Get Started Living Again

Many addicts and alcoholics (myself included) find it difficult to navigate life once we become sober. I am not talking about the loss of their crutch, (drugs and alcohol), I am talking about some of the life skills that they have ignored. I am also talking about some of the poor life choices they have made.

For so long, addicts/alcoholics conduct themselves in a manner that only accommodates their addiction. This conduct began the day their addiction started. The first thing that comes to mind as an example of this behavior is becoming dishonest in order to maintain their addiction. I can honestly say I rarely, if ever, told the complete truth for two years.

Another hallmark behavior is eliminating any responsibilities except for the bare necessities to survive. Personally speaking, I dropped nearly every responsibility that could be ignored. I stopped paying bills on time, (or at all). I rarely went shopping for food. I never bought any new clothing. My personal hygiene was never a concern. I stopped communicating with people and wouldn’t answer my phone. I Never had any plans other than to get my prescription filled and go to the liquor store daily.

Time Away from Life

Maintaining an addiction requires immense resources and time. Take a look at the addict/alcoholic life. First and foremost you have to hide your addiction as best you can. If your and alcoholic you are making sure there is alcohol on hand at all times. You have to hide this reserve from others, constantly searching for a new hiding place. You have to monitor your intake to remain intoxicated. If you don’t monitor your intake of alcohol you will get uncontrollable shakes. You may even have to shop different liquor stores to hide your abuse of alcohol.

Then of course, there are the blackouts and drunken behavior that is consuming your life. I have no idea what I may have done in some of these blackouts.

Addicts have a whole other set of problems maintaining their addictions. First, it’s illegal, so you have to contact people and make drug transactions that could get you arrested. Then there is the constant supply issue, which can cause you to shop around for a connection. This alone can take many hours out of your life. Then there is the time traveling to obtain illegal drugs. They don’t sell drugs at Seven Eleven.

There are the inevitable legal problems that are associated with drug and alcohol addiction. Drug-related offenses and drunk driving charges. For some, there are other legal matters as well such as theft, violence and fraud charges.

Ultimately alcoholics wind up isolated from others. Why? Well, frankly, you smell, you slur your words and nobody wants to be around you.

Addicts usually run in small packs for safety and connections.You aren’t going to break out your rig or paraphernalia in mixed company are you? Also, you are always nodding off.

All of these issues related to addiction require a huge sacrifice of your time. This is time you could have been devoting to personal growth both spiritually and financially. Instead, you are mired in the wreckage addiction causes.

Getting Back to the Business of YOU

Making the commitment to stop an addiction is just the first of many things that need attention. Addicts and alcoholics have abandoned their lives in many keys areas. This neglect has left them in a place where many facets of their lives need reconstruction.

One of the first things I had to re-establish was my relationship with my family. I wasn’t in sync with anybody I knew and I was especially estranged from my immediate family. This makes for a lonely existence.

Connecting with family and friends sounds like it would be an easy thing to do; for me, it was not. There were awkward moments trying to re-connect, mainly because I was hiding away emotionally from everyone. I didn’t realize this until I started reaching out. Just going out in public sober brought on feelings of doubt and anxiety. Wherever I went, I felt everyone knew I was an alcoholic. I know this sounds insane but it was a reality for me.

Once I got out of rehab I began to see how much work there was in front of me. I had bills in collections. My credit was shot. I had no car because I had totaled it months ago. My health was a huge concern due to the damage I had done to myself. Those are troubling things but the worst was the feeling of...

How am I going to get my life back on track?

Make a List

I think the best thing I decided to do about my situation was to make a list. I felt overwhelmed and making a list of priorities was the best approach.

First on my list was maintaining my spiritual side. I made a point to connect with my higher power every morning. Without my higher power nothing could get done.

Every addict and alcoholic has their own set of problems and circumstances to address. Making a list, organizing and prioritizing the things that need fixing is the best way.

For many, this list could be very long and it may take years to resolve all of their issues. This is where your higher power can help you stay focused.

The key to getting your life back together is patience. You can’t fix everything in a day, week, month or even a year. You can do this. You can get through all this wreckage and move forward.

Have faith, organize, work hard, and life will get better with each passing day.