Return from Rehab

[BCClone]

I just hope it's not used against by opposition in the Cave

Your well being is the most important thing. If someone does crap stuff, tune them
Out, block them, do whatever you need to do to continue on your recovery path. Great job and I’m happy things are coming together for you. Stay strong.

 

[Bipolarcy]

I just finished a 45 day stint in rehab due to alcohol abuse. I started drinking at 18 in 1979. It really was not a problem until 2009. My career took a hit when a guy I thought was a friend and I hired stabbed me in the back. It was also around the time of Mad Men, and we started keeping Single Barrel Burboun and Single Malt in the house all the time. I would have my first drink as soon as I walked in the door, but that was usually between 7pm and 10pm. Then I had a career change and started getting home at 4:30. So starting when I walked through the door made things considerably worse.
In 2018 I began going to AA but I hated it. I never did a step past #1, and never got a sponsor. Still I made it 13.5 months sober. Then in November 2019, at a tailgate, a I decided I could handle it, and did ok through the end of 2022. Following Cancer Surgery removed my stomach, I continued to drink and my wife was getting concerned, but it had still not reached a crisis point.
In the spring of 2025 my daughter was diagnosed with the same cancer, but her's was stage 4. She died last October, and the crisis was getting big in the window. I can't remember anything that happened after 7 pm for most of May 2026. At that point it was Rehab or lose my family. Almost unbelievably my job performance was receiving awards and no one new I had a problem.
Now I'm back home. A couple of things I always thought were stupid were Journaling and Meditation. They became my most important allies in my recovery. I'm continuing both, and I'm going to a Buddhist Temple to continue to improve my meditation skills. I'm going to a more White Collar AA group, but I am also going to the Science based Smart Recovery, and Recovery Dharma.
I think my 13 months of sobriety in 18-19 both showed me that I can live alcohol free, but I can't ever drink again. I am going to get it done this time, one day at a time.
If anyone else is battling addiction of any kind and would like to post here about your journey, it would be great to know we are not in this alone.

Congrats, man. Stay on that road to recovery.

I must be one of the lucky ones, I was probably an alcoholic, or very close to being one in my 30s, I used to drink to blackout drunks 4 times a week, due to my work schedule, where we would have midweek breaks, which just seemed like an extra weekend. I cut back on my drinking considerably when I got kids. Unfortunately, the wife wasn't as keen to see the party end, but that's another story.

I found I could live with or without alcohol. It wasn't hard for me to have just one drink and quit. Mostly beer, but an occasional bloody Mary. Today, I haven't even had one of those for at least two years and probably longer, I just don't think about it because it has lost its importance for me.

I haven't completely quit because I still plan to have a beer now and then ... if I think about it, but it usually slips my mind when I'm out to dinner because it's just not that important to me.

 

[AuH2O]

I think one of the single biggest misconceptions of AA is that some confuse it for a religious program. It is a spirtual program, the book is very clear on "finding a God/Higher Power of your understanding". The 12 steps and AA saved my life. I have 6 years this July and I owe 100% of it to AA.

Without the steps, accountability of a sponsor, and growth that came FROM the steps - there was zero way I was going to get this right on my own. It really works but I would recommend working it: steps, sponsor, get plugged in, etc. Thank you

Right - my dad is not religious but did AA and he found it incredibly powerful. He was a heavy, heavy drinker. Would’ve drank himself to death for sure. Had a major health problem and an OWI. But he is just about at 25 years sober at the age of 77.

 

[dmclone]

Right - my dad is not religious but did AA and he found it incredibly powerful. He was a heavy, heavy drinker. Would’ve drank himself to death for sure. Had a major health problem and an OWI. But he is just about at 25 years sober at the age of 77.

Same with my father, who had 20+ years.