Happy Monday All! We’re making a bit of a change to Monday Meetup which we hope you enjoy. Each week we’ll be writing about a different theme and it’d be great to get your input as well. As always, Monday Meetup is also an opportunity for you to jump online talk about whatever’s on your mind.
Here we go………..
15% Chemical, 85% Life Issues
Making change to drug and alcohol use doesn’t come easy. Some people are looking to cut down, some are looking to stop altogether. I tried to control things for many years………unsuccessfully. There were times I pretended to myself that I was in control and there were times late at night that I admitted that I was being controlled. I wanted to stop for soooo long but drugs and alcohol were a normal part of life for me. They actually made up part of my identity and I think that’s where a lot of the fear stemmed from. What would life be like without drugs or alcohol? What would I do? How would I spend my time? Who was I without them?
Over the years I tried many things to make change. I tried cutting down, I tried stopping ‘forever’……repeatedly. I tried only drinking, I tried only taking drugs. I tried to do it only on weekends or two nights per week. I tried drinking light beer. I tried only taking enough money out for a certain amount of drinks. There were so many more things I tried but none of them ever worked for me long term. I could never maintain it.
When I finally hit rehab at the age of 37 I was physically, emotionally, and spiritually broken. Over half of my life had been negatively impacted by drugs and alcohol. In those three months I learnt a lot about myself and about addiction. I learned that for me, the only way I was ever going to control drugs and alcohol was to not have them at all. Something that was drilled into me over and over again was that addiction is 15% Chemical and 85% Life Issues – note: this is not a mathematically or scientifically proven percentage but it makes sense, over time it’s made more and more sense to me, and I hope that when you read this you’ll identify with it too. Uncovering what was driving me to use was key to making change………..but it was even more pivotal to me maintaining change. There were times over the years where I stopped for a few months but I always ended up using again and sliding further down the scale. It was because I’d got the chemical out of my system but I’d done nothing to deal with the life issues that drove me to use and drove me back to using.
That 85% will be different for everyone and whether your goal is to cut down or stop completely, understanding what your 85% is will help you towards maintaining the change you’re looking to make. Spending a week in detox or working with your GP to safely detox will get rid of the 15%, the chemical in your system, but the 85% is going to take time to figure out and if the 85% isn’t dealt with, that’s the stuff that’s going to take you back down the path to using. It’ll take patience and some tough lessons learning what works for you and what doesn’t……….but in the long-run it’ll be worth it.
Over the course of the next couple of months I’m going to write about topics that have helped me maintain the changes I wanted to make and have been part of helping me to understand my 85%. I’ll share my experience of each topic and I hope it helps you to think about how the topic relates to you and your 85%.
The forums work because people share their thoughts, stories, and experiences. It’d be great to hear your perspective on this topic and others over the next few months on the Monday Meetup thread.
So……what are your thoughts on addiction being 15% Chemical and 85% Life Issues?
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Monday Meetup - Join us weekly!
- PnorkelPW
- Peer Worker
Post
Re: Monday Meetup - Join us weekly!
Happy Monday All! We’ve made a bit of a change to Monday Meetup which we hope you enjoy. Each week we’ll be writing about a different theme and it’d be great to get your input as well. As always, Monday Meetup is also an opportunity for you to jump online talk about whatever’s on your mind so feel free to share about anything you like. Whether it’s 5 words or 500, it doesn’t matter……….it’d just be great to hear from you.
Last week we spoke about the connection between life issues and addiction, this week it’s Connections…………….
Connection can come in many forms and involve many different people. Making change isn’t easy and whether it’s drugs, alcohol, gambling, food, sex, gaming, or any other number of addictions, it’s damn hard to make change alone………and harder to maintain it. I tried to go it alone many times and I’d stop for short periods of time, I even got months up on a couple of tries, but I always ended up back where I started. I kept sliding further down the slope the longer it went on. Rock-bottom always had a trap door.
