Tag: serenity prayer

12step Al-Anon Inspiration NA Narcotics Anonymous relapse relapse prevention Serenity Prayer

Relapse Scares Me Still

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Relapse from recovery is my number one fear. Falling off the wagon, going out, screwing up: same difference. As a person in recovery for over 10 years, the fear of relapse still scares me sober. And it seems like everyone in recovery I’ve come in contact with has exactly the same fear. Once an alcoholic or addict is “in recovery” and has been clean and sober for a while and continues to go to AA or NA or other 12 Step meetings, relapse is still a very real possibility. Although…

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12step Inspiration Serenity Prayer

Not only for addicts…

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I received an email from a Gulf War veteran which touched me.  I’d like to share it with you: Hi, your work is amazing. I am a recovering addict recently diagnosed with PTSD from the Gulf War….I was just wondering if you are continuing your blog work. I haven’t seen any updates from September. I hope all is well. — Charles Thank you for asking Charles! I haven’t been very well, I’ve been having chronic back pain issues for the last six months.  What’s more, I’m not taking any pain…

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12step

Hometown Blues

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I went back home to my hometown recently after quite some time to visit my aging mom.  Going back home is always an emotional journey for me and although I look forward to visiting, I still can’t help but be filled with some dread about revisiting the place where I grew up and remembering what it was like growing up with alcoholism. It was only a decade ago that I used to visit my parents with plenty of drugs in tow that I managed so foolishly to hide in my…

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12step

Thanks for giving me sobriety

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Thanksgiving is a special time but for me, it marks another year of sobriety.  I now have eight years of continued sobriety. During those years, I have experienced the same disappointments and achievements in life as I always have but the difference is that I was able to handle life on life’s terms– just using my instincts, some common sense and I hope, good judgment.  It’s been a tough yet wonderfully liberating experience. One thing that I found a bit of challenge is dealing with friends and family regarding sobriety. …

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12step

Celebrity. Rehab.

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It seems not another day goes by that you hear about some famous person going to rehab.  In this age of celebrity, being in recovery has almost become fashionable.  Mind you, I am not usually into in celebrity gossip but when I hear about “so and so” going into rehab again, I can’t help but take an interest. Maybe it’s because I believe that celebrities in recovery are good publicity for recovery.  To most people, stars seem to be these indivduals that are larger than life but when they wind…

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12step

Happy Sober Birthday

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The other day while I was at work, (yes, do have a day job as being an artist doesn’t pay all the bills), one of my co-workers made a comment along the lines of, “Why would anyone celebrate being sober?”  To that I replied, “For some people who have nearly destroyed their lives with drugs, alcohol or any other addictions, one more year of sobriety is a big freaking deal.”  Of course, my co-worker is not in recovery and for people outside the community, the idea of celebrating sobriety seems…

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12step

Still dreaming of using after all these years

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It’s been a little over six years now that I’ve been clean and every now and then I have a dream that I’m about to use.  Usually it’s the same dream too that basically challenges my sobriety.  In this dream, I am typically alone and low and behold, I seem to have found a stash of dope that I’ve completely forgotten about. So there I am in the same place I was years ago, excited to have found this buried treasure and wanting to have some right away. But in…

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Relaspse…the scariest monster of all

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What could be more frightening than the prospect of relapsing? A friend of mine just relapsed and although he’s back in recovery and has been clean for about 9 months, he relapsed long and hard for about 2 years. What he said to me was very poignant and I wanted to share this with you. He said that within the first week he started using again, he was back to the same amount of substance and using it with the same frequency as he had over 10 years ago. Scary isn’t it…

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Life is short..why waste it being wasted

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When I think about sobriety and all the wonderful gifts it brought me, I can only thank my lucky stars that I’m still clean.  I try not to remember the past with bitterness in my heart because it really only causes pain and it is negative.  Sure, it’s easy to say when I was using, I was so this or so that..and, at first when you are finally sober, you need to recall how you used to be. God knows how many ambitious or worthwhile projects never got done because I was just too stoned. Guilt can…

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This prayer is for me and my aunt and…

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Serenity isn’t just about the 12 steps.  It’s about coping with life.  This last year has been a real roller coaster for me.  I had some successes and I also had some health problems that frightened me so much that it made me even sicker.  The Serenity Prayer became my mantra and I began to pray hard and often when the fear took over.   We often think this prayer is just for folks in recovery but really, so many people have turned to it in difficult times.  I am inspired by my aunt, Colette,…

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