August 18 is about taking time to reflect on the decisions we make and how they affect our lives. It’s also about looking at what happened in the past and deciding what you want to do with that information now.
This blog post will be a reflection of my daily struggles as an alcoholic, from having alcoholism run through my family history, to trying alcohol for the first time when I was 8 years old, and finally becoming sober after 20 years of addiction.
The point is not so much how bad it got or how horrible it felt but more so why I chose sobriety over staying addicted to drugs or alcohol.
Daily Reflections August 18
Very deep, sometimes quite forgotten, damaging emotional conflicts persist below the level of consciousness.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, pp. 79-80
I can remove the remains of guilt and shame brought on by alcohol through positive action. Throughout my misadventures when I drank, friends would say “Why are you doing this?
You’re only hurting yourself.” Little did they know just how true those words were. Although I harmed others in some cases, much of what I was doing caused grave wounds to me deep inside – but Step Eight is here for that!
When making amends with people who have been hurt because of something bad that’s happened while drinking, it relieves a lot off them (off both sides) which contributes to their healing process too!
I’ve been sober for 8.5 years now and I have never looked back on my decision to get help, but every day is a struggle with thoughts of alcohol popping up in the most unexpected places.
My advice?
Stay strong and don’t give up hope!
You can do it too.