My addictions became my everything and I pushed friends and family away. I slowly stopped seeing people and over the course of time it made it harder for me to reach out to them for help. I didn’t feel like I’d been a good friend, I felt like all I did was take, take, take and as a result I didn’t feel like I deserved their help. I’d only be reaching out when I needed something and that added to the shame I was already feeling. I only spoke to my dad was when I needed money and it became the same with friends. Drugs, alcohol, and my other addictions took away everything I cared about and I stopped doing anything but drink or use. I ended up waking up to go to work and getting home and isolating in my bedroom. Isolation leads to depression and in the end I don’t know if my substance use was because of my depression or my depression was because of my substance use………they just fed and fuelled each other.
Eventually I ended up in rehab, broken, alone, and with a feeling of emptiness that’s hard to put into words. There was a lot I learned in there and one of the biggest lessons was that I couldn’t maintain change alone. There’ll be a lot of topics I cover on Monday nights moving forwards but this one, in my opinion, is the biggest. There is a great talk by Johann Hari on the importance of connection, here’s the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PY9DcIMGxMs This changed my perspective on a lot of things and shows how vital connection can be to making and maintaining change. To creating a life where drugs and alcohol aren’t needed………..it is possible.
I said at the top that connection comes in many forms. We tend to think immediately of friends when we hear the word connections but involves much, much more. Sure there’s friends and family but connections come in the form of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health, legal support, accommodation, environment, sport, hobbies, education, employment, financial, safety, and more…………all things that make up part of our 85% as mentioned last week.
Connections for me became my GP who assisted with physical and mental health, my psychologist, my family who began to trust me again, a core group of friends who supported me and didn’t try to drag me back to drinking or using, my housemates, my workmates, my classmates when I went back to study, meeting people when I started playing golf again, meeting new people when I started dating again, and people I met doing self-development courses. I started to slowly create a life that kept me fulfilled and one that I didn’t want to ruin by using again. I started to create a life that made me happy without the need for drugs and alcohol and I had connections helping me maintain it.
Maintaining change takes support from your connections and these can take time to build or rebuild. I had to rebuild a lot of mine because I’d burnt some of them and others were going to be detrimental in my drive to make change. I had to step away from those who were still living the lifestyle I was moving away from. I felt a bit isolated at first but that’s where I found Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) was helpful. I’d tried AA a few times before but for various reasons I wasn’t connecting. When I began to understand that they were just people trying to achieve the same thing I was, and some of them had managed to maintain it for years, I began to understand how much it could help me. I was able to make friends with people who were focused on a life of not using drugs and alcohol and they were just the people I needed. Maybe you’d like to try AA or Narcotics Anonymous (NA), or SMART Recovery???
I now have connections that I can turn to when I need support and I can be there to support them too. There’s a reassurance, and protection, and safety that comes with that. I have connections that help me maintain my goals of remaining drug and alcohol free.
The forums work because people share their thoughts, stories, and experiences. It’d be great to hear your perspective on this topic and others over the next few months on the Monday Meetup thread.
Soooooo………
Who are your connections?
What areas could you do with more connection in?
Who can you reach out to for support?
Last week we spoke about the connection between life issues and addiction, this week it’s Connections…………….
Connection can come in many forms and involve many different people. Making change isn’t easy and whether it’s drugs, alcohol, gambling, food, sex, gaming, or any other number of addictions, it’s damn hard to make change alone………and harder to maintain it. I tried to go it alone many times and I’d stop for short periods of time, I even got months up on a couple of tries, but I always ended up back where I started. I kept sliding further down the slope the longer it went on. Rock-bottom always had a trap door.
