How I Practice Sobriety In A World Where Alcohol Is The Norm

I am 29 years old and 151 days sober. Let me preface by saying that within those 151 days I consumed alcohol on 3 separate occasions. To some, this may not be a cause for celebration as in the eye's of AA, sobriety is measured by the days you withheld the craving to drink.

I am not going to bash, criticize or condemn Alcoholics Anonymous as I know that the program works if you follow the steps, read the literature and give yourself to your higher power. For me, personally, it did not work. I felt that the program was archaic and antiquated but that does not mean that I do not believe that AA is a life saving program as I know many recovering alcoholics who have flourished, thrived and succeeded all due to the program.

151 days is an amazing accomplishment and I am truly proud to be able to say that I have made it this far. Instead of focusing on the fact that I relapsed and drank 3 individual times within those 151 days, and therefore need to "start over", I choose to focus on the 151 days of sobriety. I choose to not start over. I choose to not start at day 1 again and again, over and over, because I didn't have the willpower at the time to just not drink.

Instead, I choose to great myself with kindness and allow myself to make mistakes and learn from them. I am not starting over because I drank. Those 151 days wont be forgotten or unappreciated and I wont allow myself to feel shame, weakness and devastation because I drank and must "start over". Those 151 days are real. I created those days and they are mine to celebrate how I see fit, therefore those days will not be held null and void.

Anyone who struggles with addiction and finds themselves on this page may not agree with me and that is okay. There is more than one way to see and do things and everyone needs to follow the path that works best for them whether it be AA, meditation, prayer, holistic therapies, counselling, etc. You will get to where you are going as long as you follow your own path.

Choosing sobriety was one of the biggest defining moments in my life. I cant wait to share my story with you, but for now, my 10 month old daughter needs my attention so I will be back with more shortly.

Holly Whitaker has changed my perspective and thinking when it comes to my own sobriety and I have shared some info below.

It took me seventeen years to realize alcohol had never done me any favors, seventeen years of trying to control it and master it and make it work for me like I imagined it worked for all the other people.

And the shocker? I actually like what I found buried down there. I like myself. I like my tastes, style, preferences, opinions, movements, and peculiarities. I like the books I read, the clothes I wear, the music I listen to, my dry wit, my big hearty man-laugh, my maniacal drive, my deformed big toe, my big messy heart, my big messy life. All of it. And because I’m the person I spend the most time with, this means I get to spend a lot of time with a person I dig. As you can imagine, this is fun.

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