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Maintenance
(Preview)
"Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it." As we work the first nine Steps, we prepare ourselves for the adventure of a new life. But when we approach Step Ten we commence to put our A.A. way of living to practical use, day by day, in fair weather or fou...
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Phil
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3
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615
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Looks like I'm headed west!
(Preview)
Well, my insanity is taking me to Hayfork, California lol Actually I've had quite a few people tell me it's not insane, that it'll be great to have this kind of experience, and I think so too, I'm really excited :) I've talked to my friend out there, I asked him if he was actually serious, about renting...
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LisaF
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7
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458
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I have a BIG Question...
(Preview)
Hello everyone and thank you in advance for reading this. Please do not be offended I just need some help. I am a compulsive gambler and I haven't gambled in a little over 9 months. I went through the 12 steps with an AA sponsor however. Now the problem is that I still attend mostly AA meetings. I don't drin...
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to_thine_own_self_be_true
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3
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521
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Word Power
(Preview)
I know I'm controlling, but so is my husband. Possibly more controlling than I am. Each time I set out to leave him, each time I started to walk away, he knew exactly what to say to pull me back in. And he knew I'd respond. He knew how to say exactly what I needed to hear to keep me where he wanted me. He knew what...
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Quetzal
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5
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515
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Ordinary Moments
(Preview)
Saving a time for quiet appreciation... An aesthetic life, in the broad sense, is a spiritual life. Couples can strengthen their partnership and enrich their lives by making aesthetic experiences daily events. Saving time for quiet appreciation of the good things in our lives - communicating wit...
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Quetzal
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1
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397
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Family Emergency Please Read
(Preview)
Dear Family, I am sorry that we have not been in the rooms for the past 2 weeks. We have had a death in the family, Johns sister. We will be able to provide more information when we get home. We have been in Virginia taking care of family in the time of crisis. We will still be out of town for a few more da...
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John
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8
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551
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frustrated
(Preview)
Hi all. This is my first time on line w/ u all, so be patient with me. I found this web site and was hoping it was a 24 hour type thing where I could chat with someone when the urge took over. Maybe it is and I just dont know how to use it. Im Lani, and I AM AN ALCOHOLIC. I have to say, I have been going to meetings ever...
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lani
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6
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503
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The Reality of this being a progressive disease
(Preview)
I just wanted to share a word of caution from my experience with surgery this week. I made it clear, verbally and in writing, to both m doc and my anesthesiologist that I am a substance abuser. I won't go into details about the surgery itself. It went pretty well. My body doesnt handle anesthetics well an...
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Wren
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5
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571
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Finding Direction
(Preview)
I used to spend so much time reacting and responding to everyone else that my life had no direction. Other people's lives, problems, and wants set the course for my life. Once I realized it was okay for me to think about and identify what I wanted, remarkable things began to take place in my life. -- Anony...
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Quetzal
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0
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373
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Catch a bigger one!
(Preview)
Hey everybody, Here is the corrected version. Join us for a fantastic time. Do you need to get on with your life and have some fun. I finally got sober and have been sober now for over 20 years. I go to men's stags and I get involved in life with my buddies in AA. In the past I did not get together with th...
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gardenvariety
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2
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459
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Accepting Love
(Preview)
Many of us have worked too hard to make relationships work; sometimes those relationships didn't have a chance because the other person was unavailable or refused to participate. To compensate for the other person's unavailability, we worked too hard. We may have done all or most of the work. Doing...
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Quetzal
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2
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372
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My strange day.
(Preview)
Today was different. My GF and baby are off island for a couple weeks, and the solitude is nice. In the sake of prudence I can't say a whole lot about the relationship between baby mom and I online, except to say that we're as ill suited for each other as two people can be. But we have the best kid ever and so th...
