The Alcoholic Addict and Step Nine

“Made a direct amends to people wherever possible except when to do so would injure them or others.”

“Now we go out to our fellows and repair the damage done in the past we attempt to sweep away the debris, which has accumulated out of our own effort to live on self-will and run the show ourselves.  If we haven’t the will to do this we ask until it comes.  Remember we agreed at the beginning we would go to any lengths for victory over alcohol.” -pg 76 Into Action from the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous

In step nine we get the opportunity to right what was once wrong and clean up our side of the street thanks to the help of places such as a Los Angeles rehab, AA or 30 day rehab programs.  We set out to clean up our wreckage, we go to people we have harmed and being careful not to cause more harm, we laid out and address our wrongdoings as well as ask how we can make it better.  This can definitely be a scary process.  No one wants to go to people and admit their faults let alone try to clean it up.  Sometimes it might seem easier to just brush it all under the rug.  After all, what if they are still angry, how will they react?  Many of us don’t want to feel bad, it’s the alcoholic’s mission to seek elevated moods and search for happiness so why would we want to rehash the past and feel guilty? For starters, this is not about them or their reactions, it is about us staying sober and being willing to go to any lengths.  Secondly, there is a freedom that comes from owning our parts and amending our behaviors.  It’s not only something that we need to do but get to do in order to be an example, so that if someone else is struggling with this disease they might know there is a place available or someone to go to for alcohol addiction help.

As it says in our responsibility statement: “When anyone, anywhere, reaches out for help, I want the hand of AA always to be there and for that I am responsible.”  Responsibility is not only owning our part but also going to any lengths to work the steps to the best of our ability.

The Alcoholic Addict and Step Five

STEP FIVE: “Admitted to God, to ourselves, and another human being the exact natures of our wrongs.”

In step five we take our inventory we did and sit down with another person (usually our sponsor. However in the past people have chosen to read it to others as well i.e. clergymen. This is fine provided there is trust in and a working knowledge of the steps in regard to the other person.) We then read our inventory making sure we left out nothing including our deepest darkest secrets. This step separates the people that are serious about getting and staying sober vs. the ones that aren’t serious about getting alcohol addiction help. This might seem like a pointless and scary step. Many might ask what’s the point? Or what if the person I read this too tells my secrets? This step requires a huge amount of trust and faith. If steps one, two, and three were done thoroughly faith and trust shouldn’t be an issue. If you find you are struggling with it you can always go back and do more work on step 3.Many places such as an affordable rehab, AA, or a drug rehab facility in LA can point you in the right direction as far as starting and continuing step work in a safe environment. As far as what the point of this step is or the benefits go there are many. You finally get to be rid of all your secrets and skeletons that have been holding you down. After all your secrets keep you sick. You get a sense of freedom, you get a sense of relief that only the people that have taken this step could imagine, and you can begin to hold your head up high and look people in the eyes again with dignity and grace and you can finally be free.

Finding Serenity in Sober Living

“Resentment is the “number one” offender. It destroys more alcoholics than anything else. From it stem all forms of spiritual disease, for we have been not only mentally and physically ill, we have been spiritually sick. When the spiritual malady is overcome, we straighten out mentally and physically.” How it Works page 64 From the big book of Alcoholics Anonymous

As alcoholics our ability and desire to hold on to all resentments or harms done to us or by us is unmatched by normal drinkers. We have a hard time letting go, forgiving, and forgetting. We have an amazing memory recall, except when it concerns alcohol and what it does to us. We would rather be right than be happy. Our thoughts are usually that of “if only you didn’t do this, then I wouldn’t have had to do that, if only they understood, or if only people acted right. I wouldn’t have had to retaliate.” Little do we know that the world was judging us by our actions while we were judging ourselves by our intentions. Resentment is the number one thing that takes people out after getting sober. Resentment also plays a key role in keeping us out there using and drinking longer than needed.  But how does one overcome a spiritual malady when one does not know they are spiritually sick? Furthermore, if that is the only way to “straighten out” mentally and physically, yet we cannot figure out the nature of our spiritual sickness and how to be rid of it, how can we ever get well? That’s why there are places and things such as; rehabs that take insurance, AA, drug rehab blogs, and other 12 step centered sober living CA. Through these places and things you or your loved ones can get the alcohol addiction help that is needed. As well as, getting the tools to overcome this spiritual malady called alcoholism, so that you never have to go through what you’re going through ever again.

