Gentle Sobriety
The bridge between addiction and healing


 

White Knuckle Sobriety   

You Might be an Addict

General Questions  

Am I an Addict?

Bar Stool Dreamer

Facing Secrets

I Gave Up

Mama Died Drunk

                  

                                      

 

                            

 

 

 

 

"I Gave Up"

A young woman rocked back and forth, wailing at all she had "given up" for sobriety.  She was definitely sorrowful and I felt her pain and loss.  At the top of her list were the parties she couldn't attend and associating with her using friends.  Oh, she missed them terribly.
I made a quick list of what I "gave up" for sobriety. When it came my turn, I shared my thoughts.
 
Start each line by saying, “In sobriety, I gave up” . . . . . . . .
 
Ruining My Health
losing most of my liver
losing my teeth
puking every morning
pissing the bed
the ugly breath of near death
the dark bar pale-face of a dead end drunk
not eating so I could afford to party
 
Breaking My Children's Heart
spending money needed for basic food and shelter
embarrassing by kids in front of their peers
having my kids taken into state custody
losing my parental rights
calling my kids hurtful names
putting my kids down
setting an irresponsible example of parenting
getting drunk and missing their birthday party
showing up drunk at their school functions
making excuses for no Christmas presents
making my kids witness my abuse of their loved one
voluntarily abandoning my kids
allowing my kids to witness violence
leaving them with anyone who would baby sit so I could party
trusting people with my children that really harmed them
 
Shafting My Family
shafting the only people who really loved me
borrowing money I won’t pay back
believing family or country owed me
using family until they no longer cared
never feeling their pain over my self destruction
screaming at loved ones who cared about me
 
Sick Relationships
being arrested for domestic violence
believing that a violent relationship was love
waking to a total stranger in my bed.
unreasonable jealously
breaking marriage vows
broken promises
 
Depending on Addicts as Friends
thinking that everyone who used was my best friend
unreliable friends who were never there for me
 
Unreliable Work Habits
endangering my coworkers
risking my bosses business
 
My High Risk Behavior
black outs
not remembering last nights details
driving too fast and taking chances
waking up and wondering where I was
 
Pissing Away Money
paying court costs and attorney fees
receiving past due notices and final disconnects
being evicted for non payment of rent
forcing my kids to live without heat or food, or clothes or basic security
 
Living in An Ugly Void
missing the beauty of a sunset
sleeping through a sunrise
seeing life through dull colors
numbing of human emotions
existing in a hollow, emotionless void
fear that if I started crying I could not stop
the deepest part of loneliness
the tunnel vision of addiction
 
What do you want to "give up" in sobriety? What is most important to you? 
 

Vocabulary

Prepare for Sobriety

Healing  

                                            Help for Family               

                              

Spirit Ranch - Oregon    


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© 1991- 2009 Sue Christensen, All rights reserved. Write:  PO Box 1188, Nome, Alaska, 99762.  Links to this site are welcomed, but wholesale downloading for reproduction elsewhere by any means, print or electronic, is expressly prohibited and will be prosecuted under relevant Federal statutes. Written permission is required to mass produce, copy or reprint by any method. No permission is implied or granted to duplicate or distribute pages or graphics in any manner, either electronically or in printed form. No reprint in any form is allowed including storage in a retrieval system, transmitted or copied for public or private use other than for “fair use” as a brief quotation without prior written permission of the author.

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