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TLH
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15
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554
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Slow Down
(Preview)
"The soul requires duration of time -- rich, thick, deep, velvety time -- and it thrives on rhythm. Soul cant be hurried or harried .... We may go through many events in the day and experience nothing because the soul has not had the opportunity to feel them from many different points of view.&quo...
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Wren
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3
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654
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Labor Day
(Preview)
Labor Day weekend (in the US)........and to many that means an extra day of "vacation". There are festivities going on in many cities and towns. Barbecues, camping, swimming, boating ect. And many of these activities will/do include alcohol. By Tues. morning the papers wi...
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learning
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4
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403
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"Go Easy"
(Preview)
Go easy. You may have to push forward, but you don't have to push so hard. Go in gentleness - go in peace. Do not be in so much of a hurry. At no day, no hour, no time are you required to do more than you can do in peace. Frantic behaviors and urgency are not the foundation for our new way of life. Do not be in too muc...
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Phil
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5
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697
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Doctors opinion?
(Preview)
Hello all, looking for ESH....... It was suggested to me to read the Doctors opinion ( nothing more just that) and perhaps identify myself with a 'type'..........i have the suggesters tel no but can't get her in, yet :) I am not identifying with a type i am all types except perhaps the 'manic depressiv...
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alligot
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11
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1636
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Well it's definitely one day at a time...
(Preview)
It's been a long stressful week... staying at my dad's lasted all of 2 nights. I stayed at my mom's for one night, she insisted I get a crate for my dog to sleep in the house, and I could only stay one night and that's it. Was going to take off to my aunt's actually yesterday or today, but my sister said I can...
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LisaF
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8
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451
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FORGIVENESS
(Preview)
It is so important for us to forgive people of past sins. When we mistrust someone because of their past, we apply a stigma to them that they fight all of their lives. It is better to learn to forgive, and to keep forgiving, so that the person can know that there is no judgement which will come from us. ...
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jeannie
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1
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332
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Daily Reflections - Sept 1
(Preview)
Willingness to Grow If more gifts are to be received, our awakening has to go on. As Bill Sees It - p.8 Soberity fills the painful "hole in the soul" that my alcoholism created. Often I feel so physically well that I believe my work is done. However, joy is not just the absence of pain; it is t...
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jeannie
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0
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571
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Patience
(Preview)
Sometimes we get what we want right away. At other times, we wonder if our desires will ever be fulfilled. We will be fulfilled in the best way possible and as quickly as possible. But some things take time. Sometimes, we have lessons to learn first, lessons that prepare us so we can accept the good we des...
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Quetzal
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0
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342
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Denial
(Preview)
I've been recovering many years. I've used denial many times. It has been a defense, a survival device, a coping behavior, and, at times, almost my undoing. It has been both a friend and an enemy. When I was a child, I used denial to protect my family and myself. I protected myself from seeing things too p...
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Quetzal
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2
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407
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Hi all
(Preview)
Just thought I'd check in!!! Things have been a bit outta sorts, lost my job last week. But for the grace of god I've found another job with in a week, Than suddenly got a unexpected panic phone call about my son sunday nite. Son was in a stage of hyper ventillating and couldn't breath and well spent 2 ho...
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Tina
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2
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387
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Accepting Our Best
(Preview)
We don't have to do it any better than we can - ever. Do our best for the moment, and then let it go. If we have to redo it, we can do our best in another moment, later. We can never do more or better than we are able to do at the moment. We punish ourselves and make ourselves feel crazy by expecting more than our re...
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Quetzal
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0
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431
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QUESTION???????
(Preview)
There has been a question on my mind for a while now - it is concerning the celebration of A.A. birthday's. So here goes - Why do some people not want to celebrate their day? I mean it's an achievement of living a sober life for X number of years not to mention the fact that it shows new people coming in th...
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jeannie
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14
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610
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Enjoy Recovery, catch a big one
(Preview)
Hey everybody, Do you need to get on with your life and have some fun. I finally got sober and have been sober now for over 20 years. I go to men's stags and I get involved in life with my buddies in AA. In the past I did not get together with the guys and do the fellowship thing. Today that is different....
