Ignore This and Die

At first glance the title of this post might seem harsh. But what if you were traveling down a highway at 80 miles an hour and the road was washed out just a mile ahead. You're headed toward a deep gully that, should you fall into it, will most certainly kill you. In that case, a posted sign with the words "IGNORE THIS AND DIE" might be seen as a welcome warning.

What if you were headed for an intersection and someone could see a car coming that was, without a doubt, going to run the stop sign and plow into your car on the driver's side killing you for sure. You'd be thrilled if that person held up a sign saying "DANGEROUS INTERSECTION AHEAD, IGNORE THIS AND DIE."

Let's say you're at your computer late one night and across the screen scrolls the following message, "THE CHEST PAINS YOU'RE ABOUT TO EXPERIENCE ARE THE FIRST SIGN OF A FATAL HEART ATTACK. IGNORE THIS AND DIE!"

Who wouldn't want to be warned if they were on their way to a certain, excruciating end? The truth is all addicts are on the road to emotional, spiritual, relational and, eventually, physical death. Oddly enough when friends or family or coworkers flag them down with a sign that says "IGNORE THIS AND DIE" the reaction isn't usually relief or gratitude. No, we addicts are offended, hurt or angry that someone might have the nerve to tell us we're on a self-destructive path and should stop what we're doing and seek recovery. How insane is that?

Isn't it time to jump off the train to oblivion that is your addicted life? IGNORE THIS AND DIE!

Where's the Bottom?

There's a man I know about who is drinking himself to death. His wife's about to leave him, his kids find it difficult to spend any time around him and he hardly eats anymore preferring to drink all day long instead. Physically his body is wasting away. His family tried an intervention a couple of years ago and he made a half-hearted attempt to get sober that lasted only a month or two. Unless things change dramatically he will die. And he's not even 60 years old yet. By all accounts his life couldn't be anymore miserable. But apparently he hasn't yet hit bottom.

My father died of alcoholism at age 57. The actual cause of death was a brain hemorrhage beating the alcohol he'd been drinking for over 40 years to the punch. He went through three marriages, was flat broke and living with his sister at the time of his death. He never made any attempt at recovery. Death was his bottom.

Where's your bottom? How much have you lost to addiction? Jobs? Relationships? Finances? Family? The bottom is a curious thing because it's different for everybody. If you're in free fall because of your addiction and you desperately fear that bottom will be the day your heart stops or your head explodes, I have a question. What are you waiting for? What is it about recovery that is more frightening than the inevitable destruction you're facing right now?

If you've hit bottom today click on any one of the links in the right column and start the long hard road of recovery. It won't be easy but it beats the long slide into oblivion you're on right now!

Are You Serious

Okay, so you've shown up here at my blog about recovery. That tells me you're at least curious. Maybe you haven't hit bottom yet. Maybe you're not ready to admit you have a problem that has made your life unmanageable. Maybe you're nervous right now that someone will look over your shoulder and think you're messed up.

I really don't care why you've clicked through to this blog, but I do care that everyone struggling with addiction finds help before their lives go completely to hell. Or, if they're in hell, that they find recovery and get out. One thing is true...you cannot do this alone. Find help. If you don't know where to start, click on any of the links on the right that seem to fit. Click on the ones that don't seem to fit. Start taking control of your recovery from addiction or your addiction will continue to control you.

The choice is yours. It really is. It always is.

Insanity

Those of us in recovery know the definition of insanity is "doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result." When you're fully engaged in your addiction that's exactly what happens. You do the same things hoping that your life will somehow magically right itself. It won't!

There are a lot of insane people in this world and not all of them are readily apparent. Addictive behavior doesn't always present itself as alcoholism, drug addiction, sex addiction, etc. People feed off of power, control, anger, fear and more to feed the addictive beast.

If you find yourself getting the same frustrating or destructive results in your life you just might be insane. I implore you, before it's too late, seek out a recovery program like Celebrate Recovery and get on the road to sanity.

Return here often as I share my ongoing experience of recovery and the road to sanity.

Back to the 12 Steps

I've joined a new 12 step group through Celebrate Recovery. It's a great group of guys. This time I'm privileged to serve as a leader. The core of any recovery program is working the 12 steps. And it is work. If you're serious about recovery then you need these three things:

A sponsor
Regular meetings
Be working the 12 steps

If you say you're in recovery and you're not involved in these three things, you're just pretending!