Here is another fabulous interview for the Voices of Recovery series in honor of National Recovery Month. I continue to be amazed by the spirit and generosity of the individuals who have shared here. I am honored to be a part of your journey.
I am a grateful female member of Alcoholic Anonymous and have been sober for 14 years. I will call myself D and wish to remain anonymous as that is one of the spiritual foundations of our program.
At the age of of 33 I took my last drink. My life had become a daily game of waking up in the morning hungover and swearing off the booze. I would go to work cursing myself and not liking much about my life. By noon I was either having some alcohol with lunch or planning where I was going to get alcohol after I got off of work. I had become a daily drinker and blacked-out almost every day for the last couple years of my drinking. After work I would drink usually at home and not know how I made it to bed every night. My new marriage was in shambles, my employer should have fired me, I couldn’t keep any commitments and knew that I would probably end up cheating on my husband in a black-out one night. I did not go to treatment but rather starting going to AA upon the strong recommendation of a counselor I was seeing at the time. She told me to call her after I had worked the twelve steps of Alcoholics Anonymous.
There are many times when people have reached out to me. I obtained a sponsor within my first two weeks of going to AA meetings. A sponsor is a closed-mouth friend who aids another alcoholic in going through the 12 steps of recovery. She was the first one to truly reach out and support me in not drinking. She spent many days and hours with me helping go through the 12 steps. I have had fellow members reach out to me after meetings when they knew I was struggling. Today I have about 5 people who are fellow recovering alcoholics who I feel comfortable calling and reaching out to when I am struggling with life. Having relationships like that is one of the greatest gifts of being sober.
I choose to remain anonymous to many people in my various roles in my life. I do however tell others of my recovery when I feel moved to do so. I have been able to be that person that another struggling alcoholic can speak with when they feel others just don’t understand. I have had the opportunity to speak at a middle-school and answer questions about my alcoholism and my recovery. I also get the opportunity to take other women through the 12 steps like I was taken through them. That is the most powerful way I can be an advocate for recovery.
D is a soccer mom and a nutrition enthusiast living in Denver.
If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction or codependency issues, Contact me today to arrange a free, no-obligation consultation to talk about how we can work together or find the right person for you.
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