Its been so long since I popped by !!

[caring_hands]

Wow its been a few years now since I have stopped by and posted anything. I have to thank Smart Recovery for their patience with me in the 4 years it took me to achieve sobriety. I could not have done it without you all. I am not sure who may still be here from those days? (2003-2007) I will be forever in debt to you all .....and I have referred so many of my clients here over the years also! This is my post from FB this morning.

"14 years ago today I woke up on my couch with the worst hangover of my life ...and I have had some doozies! There were people wandering around my house left over from the party the night before celebrating my brother Billys birthday tribute 3 years after his death. The amount of shame, disgust and self loathing I felt at that moment was more than I could take.....I knew then that I NEVER wanted to feel that way again.......I went outside on the deck to see the "after party" damage.....saw the empty bottle of Jamesons (which I found out later that I had drank most of myself) and tried not to make eye contact with my daughter, my niece and anyone else that might have witnessed my last drunken stupor......That day changed my life......3 months later I enrolled in the College of New Rochelle and after a year there transferred to Fordham to pursue my degree in Social Work and the rest is history.......I have never felt that bad about myself since that day......I vowed to never forget those feelings or that hangover and that has kept me sober for the past 14 years.......I can only hope that as I share my sobriety journey (sometimes with my clients who are struggling with addiction) that maybe I have helped just one person along the way. Not too long ago I received an email from an old client that I haven't seen in about 4 years. She was ambivalent about her alcohol abuse and was resistant to the idea of abstinence. When she terminated therapy she was still actively drinking but the thought was planted. I received the email thanking me for helping her see her problem and wanted to share with me that she had just celebrated one year of sobriety.....those are the stories that make me cry happy tears.......another person found their way to a better them!! sometimes we search for a meaning for our pain and struggles........sometimes it is simply to pass on the knowledge and success in order to give someone else hope.....I will celebrate with a pint of Ben and Jerrys!!"

[Gordon1]

Well done you caring_hands and thankyou so much for sharing