Mini Series 13 - The Toolbox

As I alluded to earlier, every person in early recovery needs a toolbox to which he or she can turn and use a tool that could save their sobriety and perhaps even their very lives.

In addition to the basics, I’ve already mentioned which are: attend meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous and/or Narcotics Anonymous (the two major groups for recovering people), get a sponsor who will guide you through the 12 steps, and work the Steps diligently. It doesn't hurt to find a Power greater than yourself to help you on the path of becoming a spiritual person.

Some tools of practical use also include the following:

1. Start eating in a healthier way. It’s 100% true that active alcoholics and addicts have horrible eating habits before they get clean. Getting the right nourishment into your depleted system will go a long way to help your body and your brain recover from the damage that you’ve likely caused due to negligence.
2. Start getting into a “normal” sleep routine. The all-nighters are a thing of the past now, so try to get into a sleep pattern that has you going to bed in the evening and awakening in the morning. Unless your shift work demands otherwise, of course.  Sounds a bit weird to have to say: “go to bed at night and wake up in the morning”, but if you think about it, nothing about life as an addict was normal, sleep being no exception.
3. Take advantage of your body’s ability to reward you with a natural high in the form of endorphins that’ll kick in once you start exercising. Your body is an amazing healing machine when you treat it right. Your body craves movement and exertion. When you start getting fit, your brain will recover more quickly, your senses will come alive, more oxygen will flow through your system, your stress level (and probably your blood pressure) will go down, anxiety levels will ease, and you’ll feel better about you.
4. Use the 24-hour plan. You can decide to not take a drink for the next 24 hours, and you can start any time if you feel a craving coming on. Now, some people in early recovery have already found a Higher Power so that they can ask the Power to lift that craving one moment at a time, one hour at a time, one day at a time. Some gents whom I have sponsored would divide their days into morning, afternoon and evening. This type of strategy avoids the “going on the wagon” or a similar pledge that makes the prospect of staying clean and sober an impossibly high mountain to climb.
5. Again, use the phone. Get as many phone numbers as you can so that when the craving hits or your emotions take a dark turn, you have someone you can talk to unload your fears, talk you off the ledge or better yet, share a joy or a funny story. Anything to get your mind off the next “first” drink or hit.  That’s what a sponsor is for, but just as important, you have become part of a Fellowship that will nurture you and keep you connected. Isolation leads to “stinking thinking” which can lead you back to drinking and using. Fellowship is the antidote to isolation.