Drug Rehab Options Blog

January 1


Vigilance

?We keep what we have only with vigilance...?

Basic Text, p. 60

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How do we remain vigilant about our recovery? First, by realizing that we have a disease we will always have. No matter how long we?ve been clean, no matter how much better our lives have become, no matter what the extent of our spiritual healing, we are still addicts. Our disease waits patiently, ready to spring the trap if we give it the opportunity.

Vigilance is daily accomplishment. We strive to be constantly alert and ready to deal with signs of trouble. Not that we should live in irrational fear that something horrible will possess us if we drop our guard for an instant; we just take normal precautions. Daily prayer, regular meeting attendance, and choosing not to compromise spiritual principles for the easier way are acts of vigilance. We take inventory as necessary, share with others whenever we are asked, and carefully nurture our recovery. Above all, we stay aware!

We have a daily reprieve from our addiction as long as we remain vigilant. Each day, we carry the principles of recovery into all we do, and each night, we thank our Higher Power for another day clean.

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Just for today: I will be vigilant, doing everything necessary to guard my recovery.

APA Offers Tips for Attaining Your
New Year's Resolutions January 1 is not only the start of the New Year, but is when many begin their New Year?s Resolutions. Mange stress. Eat healthier. Exercise more. Spend more time with family. Sticking to your resolutions and making changes can be difficult but not impossible. The American Psychiatric Association (APA) would like to offer tips and other resources to help families and individuals keep their resolutions for a healthy mind and healthy life.
?A new year is a great time to think about the changes we want to make in our lives. Being and staying well is a resolution many people make for the New Year, but those resolutions can lead to frustration when we find we have set unrealistic goals,? said Philip R. Muskin, M.D., Professor of Clinical Psychiatry, Columbia University and Chair of the APA Council on Psychosomatic Medicine. ?Making a resolution to change one thing that will make us healthier is a priceless gift that only we can give to ourselves.?
Try again. Everyone has made, and broken past resolutions, that does not mean that you won?t succeed this time. Start with a positive approach, including thinking about what has disrupted your good intentions in the past. Don?t discourage yourself with a negative outlook.
Don?t make too many resolutions. Trying to eat better, exercise more, quit smoking, and reduce stress is too much to tackle at once. Pick a realistic, attainable goal with a reasonable time frame.
Choose your own resolution. Make sure this is something that you want to accomplish for yourself and not for friends or family. When you attain the goal they will benefit from your success as well.
Make a plan and write it down. Plan what you?d like to accomplish in three or six months. Achieving small goals over time gives you a sense of accomplishment and motivation to keep going. Writing your goals down is a good way to keep track of your progress.
Involve friends and family. They can support your efforts, and can motivate you to keep going. Setting a personal goal is not a ?promise? which can never be broken. Don?t paint yourself into a corner by overstating what can be a realistic change you plan to make.
Forgive yourself. If you get off track, don?t think that you failed. Review your plan and make adjustments.
Congratulate yourself. Reward yourself when your intermediate goals or resolutions are met.
The most important point to consider when deciding on your resolutions is to decide if you are truly willing to make the change in your life. Deciding to make the change just to have a resolution will not keep you motivated to attain your goal. Many people fail because they are afraid or don?t fully realize how the goal can benefit their every day lives. When you decide on your resolution, make a plan of action and list the ways it will improve your life. When you can see the prize, you are more likely to keep up the fight.




http://www.healthyminds.org/resolutions.cfm

I woke up this morning and realized that the Christmas Tree my little one and I decorated will have nothing under it come christmas..... the money isn't there and yet I was able to save recycle to turn in for a gift for my little one ( she wanted a baby doll and a bike ) . But that was all I could do without asking for help. I asked if I could get into a program to make sure my little one gets something for the holidays ,but was told we were not poor enough and my H. made too much money. But all the money he makes only pays the bills to keep the house over our heads and keeps the utilities on and that is important . We do have is each other and our faith to hold this house together....and that also keeps our hearts warm.

Thanksgiving was the same and yet friends helped with some food we needed and my hubby felt we didn't need the food..... I told him to be thankful for the help we do get and to thank our friends around us..... He continues to drink on days off and that is a bothersome thing that I hide myself from...... I just find other things to do or just go someplace to stay away.....

I pray that I can hang in there and keep the faith with my own program ...... I have come too far to give up all the almost 23 years I have being sober.... January 1 2009 will be 23 years for me and I look forward to each new year....

My Hubby knows this is the highlight of my life besides being married 10 years with him..... and my 8 year old daughter....

For this Christmas I pray for one special gift and that is to have a sober house back......... to see my other half get to meetings again and find himself rather than the bottle he hides in the garage and the meds he takes with that bottle..... I want my family back so we can have the fun of doing things together without disruptions.....:a043:

Please Mr. Jesus, bring peace back in my house this Christmas.... let my family have the laughter of a sober house and not a drunk house..... let us love each other in a normal way and be thankful for the friends we have today........Amen..

Little Penguin :ghug

I had came to this forum about 2 years ago in search of help...I had quit drinking on January 1, 2007 and kept that going for 1.5 years. Here I am again... In May my ex fiance and I were going through a very rough patch and with a trip to Vegas around that time I began drinking again. Then in July I had lost my job.

Now I know I'm headed down the same path as before... Since then I have began drinking about 5-6 days a week and not lightly. I just decided yesterday that I've had enough and have to do it again! It is very scary because I know how hard it was the first time, but I do know it gets soo much easier as time passes.

I know I have a great life--great family, friends, home, job...but I still have continued to drink knowing that it will only cause problems... My sister-in-law tries to tell me that I should just drink on the weekends. The problem is I start drinking through the week and have called off work due to it.

I am on my way to recovery--this is but the second day and I really really want this time to last forever!

Everyone on here has been such great help and I'm happy to be a part of the site!

Thanks!
--Stacy

He'd been sober since January 1, 2005. The day we picked him up from rehab.

This weekend he went to his hometown to sign the final papers for his dad's estate and quit his job on Friday and has the week off before starting his new one. Money and no work is not a good combination when you're prone to depression.

He'd had himself convinced that he was going to have a cigar and glass of wine to toast his dad, hindsight tells me now that it was just a good excuse he gave himself to drink again.

Saturday went to Sunday, Sunday went to Monday. I don't know if he drank last night, but he snuck in the back door at 9 pm, and went downstairs (he rents out our basement suite).

This just takes me right back to where we left off the last time, and in a way I think that's a good thing, because then I was sick of it, done with it, and not going to put up with him anymore.

Today I will tell him that he has broken the only rule we gave him to live with us, which was stay sober. We gave him a break because he was divorcing his alcoholic wife (not my mom) and at the time there was nowhere to rent anything here. We gave him our place knowing that it would help him get through the divorce, stay sober, and help us out too with our 3 kids. It's been 2 years and up until now has been almost seamless.

I've already called my sister, we need to act now and fast. I want him to know that we can help him through his feelings, i'm sure he feels really confused, upset, especially with the unknown of being inbetween jobs. I remember that feeling after quitting and before starting the new one, that you feel nervous and hope that the new place really has a job waiting for you.

I got supreme shyt from my sister for not saying anything to him about his wine on Saturday, but I watched him and sat outside talking to him and he said he was not going to keep drinking, and honestly at the time I think he meant it.

If anyone has any words of wisdom on starting all over again, i'd appreciate your thoughts or related stories.