Loosid Sober Tip of the Day March 12

Sober Tips
#1

The war is over… if you want it to be.

Millions of us have fought our alcoholism or addiction tooth and nail, refusing to admit defeat. We think THIS time, somehow, and in some way, we will be able to stop.

It works… until it doesn’t.

We try again... We slip… So we try again.

Sometimes we put a week together. Sometimes a month… some of us a year or more until it happens AGAIN.

We swear one final time to God, to our wives, our husbands, our significant others, our mothers, our fathers, our children, our friends, our entire universe that we will never ever ever drink or use again… until we do.

We swear again one more final time… then another final time… then another.

What you need to know is that alcoholism and addiction is undefeated.

The only way to win is to surrender.

This is where so many of us lose the battle because to us, to surrender means to lose and our egos simply will not allow that.

Take solace in the fact that the entire program of recovery teaches us to surrender each and every day to our powerlessness over drugs or substances SO THAT WE WIN.

The war is over… if you want it to be.

How did this tip resonate with you? Let us know your thoughts below. There are many people in the Loosid community who need to hear what you have to say.

With Love, Loosid :pray::heart:

9 Likes
#2
#3

Amen​:pray::heart:

#4

All this makes sense if looked at from the perspective of failing at moderation. I fought that battle many years, kept losing, and then deployed my new super weapon: sobriety! As current world events show, there will always be war. Just like there will always be internal doubt and conflict. That’s life. But I’m not powerless! Love Loosid, but that whole powerlessness argument is confusing at best. Words have power, so we need to use language carefully. And imo this argument needs a do over.

7 Likes
#5

True..!:+1::+1:

#6

I saw failure in the beginning of sobriety. I lost everything. Well almost everything.
I now look at it as a lesson. I’m powerless over alcohol only when I take that first drink. In the lesson, I’ve learned that I have an allergy to alcohol and that’s the powerlessness I encounter with the first drink. As of right now I’m not powerless over alcohol because I haven’t had any in my stomach for 830 something conservative days.
All of my troubles are centered in my head. When I begin to harbor a resentment, then another and another until I’m mad at the world and all of its people, places and things, I become miserable inside. I shut down, I hold on to my resentments and start to justify why I’m mad. Then this gets worse and worse until a drink looks like a solution. Now that I have tools to help resolve anything that comes my way I don’t have to drink.
Here are a few tools;

  1. Prayer
  2. Meditation
  3. Sponsor
  4. Loosid
  5. Calling another alcoholic
  6. Journaling
  7. Reading
  8. Meetings
  9. Practicing daily reprieve
  10. Improving conscious contact with God.
  11. Sitting in my emotions
  12. Communications with others
  13. Repeatedly saying to myself “am I being kind and loving?” Or “How can I help?”
    It’s these simple tools that has changed the way I think and act towards others and situations. To start this process we must be willing to under go a complete psychic change. Changing one thing at a time but changing all of it has kept me sober and free! I live a joyous life today.
5 Likes
#7

Many people are confused about the meaning of powerless. “Powerlessness means using (drugs/alcohol) against our will. If we can’t stop using, how can we tell ourselves we are in control?” (NA Basic Text, pg 20) The inability to stop, once we start, is what is meant in the word powerless. Our power is to not pick up, to not justify using, and to work a program of recovery.

1 Like
#8

Your response made me think about powerlessness in a different way. Which is good because I never liked that word either.

1 Like
#9

Amen to that, brother. I use many of the same tools.

1 Like
#11

I loved it! Soo true the promises we make and then the disease controls you! You need to control the disease by acceptance and surrender to a better life !

#12

The only way to win is to surrender really resonated with me in my yoga practice today :woman_in_lotus_position:t2:

#13

:raised_hands: word

#14

No comment, lost me with the God nonsense

#15

Amen :pray: my friend

#16

Love this it’s a great reminder of where l came from