Recovery Reflections: July 5, 2017
Hello everyone! My name is Bianka. I would like to give you another warm welcome to Detox to Rehab’s Recovery Reflections. Please join us and listen to the experience, strength and hope shared by Megan, Brandon and Madison.
We will pre-record readings from Alcoholics Anonymous: Daily Reflections. We express how this reading has helped our recovery or how it has impacted us. We thank you and hope we can inspire your recovery journey!
As Bill Sees It
July 5, 2017:
“The only requirement” p. 186
In Tradition Three, A.A. is really saying to every serious drinker, “You are an A.A. member if you say so. You can declare yourself in; nobody can keep you out. No matter how low you’ve gone, no matter how grave your emotional complications–even your crimes–we don’t want to keep you out. We just want to be sure that you get the same chance for sobriety that we’ve had.”
We do not wish to deny anyone his chance to recover from alcoholism. We wish to be just as inclusive as we can, never exclusive.
Recovering from Addiction
“It takes so more courage and strength and bravery to show up in these [12-step] rooms today and be a part of this program and I am proud to qualify as a member of Alcoholics Anonymous,” Megan said.
When I was out drinking, shooting Heroin and running amuck, life was not easy by any means. However, being able to mask my feelings and emotions with drugs and alcohol was easier than facing them head on. I didn’t want to look in the past and be reminded of the pain I felt, so I just used drugs and alcohol to cover up that pain instead of working through it. What I didn’t realize was covering up that pain only made matters worse and caused more heartache and depression.
When I was done ruining my life and killing myself daily by using drugs, I knew I had to walk into the rooms of Alcoholics Anonymous and prepare to face those feelings I had been avoiding for the majority of my life. I was absolutely terrified to open up and get all of the negative emotions out on the table so I could finally work though them and move on in my life.
“If I weren’t a member [of Alcoholics Anonymous] I wouldn’t be alive; I wouldn’t have a solution,” Megan said.
When I began to work through those emotions, I started to see a positive change in my life: I finally realized I was worth living and could do anything I set my mind too. When I was in active use, I was ready to end it all, I just didn’t have the courage to do it. I suffered from many overdoses, but always made it out okay- sometimes wishing I didn’t. I know if I would have kept walking down the path I was on, my wish, at the time would come true, and I wouldn’t be alive to experience the beauty of life that the 12-step program allowed me to see before it was too late.
Active Addiction to Active Recovery
“I am not alone,” Madison said.
I am living a beautiful life today and couldn’t be anymore grateful for what the 12-steps has taught me. But things aren’t always perfect and it took me a while to understand that. I thought just because I was sober, life was going to be just one big happiness party. Although life is pretty much a happiness party in my eyes, I still have bad days where I want to give up. Those are the days I want to stay in bed, crawl into my shell and isolate myself from the world.
If I were to keep myself hidden from the world, I would eventually pick up a drink or drug again, because I need other recovering individuals in my life to be okay. When I get in the mood and feel like giving up, I just have to remember that I am not alone and there are so many friends, true friends, I have made in recovery that would do anything to help me. I am more than grateful to have friendships so strong and I am not sure where I would be in life without them.
“The only requirement is the desire to stop doing whatever you are doing, you know, that’s such a destructive behavior,” Brandon said.
The cool thing about the 12-step program is, if you want to stop using and drinking, that is all you need to show up and be a member of the fellowship. All the amazing friends who continue to help me through hard times, and I all started the program with a simple desire to change and live life how it should be lived. You don’t need money, practice a religion or be a certain race. You just have to be an individual who is willing to give yourself another chance at life.
“I’m a grateful alcoholic and addict and I can use my experience that I have to help other people,” Brandon said.
It took me a while but I gave myself another chance at life and it was the best decision I have ever made. I am finally living. I am not just going through the days trying to get my fix anymore. I have a purpose today and that purpose is to help other people who walk into the rooms of Alcoholics Anonymous who have a desire to change.
If you have watched the video above or read this blog and feel like you have the desire to change, we can help you take the next step and get you the treatment you deserve. Just give us a call: (866) 578-7471.
You are not alone.
We again want to thank Stone Valley Recovery for allowing us to use their facilities.