My addictions became my everything and I pushed friends and family away. I slowly stopped seeing people and over the course of time it made it harder for me to reach out to them for help. I didn’t feel like I’d been a good friend, I felt like all I did was take, take, take and as a result I didn’t feel like I deserved their help. I’d only be reaching out when I needed something and that added to the shame I was already feeling. I only spoke to my dad was when I needed money and it became the same with friends. Drugs, alcohol, and my other addictions took away everything I cared about and I stopped doing anything but drink or use. I ended up waking up to go to work and getting home and isolating in my bedroom. Isolation leads to depression and in the end I don’t know if my substance use was because of my depression or my depression was because of my substance use………they just fed and fuelled each other.
Eventually I ended up in rehab, broken, alone, and with a feeling of emptiness that’s hard to put into words. There was a lot I learned in there and one of the biggest lessons was that I couldn’t maintain change alone. There’ll be a lot of topics I cover on Monday nights moving forwards but this one, in my opinion, is the biggest. There is a great talk by Johann Hari on the importance of connection, here’s the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PY9DcIMGxMs This changed my perspective on a lot of things and shows how vital connection can be to making and maintaining change. To creating a life where drugs and alcohol aren’t needed………..it is possible.
I said at the top that connection comes in many forms. We tend to think immediately of friends when we hear the word connections but involves much, much more. Sure there’s friends and family but connections come in the form of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health, legal support, accommodation, environment, sport, hobbies, education, employment, financial, safety, and more…………all things that make up part of our 85% as mentioned last week.
Connections for me became my GP who assisted with physical and mental health, my psychologist, my family who began to trust me again, a core group of friends who supported me and didn’t try to drag me back to drinking or using, my housemates, my workmates, my classmates when I went back to study, meeting people when I started playing golf again, meeting new people when I started dating again, and people I met doing self-development courses. I started to slowly create a life that kept me fulfilled and one that I didn’t want to ruin by using again. I started to create a life that made me happy without the need for drugs and alcohol and I had connections helping me maintain it.
Maintaining change takes support from your connections and these can take time to build or rebuild. I had to rebuild a lot of mine because I’d burnt some of them and others were going to be detrimental in my drive to make change. I had to step away from those who were still living the lifestyle I was moving away from. I felt a bit isolated at first but that’s where I found Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) was helpful. I’d tried AA a few times before but for various reasons I wasn’t connecting. When I began to understand that they were just people trying to achieve the same thing I was, and some of them had managed to maintain it for years, I began to understand how much it could help me. I was able to make friends with people who were focused on a life of not using drugs and alcohol and they were just the people I needed. Maybe you’d like to try AA or Narcotics Anonymous (NA), or SMART Recovery???
I now have connections that I can turn to when I need support and I can be there to support them too. There’s a reassurance, and protection, and safety that comes with that. I have connections that help me maintain my goals of remaining drug and alcohol free.
The forums work because people share their thoughts, stories, and experiences. It’d be great to hear your perspective on this topic and others over the next few months on the Monday Meetup thread.
Soooooo………
Who are your connections?
What areas could you do with more connection in?
Who can you reach out to for support?
0 x
- PnorkelPW
- Peer Worker
Post
Re: Monday Meetup - Join us weekly!
Routine
Happy Monday All! Welcome to Monday Meetup. Each week we write about a different theme and it’d be great to get your input as well. As always, Monday Meetup is also an opportunity for you to talk about whatever’s on your mind.
This week it’s Routine…………….
Routine helps maintain change. It helps establish positive patterns and get the body into a rhythm. Patterns of drug and alcohol use have usually been formed over many years and take time to undo. I’d drank and used for over half my life by the time I was finally able to maintain long-term change and routine played a big part in that.
Drugs and alcohol stopped making me feel good, they stopped working. I had to find other things that made me feel good and in the early days they consisted of pretty simple things. Time with my daughter, healthy diet, swimming, working out at the gym, a sauna, work, study, time with friends, and the most underestimated of all………..sleep. All of these things helped give my life purpose, they were things I enjoyed, they were things I didn’t want to mess up.