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gardenvariety
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1
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397
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Have A Good Day
(Preview)
"When I am disturbed, it is because I find some person, place, thing, or situation--some fact of my life--unacceptable to me, and I can find no serenity until I accept that person, place, thing, or situation as being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment."--Alcoholics Anonym...
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Phil
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0
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430
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Owning Our Energy
(Preview)
For many reasons, we may have mastered the art of giving away our energy. We may have learned it when we were young because the feelings we had were too overwhelming to feel, and we did not know how to process them. Much of our obsessing, our intense focus on others, is done to facilitate this "out of...
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Quetzal
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0
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377
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Made it to mississippi
(Preview)
I'm at my dad's, made it here safe and sound... my car worried me a bit on the way, but made it, I gotta get it in the shop real soon... my cousin said my brakes need to be bled, that they have air in them, which is why they aren't stopping good (let me tell ya, that was real fun in the hills just south of St. Loui...
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LisaF
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6
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526
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To my dear friends
(Preview)
I am sorry that I have not been much of a contributor to the board lately. Alot going on "down south" in California, and I've been a bit out of sorts of late. I go into surgery, as Phil and Carol know, tomorrow, in Seattle, to have a tumor and parathyroid removed, so I've been sort of balancing my...
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Wren
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9
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430
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Friendship
(Preview)
A man moved into an apartment and held an open house in order to meet new people. Many people showed up, and they seemed to enjoy themselves enormously. He invited them to come back, and frequently held parties that were the hit of the apartment complex. When he lost his job, and the funds became sc...
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jeannie
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0
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374
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Taking Care of Ourselves on the Job
(Preview)
It's okay to take care of ourselves on the job. It is not only okay - it is necessary. Taking care of ourselves on the job means we deal with feelings appropriately; we take responsibility for ourselves. We detach, when detachment is called for. We set boundaries, when we need to do that. We negotiate co...
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Quetzal
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0
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477
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Big Book How it works
(Preview)
The first requirement is that we be convinced that any life run on self-will can hardly be a success. On that basis we are almost always in collision with something or somebody, even though our motives are good. Most people try to live by self-propulsion. Each person is like an actor who wants to run the...
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wagon
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1
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362
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Sometimes..because of our past...I have moments when I feel that I dont deserve good things to happen
(Preview)
Been going with a great healthy lady for bout 9 months...45 minutes away...spend an evening...and Sundays together...and as a mutual thing..thats not going to change for a long time..Shes not in the program...and does not NEED someone in her life....but shares that its nice to HAVE someone in her l...
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Phil
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5
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547
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Any One Have the Urge to Drink Today?
(Preview)
We've had quite a number of newcomers start threads in the last few days. I'd like to here about it, and how you were able to get thru the day without drinking. more later- pass
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StPeteDean
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4
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550
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new member
(Preview)
Hello All. First time on a msg board like this. Would I be in the wrong place if I have concerns other than drinking? I am new, sorry If I am barking up the wrong tree. just trying to do the right thing. Jim
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Jim1980
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4
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480
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I met a girl...
(Preview)
many years ago in rehab. She was young, about 18 then and she was basically forced into it by her family because she had f#@ked up her life with party drugs, ecstasy, cocaine, speed, etc. She was the youngest person in the place and because she was immature and a little ditsy all of us worldly, brillia...
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Tipsy McStagger
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3
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472
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My first meeting coming back
(Preview)
As many of you know I've been in and out a few times...a lot of times actually. When I look back to my first stints in AA it seems so different than now. I seem so different. I used to go to meetings with such an overwhelming feeling of desperation, like I wanted to be sober and clean and "cured" r...
