It seems only fitting I find this site today. Today is the 3rd anniversary of the first day of the rest of my life. Corny but true. My last drink of alcohol was March 17th, 2006. One thousand ninety-five days I didn't have to face the insanity.
Not to mention the mess it makes of your life, relationships and finances. Alcoholism wreaks havoc on you physically,degrades your health and shortens your life. It leaves an emotional, mental and physical trail of destruction. So, how could I possibly continue a slow, painful suicide? It's the disease. Sure, I could have tried quitting sooner, but I wasn't ready. Being an intelligent and strong individual, isn't necessarily helpful in this fight. The notion I hadn't the smarts or will to beat such a thing, wasn't acceptable. As well, there wasn't anything I had tried to do, I had failed in accomplishing. But that fear and deep down knowing, that if I tried to quit on my own, by sheer will and I failed, was enough to halt any attempt.
Then there was the stigma of "being a recovering alcoholic". Could I bare the humiliation? What humiliation? The truth is
there is no humiliation in taking your life back. No shame in saying I was strong enough to admit that I need help to do this.
I'm here today to say that you can win. You can beat it, but you have to surrender. Alcohol lost. I'm free from it's grip and the power it had over me.
And if you're suffering, you can too. There is real life, real joy, real peace in the freedom of recovery.