RECOVERY AND BEING ALONE

Being alone and being lonely are two different things. Being alone, and being lonely present two different issues for someone in recovery. Being alone in recovery usually takes place within the context of a family or a relationship. i remember coming across it midway in the first year of sobriety. I was feeling great, looking better then I had in years. Six months into sobriety and couldn't be happier. My wife was away for the weekend and the kids were gone for the day. It was "me, myself, and I, nobody else. Who would know? It's just this once. You have been sober for six months and you will start another six months tomorrow. Finish the bottle and that will be the end. Whatever you might call it, Satan in Christianity, or the Evil Urge in Judaism, those sabotaging thoughts started careening in my head. That part of your mind that tries to convince you that the good is bad and the bad is good. Everything was going great and until that situation arose. I had no physical desire to drink, yet I was constructing mental images to drink.Take a deep breathe. Listen to these voices. Identify them. Know their source. Look around. Realize what you have gained in your sobriety. Understand that all you are doing is fucking with yourself.