Stay Connected.  Join our email list.

Lets address setbacks because we have all had them.  Even the one with the most time out of all of us is not immune to the subtle-ness of a sneak attack.

We are two "people" - dual natured beings - and there is a constant battle in our minds with our self talk, and the self talk forms our actions. When it comes to your real self, "What you DO speaks so loud, I can't hear what you say"...is very spot on. We will argue within ourselves with limited self defeating talk.  We actually argue for our limitations - WITH ourselves!  Argue for your limitations and sure enough...you'll have them.  You are being with unlimited potential, let's be someone like that.

During times of extreme stress and trauma in life, it is not unusual for people to "slip" out of their recovery.  Especially people who have the "allergy" to alcohol, it is one of the easiest things to do, to just wonder if you can finally handle it again.

The short answer is -no, we can't.  Many have tried, no one succeeds. To delude oursleves into thinking so is a mistake, but not one that has to go with you as shame every part of the day. And NO- if you have had a set back, we don't believe it "ruins" the time you have had.  We'll get a lot of argument from by the book people, but for many, they have thought, "What the heck - I've ruined all my time anyway" - this just isn't true. You KNOW how to live free of your addiction if you have some time under your belt.  The whole idea is remembering and getting back on track is what is most important.  Remembering who you truely are is the most important. You are a good person.

Each event in our lives are experiences.  And these experiences can teach us something if we will look at it like this.  Many philosophies say that each being is living the perfect life for them to learn what they need to learn in this life.  If you have "slipped" and are back on track, then please take this as a learning experience and continue on your path of recovery. Because chemical addictions and eating addictions are so blatant and easy to know if you have fallen - some of the others are not as easy, pick yourself up and get back on track. Search yourself and find out WHY you fell -temporarily- and remember this is a trigger point and if you feel it happening again, get support. DON'T be alone.  Too much emphasis is put on never having slipped before, when almost everyone, if they were truthful about it, has.  Not all but almost everyone. False pride in not ever thinking you will slip because you have too much time in, is what it is. False. Cunning, baffling and powerful. Always remember this. 

Traditional treatment fails most of the time on the first try. But eventually, we choose to decide if we want to live this empty life or not. Some choose to continue.  Many as time goes by, choose to live an exciting, successful life in Recovery and stay in recovery by sharing wtih others. Sounds like a cliche' but when you make the committment to tell others, it is amazing how much easier it is to stay on track. 

So take your setbacks for what they are...they are temporary bumps in the road and do not cancel out all your time that you had in recovery.  Make friends and get support. When you are alone, it is easier to be "small" and slip back into old habits.  With friends that are like-minded, you can be who you really are inside. You can succeed.