I remember getting up early to walk to work instead of catching the tram. It was a 35 minute walk but I felt good doing it. I’d listen to music or a podcast and found it to be a very mindful activity. I’d hit the gym two or three nights per week after work and swim and sauna on weekends to break things up a bit but still be getting some exercise. Maintaining a healthy diet helped control the cravings and just helped me feel good in general. Work gave me somewhere to be each day, gave me financial independence, and enabled me to make new friends. Study was the same but it was also opening up a new future. There was a lot to manage between part-time dad duties, full-time work, and part-time study but I had things to look forward to. I wouldn’t have been able to maintain those things if I was drinking and using and for the first time in many, many years I felt positive about my future………I felt like I had a future. I had to maintain a routine.
Over the years my routine has changed because I’ve needed to make changes. Different work commitments, different life commitments, different expectations have also required me to make adjustments but to maintain my routine. It’s important to remember that routines can be adjusted to allow other things to fit in but you may need to drop some things off too. Needs change over time and there can be some trial and error involved in adjusting routines but don’t let it stop you trying. There have been times where my routine has dropped off because life pressures have increased and it’s had a negative impact on me. For me, my mental health has suffered because I’ve stopped doing the things that help me feel good about myself and when my mental health suffers the thoughts of drugs and alcohol can re-enter my mind.
Earlier I mentioned sleep and the fact that it gets underestimated. It’s the area that I’ve needed to continually focus on and I still don’t do it well. The silly thing is that I know it’s the domino that throws my routine out of whack every time. When I don’t get enough sleep I find it harder to get up early and exercise. This leads to my days not being as productive, my mood being lower, my diet getting thrown out, and my mental health suffering. I am getting better but the reality is that 5 - 6 hours isn’t enough. I can operate on it, but it wears me down. I’ll continue to keep working on it.
The forums work because people share their thoughts, stories, and experiences. It’d be great to hear your perspective on this topic and others over the next few months on the Monday Meetup thread.
Sooooooo……….
How’s your routine?
Do you need to make any adjustments?
Whether it’s 5 words or 500, it doesn’t matter……….it’d just be great to hear from you.
Happy Monday All! Welcome to Monday Meetup. Each week we write about a different theme and it’d be great to get your input as well. As always, Monday Meetup is also an opportunity for you to talk about whatever’s on your mind.
This week it’s Routine…………….
Routine helps maintain change. It helps establish positive patterns and get the body into a rhythm. Patterns of drug and alcohol use have usually been formed over many years and take time to undo. I’d drank and used for over half my life by the time I was finally able to maintain long-term change and routine played a big part in that.
Drugs and alcohol stopped making me feel good, they stopped working. I had to find other things that made me feel good and in the early days they consisted of pretty simple things. Time with my daughter, healthy diet, swimming, working out at the gym, a sauna, work, study, time with friends, and the most underestimated of all………..sleep. All of these things helped give my life purpose, they were things I enjoyed, they were things I didn’t want to mess up.
I remember getting up early to walk to work instead of catching the tram. It was a 35 minute walk but I felt good doing it. I’d listen to music or a podcast and found it to be a very mindful activity. I’d hit the gym two or three nights per week after work and swim and sauna on weekends to break things up a bit but still be getting some exercise. Maintaining a healthy diet helped control the cravings and just helped me feel good in general. Work gave me somewhere to be each day, gave me financial independence, and enabled me to make new friends. Study was the same but it was also opening up a new future. There was a lot to manage between part-time dad duties, full-time work, and part-time study but I had things to look forward to. I wouldn’t have been able to maintain those things if I was drinking and using and for the first time in many, many years I felt positive about my future………I felt like I had a future. I had to maintain a routine.