The Relapsed Alcoholic and Starting Over in a California Rehab

“Now and then a serious drinker being dry at the moment says “I don’t miss it at all, feel better, and work better, having a better time”.  As ex problem drinkers we smile at such a folly.  We know our friend is like a boy whistling in the dark to keep up his spirits.  He fools himself.  Inwardly he would give anything to take half a dozen drinks and get away with them. He presently will try the old game again for he isn’t happy about his sobriety” – pg 154 big book of Alcoholics Anonymous

When it comes to alcoholics many of us at one point and time are like the boy whistling in the dark. We fool ourselves and others into believing we are done drinking for good.  We might preach about it to our friends and family.  We might go around telling everyone how well we are doing or how happy we are yet we are still spiritually bankrupt on the inside and before long we end up drinking and wondering how this happened again.  We are baffled and cannot understand why our resolution was a failure like it says in the big book ‘I do not hold with those who believe that alcoholism is entirely a problem of mental control.  These men were not drinking to escape.  They were drinking to overcome a craving beyond their mental control. There are many situations which arise out of the phenomenon of craving which cause men to make the supreme sacrifice rather than continue to fight.

So even though we meant it with all of our heart that we would quit drinking and or using we returned not because we are weak but because we had a craving beyond our mental control.  A craving that we would surrender to time and time again until we used the tools.

If you relate to any of this and are looking for help, you are not alone. You can start today. You can research alcohol and drug rehab blogs like this one and find a California Alcohol rehab and you don’t need to worry too much about cost. Today, there are many affordable rehabs and rehabs that take insurance.

May you truly find a new freedom and a new happiness!

The Alcoholics Prayer

For normal folks drinking means companionship and colorful imagination. It means release from care boredom and worry. It is joyous and intimacy with friends and a feeling that life is good, but not so feeling that life is good but not so with us in those last says of heavy drinking – pg 151 “A Vision for You” from the big book of Alcoholics Anonymous

When we first start drinking most of us find what we’ve been searching for for years. A sense of ease and comfort. We feel smarter, stronger, carefree, and find the relief most of us have been craving our whole lives. We become masters of fun and partying. Over time whether it be months or years that feeling usually fades. We are no longer able to escape and the consequences begin. Some of us lose our family, jobs, and houses while others get DUI’s, lose friends or have a string of nights that went just a little too far. Whatever bottom it is that we hit there is no such thing as a bottom that is too high or too low. We hit our bottom when we stop digging. It can always get worse. We find ourselves going to any lengths to defend our right to drink and use to the death until we can’t lie to ourselves and others anymore or until we stop pretending it’s still working for us .When we realize we no longer have it in us to continue living like this we say what is known in A.A. as the alcoholic prayer –PLEASE HELP ME!

If you are tired, rundown, or if this thing has you licked and you don’t know how to stop drinking here are a few options you can check out…30 day rehab programs, California rehab centers, AA, and rehab programs in California.

Whatever route you decide to take may you find recovery and life you seek and may you be surrounded by love and success on this new path

Building a Firm Spiritual Foundation in Recovery

Recovery seeking to build and maintain a firm spiritual foundation one day at a time -Daily reflections: A Book of reflections by A.A. members

When we were little most of us dreamed of being nurses, teachers queens, kings, cops, astronauts, doctors, a prince/ princess or maybe even lawyers. Whatever it was we all at one point in our lives had a dream of being something. Some may have honed in on and fulfilled these dreams but it is highly unlikely that any little girl or boy ever said “when I grow up I want to be an alcoholic”.  If anything, we found ourselves wrapped up in a disease we could not get away from.  We might have asked ourselves “how did this happen, how could this happen?” The answer is simple . . . one day at a time!

One day at a time we succumbed to this alcoholic life because maybe there didn’t seem to be any other options until now.  If you are new to recovery or have been sober for awhile then you probably know now that there are other options.  One might still be wondering how it is possible to get or stay sober.  That answer is also easy.  One day at a time!  Through the help of AA, sober livings, California rehab centers, 30 rehab programs, and alcohol addiction help anybody has a great shot at recovering from this seemingly hopeless state of mind and body…to live an amazingly fulfilling life… One Day at a Time!

Acceptance and Alcohol Addiction Help

“Acceptance is the answer to all my problems today”

pg 417 The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous.

There are a lot of feelings that come up when one begins to get sober. Perhaps feelings of excitement, fear, or uncertainty come up but rarely acceptance. Acceptance often times gets mistaken for surrender however acceptance is not surrender. Surrender is an action while acceptance is a feeling. When you or your loved one surrenders and begins to accept their alcoholism/addiction then there are several places to reach out to for alcohol addiction help. Here are a few:

-Drug rehab in California
-AA
-California rehab centers

When the alcoholic starts the recovery process and decides this is the path they want to take then they can truly begin to understand the meaning of acceptance and live in it. They can begin to know a new freedom and a new happiness with the certainty that everything is as it’s supposed to be. that is the core of acceptance … knowing that things are the way they are and not trying to change it but instead living in that moment with peace and serenity. It is the act of assenting or believing. While surrendering means to give oneself up, and to abandon whether you’re abandoning false beliefs or your previous lifestyle or anything that no longer works for you – it is an act of surrender.