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Tipsy McStagger
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1
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540
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Procrastination
(Preview)
Procrastination - not acting when the time is right - is a self-defeating behavior. It produces anxiety, guilt, disharmony, and a nagging consciousness of the task that life is telling us it's time to do. We are not always procrastinating when we put off doing something. Sometimes, doing a thing bef...
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Quetzal
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0
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507
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Silence
(Preview)
It took every ounce of courage he had to say anything. He had always been shy, and he was terribly afraid of being made fun of. He knew that if he ever opened his mouth, he would say the wrong thing and be rediculed. He had been that way all his life. People probably thought he didn't know anything, an...
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jeannie
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4
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390
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Would any one like to share?
(Preview)
My blog (you can find it in my profile) needs some updated material, and Im kinda at a loss.. writers block mabye lol. If any one would like to post thier story (how it was, what happend, what it's like now), or your experiance with alcohol, or any other unique suitable material , feel free to PM me. . I'll p...
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miller2
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6
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499
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I'm on the road... in Kansas City...
(Preview)
Hey everyone... Well, crap hit the fan tonight with bf (or ex bf I should say...) I actually left... I'd already finally made the decision that I'd head south to stay with family, till I find farm work somewhere... called my dad and talked to him about it earlier today, well then the crap with bf, I had...
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LisaF
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4
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528
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Boundaries
(Preview)
Having boundaries doesn't complicate life; boundaries simplify life. --Beyond Codependency There is a positive aspect to boundary setting. We learn to listen to ourselves and identify what hurt us and what we don't like. But we also learn to identify what feels good. When we are willing to take som...
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Quetzal
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0
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387
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When will I be ready?
(Preview)
My name is Brian and I am an alcoholic. I have been attending meetings and staying sober for a few months now. My girlfriend will reach 10 years clean soon. Unfortunately I relapsed a few days ago and she told me, she and I need to stay apart until I have dealt with my drinking. It feels like we are breaking u...
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BriMan
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6
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765
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My name is _________ and I'm an Alcoholic...
(Preview)
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Tipsy McStagger
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7
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589
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Self-Pity
(Preview)
Self-pity in its early stages is as snug as a feather mattress. Only when it hardens does it become uncomfortable. -- Maya Angelou Some days we grasp at self-pity like a blanket on a cold night, and we are momentarily comforted. However, extended periods of self-pity will undermine our primary purpo...
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Quetzal
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0
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401
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Restless, Irritable, and Discontent
(Preview)
How well those 3 words describe me right now... I dunno what's going on with me... Noticing some of my character defects/personality flaws/immaturity/whatever you wanna call it... Noticing how probably some people are right, that I'm not ready for any kind of committed relationship... or maybe I...
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LisaF
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11
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6200
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Labels Limit Us
(Preview)
"When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be."-- Lao TzuHow do you define yourself, to yourself and others? Are you first and foremost a husband/wife? A mother/father? A bus driver, dentist, musician ... ? A Christian, Moslem, Jew ...? A nag, joker, dreamer ...?Be aware that any lab...
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Wren
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4
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573
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Is this person an alcoholic?
(Preview)
I grew up around major alcoholism and it was obvious because those people were at it all day and left a trail of destruction around them. I now am around someone who for some reason or other I can't make a decision about as to whether or not they are a true alcoholic. Maybe because it has been so hard to see...
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Lilybee
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8
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707
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Regret
(Preview)
Regret is an appalling waste of energy, you can't build on it: it's only good for wallowing in. -- Katherine Mansfield Newcomer Someone I hoped would be an important part of my life for years to come has left. I'm devastated. I don't know how much of what happened is my fault; I keep thinking, "If on...
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Quetzal
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0
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467
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Could use some prayers/support... even if this sounds silly...
(Preview)
Way off topic from being even remotely related to AA... but I could use a bit of support, kind words, hugs... It's been a long very rough night... I guess overall I'm ok, but I'm hurting so bad... I did the hardest thing I've ever had to do... I had to put my tom down... by myself. I've never hurt an ani...
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LisaF
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