Thursday, August 9, 2007
A Little History
I got sober when I was 16 years old. I know it seems awfully young but it was precipitated by stays in 2 psychiatric hospitals, a suicide attempt/drug overdose, a 3 day coma, a halfway house and a 4 month stay in rehab. I did a lot of damage in a few short years. I believe the one of the biggest reasons I got sober and stayed sober is because I completely changed my circumstances. I stopped hanging around with my old friends and found new ones in NA-AA. I also took a job as a maintenance man in a rehab my town. I went to a meeting everyday without fail. I joined a group that I liked and went on commitment meeting to speak at other groups. I tried to replace all my old habits with new positive ones. No it was not easy. Life still continues to be challenging at times but for the first time in my life I believe I am in a position to be able to help others. Working my program is not as much work as it used to be because I did the hard work in the beginning and didn't quit because it was hard. My higher power has dealt me my cards. What becomes of them is up to me. Thanks for listening to me babble!
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Cool. Thanks for sharing. You got in 7 ? years before I got sober. I had no hospitals, no coma, no physical problems. Was pretty un-progressed in terms of the physical compulsion in that I didn't need to drink every day or anything. But inside, I was completely broken. Plus it felt like I was losing my mind. Which in retrospect, I think I was. I was desperate. The reason it worked for me was because I had 'the gift of desperation', and I was willing to go to any lengths and do as I was told. The rest is history. I never went to rehab or had therapists. Just old-timers. Worked like a charm. I'm lucky to be alive and I'm glad you survived what sounds like an incredibly painful 16 years before coming to AA.
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