The journey begins when you realize you can’t do this alone, realize you don’t have to, and reach out for help. Best of  luck on finding your road to happy destiny!

12 Step Recovery Programs, The Final Steps

Continuing our deeper look into the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, the basis of 12 step recovery programs, steps 6-12 provide a strong foundation for a recovering addict to move from humiliation and despair into a healthy new life free of drugs and alcohol. Read on for more FAQs on rehab and recovery los angeles, Picking up from the sixth step:

6. We are entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character

When we are working this step we remember that we are human and should not place unrealistic expectations on ourselves.

7. Humbly asked God to remove our shortcomings

Step 7 is similar to step 3, but is more specific. We have completed our personal inventory and have a better idea of the roots the addictive behaviors we learned we had when we sought drug rehab help.

8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all

Step 8 is the beginning of making amends, of healing the past with others.

9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others

When we make amends to those we have harmed, we pay back debts. We apologize and do things to help heal the damage that we have done.

10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it

Step 10 lays the foundation for the rest of our lives.

11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with our Higher     Power.

Step 11 provides us with daily spiritual maintenance.

12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to other addicts, and to practice these principles in all our affairs

We move from the despair of addiction to a state where we act as instruments of our Higher Power and live by example.

Practicing these steps is a life-long commitment, but taking the first step is the most important. If you or someone you love is seeking affordable alcohol rehab or drug treatment, please contact us.

New Beginnings at a Drug Rehab in California and Rebuilding Trust in the Family

Many times previous to our getting sober, we have done damage to the relationships with our families.  In the midst of drinking and/or using we set fire to the bridges that brought us here.  The relationships we have sacrificed, many times, are the people closest to us and that usually means our families and closest of friends.

When we begin the process of our journey to living a sober life, perhaps our families and friends don’t have any semblance of trust nor are they immediately inclined to rekindle what was broken and lost.  They are skeptical at best.  There are times when, the pain and betrayal we may have caused them supersedes their wanting anything to do with us after such personal attacks, be they direct or inadvertent.

In the throes of our alcoholism and/or addiction we may not only haves set fire to said bridges but, perhaps, we insured our separation by pouring gasoline on the stick of dynamite we threw into the burning flames.  We cannot expect that just because we are in early sobriety that everything that came before is immediately wiped away and our slate is instantly clean.  We have to recognize and take stock of where we have done wrong and what we can do to amend and rectify the situation(s) at hand.

To rebuild the trust and love in our families can become extremely important as we develop our support network.  Time, however begrudgingly we may find this idea, is often the healer of circumstance and can offer us and the people with whom we injured the opportunity to begin anew.

As trust was whittled away over a period of time, even if that time was mere minutes, it takes far longer to return however, fear not, the possibilities of repairing our relationships can happen.  The drug rehab in California is among the rehabs that take insurance and gives us a firsthand view of how to begin reweaving our threadbare, at best, fabric of understanding and trust with our families.  It is not impossible; however, it simply does not occur overnight.  The road is long but through our actions, not just our words, will yield the signposts that lead the way for our friends and family to return.

Recovery Stories on Drug Rehab Blogs

As our sobriety continues and we begin to feel better, we may see our lives rebuild in a material fashion.  They may even be re-upped or improved upon with the things we lost while we were getting loaded; be it car, house, job, partner, etc.  There is also the distinct possibility these things may not come our way.  We are guaranteed nothing in the material.

We may hear stories on drug rehab blogs or from people in 12 step program addiction groups who have received everything they lost and then some.  There are times when, while listening to someone sharing and/or a speaker in a meeting, we may hear that person say they live a life beyond their wildest imagination, all the while delivering a message that is only connected to the physical items they now have.  Perhaps after the statement regarding “A life beyond… imagination.” they relay their tales of material acquisition without covering what brought them there.  They may have left out the important details of how they got to that place in their life and focus solely on all of the seemingly fine and fabulous things they now own.

It can be frustrating and maybe even feel near-deceiving when we don’t have those same results.  Perhaps we’re thinking we are supposed to have those very same things, on a similar timeline, to whomever we’re listening.  Maybe then we begin to think the program isn’t working.  We cannot understand why we feel like whatever program to which we are affiliated isn’t doing what we think it should.

The fact of the matter is participating in a program is not an insurance policy regarding acquiring “things” we may want to have.   If worked as instructed by the suggestions in the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, we are given the ability to connect with our Higher Power, who subsequently allows us to match calamity with serenity.  That ability is a gift that far outweighs any material item.