Over the years my routine has changed because I’ve needed to make changes. Different work commitments, different life commitments, different expectations have also required me to make adjustments but to maintain my routine. It’s important to remember that routines can be adjusted to allow other things to fit in but you may need to drop some things off too. Needs change over time and there can be some trial and error involved in adjusting routines but don’t let it stop you trying. There have been times where my routine has dropped off because life pressures have increased and it’s had a negative impact on me. For me, my mental health has suffered because I’ve stopped doing the things that help me feel good about myself and when my mental health suffers the thoughts of drugs and alcohol can re-enter my mind.
Earlier I mentioned sleep and the fact that it gets underestimated. It’s the area that I’ve needed to continually focus on and I still don’t do it well. The silly thing is that I know it’s the domino that throws my routine out of whack every time. When I don’t get enough sleep I find it harder to get up early and exercise. This leads to my days not being as productive, my mood being lower, my diet getting thrown out, and my mental health suffering. I am getting better but the reality is that 5 - 6 hours isn’t enough. I can operate on it, but it wears me down. I’ll continue to keep working on it.
The forums work because people share their thoughts, stories, and experiences. It’d be great to hear your perspective on this topic and others over the next few months on the Monday Meetup thread.
Sooooooo……….
How’s your routine?
Do you need to make any adjustments?
Whether it’s 5 words or 500, it doesn’t matter……….it’d just be great to hear from you.
0 x
- PnorkelPW
- Peer Worker
Post
Re: Monday Meetup - Join us weekly!
Happy Monday All! Welcome to Monday Meetup. Each week we write about a different theme and it’d be great to get your input as well. As always, Monday Meetup is also an opportunity for you to talk about whatever’s on your mind.
This week it’s Honesty…………….
When I was in rehab the term ‘brutal honesty’ ran over and over in my mind. It became an essential part of my life………….because it had to. I’d lied to myself and everyone around me for years. It had to stop. If I was to make change and maintain it, I had to start to be brutally honest with myself and in turn, with those around me.
Denial had played a big part in my life up until then, denial is lying to self. Addiction almost took my life and I was on the path to where that was becoming probable again. I’d pretended that I wasn’t an alcoholic and an addict for years. I didn’t want to be. Deep down I knew it to be the truth but I didn’t want to believe it. I’d convinced myself that one day I’d be able to control it but every time I started again things got worse. I was suffering from deep depression and I didn’t want to admit that either. I was desperately unhappy; I knew that drugs and alcohol had contributed to every negative experience in my life and I was scared of life without them. I didn’t want to admit that I needed help and couldn’t do it alone.
There was a freedom in admitting I was an alcoholic and an addict, in admitting I couldn’t do it alone, in telling the truth. There was freedom in getting brutally honest with myself.
Asking for help has never been a strong point for me but it’s become essential to maintaining the change I’ve made. I’ve learned to admit when I’m struggling, that cravings are rising, that life feels like it’s spinning out of control sometimes. I’ve learned to stop people pleasing and deal with the fact that sometimes life is going to be uncomfortable. Once upon a time I used to sweep my problems under the carpet and pretend they didn’t exist. Now I own up to my mistakes and look for solutions. Every night I journal and have done for 7 and a half years. That’s where I’m honest about my day and what’s going on for me. That’s where I see patterns forming over days, weeks, months and where I see through my own b#llsh#t. I see that I’ve been saying I’ll take action but it’s been all words and no follow through.
If I start pretending I’m okay when I’m not, if I start telling people pleasing and telling them what I think they want to hear, if I’m doing things just to make my life easier then I’m starting down a path that will most likely return to trouble. That’s the pathway to old behaviours and it’s the pathway back to addiction. It’s the little things that turn into big things, little lies turn to big lies and whether they’re ‘just white lies’ or bigger, they all need to be avoided. That requires brutal honesty.
The forums work because people share their thoughts, stories, and experiences. It’d be great to hear your perspective on this topic and others over the next few months on the Monday Meetup thread.
Sooooooo……….
Are drugs and alcohol controlling you and your life?
Are you being honest with yourself and those around you?
Are you being ‘brutally honest’?
