Discovering the sober blogging world these past several months has been an invaluable tool for me in my journey to sobriety.
Reading one blog led to another and then another-each one offering insight, ways to cope, things to look out for and things to look forward to.
Some are written with wit and humor, some are more technical, while others are simply straight forward. Each a reflection of its’ author and their personal experience.
What they all have in common is that in the process of helping themselves, they become an anchor of help, education and a source of support for others.

So what I want to do is to share some of the things that I have learned by reading blogs.

I’m not the only one!
I couldn’t believe it when I kept reading over and over about people experiencing all of the same things I had been going through.
The interrupted sleep patterns coupled with the mental anguish that goes along with it.
The waking up and telling myself that I wasn’t going to drink today and then forgetting that promise by the end of the day.
The always taking into consideration if and how much alcohol would be involved in any social activity.
Rotating stores so you/I wouldn’t look like we had a drinking problem.
Hiding the recycling, lying to the doctor, on and on and on…

Confirmation
That I’m not the only one who doesn’t like AA and can’t believe that it is the only way to quit drinking.
That I am not the only one that doesn’t want to use the word “Alcoholic” after my name to identify and label myself.
That I am not the only one that doesn’t want a fear based method of quitting drinking.
That I am not the only one who doesn’t want to spend a lifetime of “recovering” from something that I no longer have in my life.
That I’m not the only one that believes that I am powerless over something that I HAVE CHOSEN to cut out of my life.

Hope
That there are markers to look forward to along the way.
Even when I forget this, I remind myself that I have read this not just in one blog, but several. So, I tell myself to hang in there because if it’s happened to so many, it will happen to me. Maybe in a different time frame-but it will happen.
That things will continue to improve over time.

Knowledge
That there are other ways to quit drinking than the traditional 12 step programs.
That there’s a whole community of people world wide that are out there, waiting to share their process, their thoughts and their support.

I’m not sure anyone will ever see this blog and if they do, if it will be of any help to them.
But, it’s already helping one person.
Me

Namaste