I was just released from prison. I've been going to meetings and trying to stay focused and I'm having alot of trouble. Serenity is foreign to me. This is my fourth attempt at getting sober and I want a life. Right now I'm relying on family to keep a roof over my head and It's a struggle not to be self-reliant. I have a sponsor (temporary) and I am in bad need of some guidance where ever I can get it. I have been dually diagnosed and this makes life very difficult. If I can get some advice on how to go about dealing with these problems I would appreciate it. I spend time on my computer so it would be nice to have some sober friends on here to talk with.
Welcome to the board. We can't give advise,, but we can share our experience, strength and hope in the AA program. Are you going to face 2 face meetings?
amanda
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do your best and God does the rest, a step at a time
And welcome to this MIP Forum. I have known many dear friends in this Program that have and live with a dual diagnosis. They use AA meetings for their addictions, work the 12 steps of the Program, that is the Program, and have a very competent Doctor help with the other. At times they talk about their other problems in Meetings, I think it helps them a lot. And the dear friends I have have known over the years, have a very good life.
Just my imput here, but more than anything, I just wanted to say welcome! Have you been able to locate meetings in the area you live. You probably have, if you have a temporary Sponsor. So I wish you the Best as you start your new life.
Welcome Justin, I'm glad you are here. I'm glad you are going to meetings, the more the better. In my home group we have a lot of people just out of prison, most of them are trying to do the 90 meetings in 90 days.The ones I see making it are the ones really working the program.I'm glad you have a sponsor.
My husband is in State rehab for felony DUI, he was out for awhile but just wouldn't work the program...this has been going on since 2003. What is his bottom ? I don't know but God does.
Hey you are free and you can do this if it's what you want. Keep coming here, lots of experience, strength and hope on this board.
Congratulations on being out, doesn't the sky look bluer, the air feel fresher and the food taste better?
First, give yourself some strokes for the steps you have taken so far. You're going to meetings, you've gotten a sponsor, and you aren't taking that drink. It may feel like a crab-like process, but it is the foundation you'll be building on, and foundations take time. For myself, it was about the "P" word (patience). I kept remembering a Scottish proverb " A steady drop will pierce a stone". The Steps. That is where my sanity lies. The second step, oh how I went over and over it. How still, when I'm overwhelmed by things in life, I go over it. But you are doing the right things by reaching out and by going to meetings. Connect with others, the old timers, in your area. Recognise the good things you are doing, and don't get lost in what you feel isn't getting done yet. And try to remember that each day is a new day, full of possibilities. Don't be tied to the past, but look at today. Today can be everything you make it to be, want it to be. Trust in your Higher Power to be by your side while you do this. If there's an alano club in your area, you may want to spend your free time there. Jeez, I lived at our Alano club the first six months. One, to get out of the house, and two,to be somewhere safe for me.(small town). But don't pressure yourself. Walk the path, enjoy the journey, one day at a time. It really, truly does get better, I promise. And reaching out here is a very good thing. Blessings, Wren
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Funny, isn't it, how friends and a Power greater than ourselves can neutralize nightmares?
there is a doublre trouble meeting here. U might try finding one. NA if dual addiction. I have a pretty good friend who says he hates orange. He does a lot of jail meetings to remind him what the bars were like. Says it really keeps him focused. I don't mean to be harsh. SOME PURSUE THIS DISEASE TO THE ULTIMATE BOTTOM DEATH! SORRY BUT TRUE!
Hi there 'soberdrunk', I'm Dan and I'm an alcoholic.
I took a running jump off the wagon 9 years ago, and had a very hard time climbing back on, but, I gotta tell you, the promises in the Big Book are true, both for NA and AA'ers.
I drank until I started experiencing health problems, but, even though I am still having to deal with some of those health issues, I have never felt the spiritual/emotional freedom that I am experiencing these days just by staying sober and by being a part of this group.
Happy that you are out. My first move was to keep reading where it talks about the Promises in the AA book.(Page 83.) That was what kept me going to meetings and eventually doing the 12 steps with my latest "tempoprary sponsor". (I had temorary, conditional sponsors, as I really didn't trust anyone.) The 12 steps helped me find peace, and trust enough to begin to live in a completely different way. We can't fix all we have done in a single day. Relax, it may take some time. The 12 steps are a great beginning to a life of peaceful productivity. -And fun! -Paul
to "Having trouble getting started", Here's that Promises from the book:
"If we are painstaking about this phase of our development, we will be amazed before we are half way through. We are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness. We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it. We will comprehend the word serenity and we will know peace. No matter how far down the scale we have gone, we will see how our experience can benefit others. That feeling of uselessness and self-pity will disappear. We will lose interest in selfish things and gain interest in our fellows. Self-seeking will slip away. Our whole attitude and outlook upon life will change. Fear of people and of economic insecurity will leave us. We will intuitively know how to handle situations which used to baffle us. We will suddenly realize that God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves.
Are these extravagant promises? We think not. They are being fulfilled among us, sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. They will always materialize if we work for them." pg 83, AA