Whether it’s 5 words or 500, it doesn’t matter……….it’d just be great to hear from you.
This week it’s Honesty…………….
When I was in rehab the term ‘brutal honesty’ ran over and over in my mind. It became an essential part of my life………….because it had to. I’d lied to myself and everyone around me for years. It had to stop. If I was to make change and maintain it, I had to start to be brutally honest with myself and in turn, with those around me.
Denial had played a big part in my life up until then, denial is lying to self. Addiction almost took my life and I was on the path to where that was becoming probable again. I’d pretended that I wasn’t an alcoholic and an addict for years. I didn’t want to be. Deep down I knew it to be the truth but I didn’t want to believe it. I’d convinced myself that one day I’d be able to control it but every time I started again things got worse. I was suffering from deep depression and I didn’t want to admit that either. I was desperately unhappy; I knew that drugs and alcohol had contributed to every negative experience in my life and I was scared of life without them. I didn’t want to admit that I needed help and couldn’t do it alone.
There was a freedom in admitting I was an alcoholic and an addict, in admitting I couldn’t do it alone, in telling the truth. There was freedom in getting brutally honest with myself.
Asking for help has never been a strong point for me but it’s become essential to maintaining the change I’ve made. I’ve learned to admit when I’m struggling, that cravings are rising, that life feels like it’s spinning out of control sometimes. I’ve learned to stop people pleasing and deal with the fact that sometimes life is going to be uncomfortable. Once upon a time I used to sweep my problems under the carpet and pretend they didn’t exist. Now I own up to my mistakes and look for solutions. Every night I journal and have done for 7 and a half years. That’s where I’m honest about my day and what’s going on for me. That’s where I see patterns forming over days, weeks, months and where I see through my own b#llsh#t. I see that I’ve been saying I’ll take action but it’s been all words and no follow through.
If I start pretending I’m okay when I’m not, if I start telling people pleasing and telling them what I think they want to hear, if I’m doing things just to make my life easier then I’m starting down a path that will most likely return to trouble. That’s the pathway to old behaviours and it’s the pathway back to addiction. It’s the little things that turn into big things, little lies turn to big lies and whether they’re ‘just white lies’ or bigger, they all need to be avoided. That requires brutal honesty.
The forums work because people share their thoughts, stories, and experiences. It’d be great to hear your perspective on this topic and others over the next few months on the Monday Meetup thread.
Sooooooo……….
Are drugs and alcohol controlling you and your life?
Are you being honest with yourself and those around you?
Are you being ‘brutally honest’?
Whether it’s 5 words or 500, it doesn’t matter……….it’d just be great to hear from you.
0 x
- PnorkelPW
- Peer Worker
Post
Re: Monday Meetup - Join us weekly!
Happy Monday All! Welcome to Monday Meetup. Each week we write about a different theme and it’d be great to get your input as well. As always, Monday Meetup is also an opportunity for you to talk about whatever’s on your mind.
This week it’s Accountability…………….
I managed to stop drinking and using a few times but I was never able to maintain it. It was easy for me to lie to myself and those around me……….that was just part of life. I’d establish a new routine, start doing things that helped, but slowly (or sometimes quickly) the changes would drop off and I’d be right back on track to where I started. Short term change is easy to make but hard to maintain. If there’s nothing to keep me accountable I can slide quickly.
I never used to really share my thoughts or goals with anyone for fear of failure and ridicule. Now I do it so that people can help me work towards them and are aware of what I’m working towards………it keeps me accountable.
AA and NA and SMART Recovery work because it’s somewhere to be. Getting a service position to help out at the meeting gives you reason to go because people are depending on you. Getting a sponsor gives you someone to talk to, share your thoughts and feelings with, work the Steps……..and keeps you accountable.
Going to the gym is a great way to help with physical and mental health. Getting a gym buddy or personal trainer who expects you to turn up and relies on you is a great way to maintain it……….and keep you accountable.
