RE 137: The "ISM" or the Incredibly Short Memory

I want to talk about the word Alcoholism, more specifically, the tail end of that word, the ISM- Incredible Short Memory, the painful acute memories are sobriety fuel.  We cannot do this alone. 

Adam, with 57 days since his last drink, shares his story

 

SHOW NOTES

 

[8:50] Paul Introduces Adam.  I’m 36; I live in New Hampshire, married with 2 awesome sons and a beautiful wife.  I love being outdoors.  I began drinking in my early twenties.  I was drinking to get away from stress problems.  It got to the point where I was drinking everyday. 

 

[15:05] Paul- What was different on July 17th?  Was it a shift in mindset? Did you go to an AA meeting?

 

Adam- It was more of a mindset.  Everywhere I looked there was something about recovery.  It was my mind putting it out there.  I created the accountability, and it made it harder to go back on.

 

[21:40] Paul- Was there some sense of discomfort before you quit drinking?  What was the source of pain?

 

Adam-  It wasn’t anything huge.  I called myself a high bottom drunk.  There wasn’t anything that set it off.  I was sick of relying on it everyday.  Waking up every morning sleepier than I should be.  It became too much a part of my life, and I didn’t want it there anymore. 

 

[23:56] Paul- What was it like the first 24 hours? The first couple of days, the first week?

 

Adam- It was not the easiest time in my life.  I had a little bit of the shakes, some headaches the first 3-4 days was the worst of it.  I remind myself how great I feel now.

 

[26:53] Paul- What’s on your bucket list in sobriety?  What do you want to achieve with this new life you’ve been given?

 

Adam-  I want to spend more time with my family Instead of playing with the kids, the first thing I would do would be to grab a drink.  They are 3 and 7 years old right now.  Be closer to them.  This time of their life I really want to remember.

 

 

[29:45] Rapid Fire Round

 

1. Did you ever have an “oh-shit” moment?  Just realizing that everyday that was the first thing when I got home from work that I wanted to do.
2. What’s your plan moving forward?  Just to keep enjoying life, get to know my kids better, and getting healthy.
3. What’s your favorite resource in recovery? It’s the Recovery Elevator Podcast.
4. What’s the best advice you’ve ever received (on sobriety)? The accountability.  Creating that accountability and making it a real thing.
5. What parting piece of guidance can you give listeners who are in recovery or thinking about quitting drinking?  Suck it up and talk to somebody.  It has to be someone that you care about and trust and respect.  Once you make it a real thing, you will not want to let them down.
6. You might be an alcoholic if you lie to your wife when you are sick as a dog, because you know she will say you don’t need that beer tonight.

 

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Connect with Cafe RE- Use the promo code Elevator for your first month free

Sobriety Tracker iTunes

Sobriety Tracker Android

Sober Selfies! - Send your Sober Selfie and your Success Story to [e-mail]

 

 

“We took the elevator down, we gotta take the stairs back up, we can do this!”