going to try to be back online later today. There is also an AA meeting in my area at 4:45 today and I'm planning to be there.
I had not found that website, but understand you don't need it now. When you go that 4:45 meeting, you can pickup a Scheule there.
God Bless you dear for being here, an doing it alone for 12 days was awesome.
I hope to hear back, soon, and you can alway Private Message anyone, you click on their name and it will give you the option o reviewing their Profile or Sending a Private message, I use that a lot,
Welcome. You willingness to stop drinking is a beginning. There is more work to be done. Meetings will help you connect with stories and ideas for sobriety. The BB is the direction manual. Although it is a suggested program, I find that the words of wissdom in the BB led to a life of purpose and joy. It does take time. The good news is that we only need to work through the next 24. Just in little bites, one day at a time, we find reprieve.
A sponsor is the best way to work the Program. The answers are in the Steps. You have Promises to look forward to AS you take the action necessary. It is a process. This journey will have its ups and downs. After all, life is still in our face. the difference now is that we can LEARN to live life on lifes term without drinking...A Sweet Spot. We can choose to never drink again. The obsession will be removed. The BB shows us a Design for Life. And then one day we feel the Promises come true. We live a life that is happy, joyous, and free.
Keep coming back. You are loved more than you can know.JV.
You have a friend in Toni. Give her an email and let her know how you are. It's always nice to have good people to talk to!
Click on the link, select your state and they will hook you up to a centralized office where they can give you times and places of meetings in your area.
Goog luck and Happy New Year. Your Brother in AA, Chris B.
P.S.
Here is a copied version, copied from AA.org
Check out step 1 and see if it applies to your life.
THE TWELVE STEPS OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS
1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol — that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
Hi Denise, Welcome to the board , glad you have found us. Please keep coming, post often. Hey, I just ate my ham, blackeyed peas and cornbread, it's nap time.
Keep it simple and remember it's a one day at a time deal, and today is day one.
The biggest accomplishment is starting over - WAY TO GO!
Make that meeting! There's an AA saying "Meeting makers Make it". And when you make those meetings you'll start to understand the Steps, sponors, etc. The most important thing is
Don't drink today. the rest will come.
You're in my prayers.
Hugs
Doll
-- Edited by Doll at 15:49, 2006-01-01
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* We eventually realize that just as the pains of alcoholism had to come before sobriety, emotional turmoil comes before serenity. *
One of the great ways to stay sober (aside from reading the Big Book, and practicing the program) is to make lots of new sober friends. You can do that online right here, and in person at AA meetings.