IT GETS BETTER

April 22, 2021

If you are in pain, if you are at the bottom, if you are at the end of your rope….IT GETS BETTER. It will not be easy. You can do this. You got this. You alone will have to do it but you do not have to do it alone.

In August 2021 I’ll have 10 years sober folks. If I went back to 10 yrs ago me and told me that, I’d laugh in my face and tell me to fuck off, with extreme prejudice.

It gets better. Right now and for the past few months actually I have been doing pretty good. Dangerously close to +1 on a scale of -1 to +1 whereas I’ve been at or below 0 for sooooooo long. To get here I’ve had to put in the work.

The first 30 days of sober are the hardest physically. During those 30 you’re battling your body and your mind. After that It’s pretty much a mental game only. 30 days to develop a new habit. Get support. Find an AA meeting around you and work the steps IN YOUR OWN WAY. Get a sponsor and develop a relationship. You are unlikely to be able to do this alone.

Depression tho, that’s an ongoing bitch and a half. Again, GET HELP. I struggled mightily with alcohol and depression by myself for so long, and my self medication with alcohol ultimately brought me to my deepest lows. I’ve been to numerous psychs and therapists. I’ve tried all kinds of different meds. Right now what I’ve got is working for me and I’m so thankful. Do the work.

Suicide is the most selfish act you can do, whether quickly or slowly. Someone in your life loves you more than you know and will be forever let down by you giving up. Some random stranger with a blog on the internet (me) will be upset if you give up. If you have only one reason left to live, CLING TO IT. Even if you think life is pointless, your life is not. It’s not about you man. It’s about how you help in other’s lives around you. In my darkest days, my wife and kids were my reason. How would my selfish act scar them for the rest of their lives? Do not give up the fight. Cling to that one reason until you’ve got others and you don’t need to cling anymore. Think of it as a tool. Use it when you need it and keep it somewhere you can find easily to come back to if and when you need it again.

My life is immeasurably better now. It still has its ups and downs so don’t expect to have everything work out perfect. Rather, your attitude will change so you are able to handle whatever comes at you in a much better way.

The Promises
(From pages 83-84 of the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous)

If we are painstaking about this phase of our development, we will be amazed before we are halfway 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.

Selfseeking will slip away. Our whole attitude and outlook on life will change.

Fear of people and 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.

~ by sobriety6923 on April 22, 2021.