Alcoholism Support Group

Alcoholism is the continued consumption of alcoholic beverages, even when it is negatively affecting your health, work, relationships and life. If you think alcohol is causing you to lose control, it's time to seek help. Our group is a safe place to vent, check in, get back up if you fall, and reach sobriety.

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confusedmoma 11/29/2008

I just wanted to ask you all if this has happened to you. The other day i woke up and suddenly, out of the blue, i was plagued by nasty thoughts of what i used to be like when i was drinking.That old familiar shame and terror came back in full force that i felt paralzed for a moment!!Then a little voice told me" who are you to try and hold your head up high after all you have done?" It really threw me for a loop. The whole day i felt like crap, wondering if people knew some of the things i had done. It was horrible. I guess it comes down to forgiving myself, but i don't feel confident. Yes i am pruod i have been sober a year, but i still have low self esteemdue to the embarrassing past i have. Is it true that one day i will not wish to shut the door on the past? Will i ever freely be able to talk about some of this crap without letting it affect me?

nodp2day 11/29/2008

I have been able to change my past. I look at it as a wonderful education and as such I can now see the humor in all of it. The God of my understanding has forgiven me. He allowed me to live those days and I am now a MUCH better person for it. He told not to sweat the small stuff and if you think about it the past can't be but the smallest of all. Why? Because there is nothing one can do about it so why waste the time on it. Live and learn. Then there is always the topper. If God said I am forgiven I sure aint gonna argue with Him. If I do then I am giving myself over to the enemy who feeds on my fear. That's just me of course.

deleted_user 11/29/2008

Chin-Up...We aren't so different...us peeps!

I found that as a grow, as I become the person I aspire to be, I can look at my past as perfect...I become who I am today...because of the experiences I have lived through and the attitudes I choose to take about those experiences.

Perhaps we must discover who we are not in order to appreciate who we are. Just a individuals path to enlightenment.

Would we understand LIGHT if there were no Darkness...?)))))))

deleted_user 11/29/2008

i remember those flashbacks and I would feel shame. Now as I grow I realize I had to be there to be here, if you get what I mean. It is normal, write it down, or tell someone you really trust. if you have a higher power hand it over, and trust that you are forgiven.A year of sobriety is a great achievment.

deleted_user 11/29/2008

I cringe when I think of some of the stupid things I did when I was drunk, I beat myself up over and over and would give anything to go back and change the way I reacted or the stupid mistake I made.

I try to move on, if those that I hurt in the years of my drunken fog love me today, then I can love me too.

Try not to dwell on it and let it bring you down. Start over......now. Hope you're feelin better today. :)

deleted_user 11/29/2008

Absolutely!

After six years sober and going through the work a few times, it doesn't happen so much, anymore.

lisa1235 11/29/2008

when i was in treatment i learned copings skills and one of them was challenging negative thoughts..we do this by taking the original negative thought like the one you had about how could you hold ur head up and challenge it with all the facts and new truths..example after you thought what u thought u can say...yeah i did all lot of bull but look at me now..i have a brite future..im finding my way..i could go on and on..this is something i learned to break out of my old thinking its saved me tremendously and i just wanted to share it.

deleted_user 11/29/2008

Where are you with the steps?? If you have done them and these things still bother you perhaps you could try seeing a therapist or counsellor, some of that stuff was not resolved for me until I did that - but it wasn't a quick fix!

Talking about it with a professional can help to take some of the power out those things for you - the rest goes gradually!

deleted_user 11/29/2008

It's when you deal with your past you will truly be free of it, and not only that but it becomes a great ali in helping other's.

jamesross 11/30/2008

Stop listening to those negative thoughts. They are lies that will only lead you back to drinking. Sometimes I literally have to shout at them to get the hell away from me. They are the lies of our addiction that wants us to feel worthless, and not good enough. You are good enough, and you deserve to be sober. God says so. Beleive it. Stop listening to those lies.

deleted_user 11/30/2008

Great choice of word - plagued. It literally is that - a plague - a black death.

I have found that after following a few simple rules those moments are few and far between and anyway I have the opportunity to clean up that past, not just talk about it.

Prayer is wonderfully effective in those moments too - truly miraculous.

m8bear 11/30/2008

I can completely identify with what you are saying. Last night I revealed part of my past and what got me to an AA to an older lady who has very much become a friend. At the end of just a little of my past I felt I had to say 'please dont judge me'.

I think we are all insecure but with each sober day that passes we are growing. This is why I am keen to get moving with the steps, I want to have what I read so much about on here. Now I just have to get my sponsor to move haha

I read something a while back on here - 'it took every drink I had to be where I am today' and I believe that too.

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