Early on in my sobriety, I had a friend who would not let go of a particular feeling of being wronged. She suffered daily, over the course of 2-3 weeks. Gradually she stopped going to meetings and stopped coming to the Alano Club. I remember learning one Friday night that she was out with some “old playmates”.
I tried to speak with my friend, but she did not want to hear all the reasons she had to be grateful. She seemed to prefer the needless suffering over something out of her control. I finally said to her, “maybe you should go get drunk.” Do you know what? That was the only advice she was willing to take. Fortunately, she came to her senses in a couple of days and was able to make it back to AA. To my knowledge, she is sober to this very day. She was one of the lucky ones.
The most effective way I have found of avoiding needless suffering in my sobriety is to follow a plan of recovery that puts God at the front of the plan. Then begin talking to those who have used that plan of recovery and find out how they did it. I would also suggest that you stop taking yourself so seriously.
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Robert Pardon
Robert is the Recovery Guy. Getting clean and sober on April 25, 1986 has given me the insight and practical skill set to not only stay sober, but to also re-invent myself to the person I always wanted to become. Showing others how to do this is my life goal.
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