“The grass is always greener on the other side”, we’ve all heard the expression. Chances are somebody was telling you this when you were at a crossroads with making a big decision that could affect your life dramatically in one way or another. A consideration so intimidating that it could deteriorate a relationship, change your living situation, or even cause financial changes that you’re not accustomed to. Or maybe you were out of chocolate milk at 3 a.m. and weren’t going to be able to sleep until you crawled out of bed in your underwear and drove to the store to buy more because chocolate milk is happiness. That last sentence happens more often than you’d believe. Don’t judge. Moving on.
With all this grass and chocolate milk talk, we take a step back and reassess some things in our lives. Life is constantly bringing about adjustments, and for us addicts and alcoholics- change comes shaking at us like an earthquake does when you’re house is already on fire. All this new fangled sobriety and recovery talk catches us off guard as we try to understand things like fellowship, anonymous, and sober supports. With the beginnings of sobriety being such a lonely place sometimes, it’s no wonder that it’s recommended we reach a hand out to be pulled to the grass. It’s not pleasant trying to make the trek alone.
Who’s Tending to the Grass?
Eventually, some of us contact help and intend to set out on a different path. Being that we are all at different periods in our lives, the next course of action and process is about having faith in our fellow peers and finding sober supports we trust and hope to be there for us. One thing is for certain, though, when your life starts to revolve around chemicals and addiction, the relationships in our life start to change very quickly. When we’re getting high, sober support are two completely foreign words. As stated beforehand, reaching out for help is recommended to all who are struggling in the grips of alcoholic behaviors. For some of us, this includes changing patterns, hang out spots, and the people we consider friends. Often times, the people we consider friends are just using partners and it’s not until a few sober supports have entered our lives that we realize what real friendship can truly mean. Many of us tend to get sucked into the people and places that formulate our habits. So once we start back tracking and modifying our life styles, our friends and what we look for in friendship tends to follow suit. Getting of healthy mind and body helps us to see what we want in various relationships in life.
Recognizing the fact that sobriety is ironically the higher ground, we then dive deep into recovery and fellowship. Having a strong fellowship in your life is the key to this whole not getting high or drunk thing. At some point in time, you’re going to need somebody strong to lean onto- it just happens. Life comes swiftly around the corner without any warning all the time and it’s unrealistic to think that we can always be prepared for the events that take place. We all need help in this life and can’t get through it efficiently alone. Some would like to think they can, but that’s the pride unfortunately getting in the way of them making life more well-organized/enjoyable for lack of better terms. So having entered recovery- we start building upon this network of sober supports. This empire of friendships can be built in a slew of different ways, but there are some ways of going about it that are the most fruitful.
Going regularly to Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous meetings is a great way to meet new sober supports. Naturally, this is a meeting filled with all sorts of people that are there to overcome addictions and alcoholic thinking of the sort. What better place to meet sober supports than at a gathering of people in the same boat? At these meeting- and most anonymous meetings for that matter, they have “phone lists.” This is a list of names of people who regularly attend that meeting and have written their phone number down to be of recovery-related assistance. Take one of these phone lists. These little ink blotted pieces of paper are a great way to meet people outside of the meeting or to familiarize yourself with some of the home group members. This is a fantastic way to get to know more people and branch out further- the more people rooting for you, the better right? Sometimes people can be a little more timid at first and are extremely introverted- that’s okay though. Although being social is a necessity for sobriety, there are ways to meet other peers in sobriety such as online. There are various chat rooms and social media groups and sites that can be visited to connect with others. This is much less interactive but it’s a step in the right direction. These groups can really help some struggling alcoholics climb out of their shell and begin feeling open enough to be vulnerable with others about their alcoholism/addiction related issues.
Aside from the phone lists and internet is, of course, the natural way to meet sober supports- by walking up to a stranger and talking to them. Trying to swallow whatever anxiety and nervousness that might be boiling to the top and just greeting some new people at meetings or any other recovery related function is a great way to step out of the shadows. All it takes is just meeting one person and having him/her introduce you to somebody new and keep that ball rolling. Sober supports are everywhere we might think to look for them because addicts and alcoholics are everywhere! Connect to the right people and it may benefit you more than you’ll ever realize.
Support Sobriety
Nobody said that life was easy, but addiction and alcoholic thinking make sure of that. It’s nice to find people that understand the strife that occurs on a daily basis with this disease. Having somebody we can relate to makes all the world of difference. It’s an even better feeling when you can give AND take in sobriety. Take care of self and the rest will follow. After all, you are the company you carry. If you or a loved one has been struggling with getting a firm grasp on sobriety and need treatment, please call 1-800-481-8457 or visit oarcstaging.wpengine.com. Our teams of specialists are waiting by to help figure out what options are best for sending your life is a comfortable direction that you can proudly stand behind.