There are other things that keep me accountable. I have a daughter who relies on me being clean and sober because I won’t be the father she deserves if I’m not. I have a roof over my head which means I need to pay for it. I need to work so that I can pay for accommodation, food, and the lifestyle that helps keep me clean and sober…………..it all keeps me accountable.
I write in a journal every night because it’s easy for me to lie to myself and others. It’s easy for me to pretend to people that everything’s okay. When I write in that journal it gives me signals. It tells me when there are themes over days/weeks/months that I’m not dealing with. It’s where I know if I’m avoiding things……….it keeps me accountable.
Team sports, joining clubs, becoming an organiser of activities, friends, families, GP’s, psychs, counsellors, lawyers, personal trainers, gym buddies, journals……..they’re all things that can help keep you accountable but there are plenty more. Maybe you can list some of yours???
The forums work because people share their thoughts, stories, and experiences. It’d be great to hear your perspective on this topic and others over the next few months on the Monday Meetup thread.
Sooooooo……….
Who keeps you accountable?
What keeps you accountable?
Whether it’s 5 words or 500, it doesn’t matter……….it’d just be great to hear from you.
This week it’s Accountability…………….
I managed to stop drinking and using a few times but I was never able to maintain it. It was easy for me to lie to myself and those around me……….that was just part of life. I’d establish a new routine, start doing things that helped, but slowly (or sometimes quickly) the changes would drop off and I’d be right back on track to where I started. Short term change is easy to make but hard to maintain. If there’s nothing to keep me accountable I can slide quickly.
I never used to really share my thoughts or goals with anyone for fear of failure and ridicule. Now I do it so that people can help me work towards them and are aware of what I’m working towards………it keeps me accountable.
AA and NA and SMART Recovery work because it’s somewhere to be. Getting a service position to help out at the meeting gives you reason to go because people are depending on you. Getting a sponsor gives you someone to talk to, share your thoughts and feelings with, work the Steps……..and keeps you accountable.
Going to the gym is a great way to help with physical and mental health. Getting a gym buddy or personal trainer who expects you to turn up and relies on you is a great way to maintain it……….and keep you accountable.
There are other things that keep me accountable. I have a daughter who relies on me being clean and sober because I won’t be the father she deserves if I’m not. I have a roof over my head which means I need to pay for it. I need to work so that I can pay for accommodation, food, and the lifestyle that helps keep me clean and sober…………..it all keeps me accountable.
I write in a journal every night because it’s easy for me to lie to myself and others. It’s easy for me to pretend to people that everything’s okay. When I write in that journal it gives me signals. It tells me when there are themes over days/weeks/months that I’m not dealing with. It’s where I know if I’m avoiding things……….it keeps me accountable.
Team sports, joining clubs, becoming an organiser of activities, friends, families, GP’s, psychs, counsellors, lawyers, personal trainers, gym buddies, journals……..they’re all things that can help keep you accountable but there are plenty more. Maybe you can list some of yours???
The forums work because people share their thoughts, stories, and experiences. It’d be great to hear your perspective on this topic and others over the next few months on the Monday Meetup thread.
Sooooooo……….
Who keeps you accountable?
What keeps you accountable?
Whether it’s 5 words or 500, it doesn’t matter……….it’d just be great to hear from you.
0 x
- PnorkelPW
- Peer Worker
Post
Re: Monday Meetup - Join us weekly!
Hi All............so we're returning to the old Monday Meetup format and I'm just gonna throw it out there to you and see if there's anyone out there tonight that's up for a chat?
Doesn't matter what it is, just let us know what's on your mind, what you want to know, whether there's anything in particular you're looking for.....................whatever
This is your space to chat...........what's happening?
Doesn't matter what it is, just let us know what's on your mind, what you want to know, whether there's anything in particular you're looking for.....................whatever
This is your space to chat...........what's happening?
0 x