I’m telling my story because it is an important story to tell. I came into the Gambler’s Anonymous (GA) 12-step program in March 1987, and since then I have attended thousands of meetings. I didn’t know what to expect when I went to my first meeting, but I knew I had gambled compulsively for 26 […]
Archive for the ‘Personal Stories’ Category
The Next Frontier of Recovery: Emotional Sobriety
Posted byI think that many oldsters who have put our AA “booze cure” to severe but successful tests still find they often lack emotional sobriety. Perhaps they will be the spearhead for the next major development in AA — the development of much more real maturity and balance (which is to say, humility) in our relations […]
Why the World Needs 12-Step Support Groups
Posted byMy grandma was fond of saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” This is something that needs to be said to researchers from the Italian Agency for Public Health in Rome who recently reported there are no advantages to a 12 step intervention program. I don’t know why researchers felt the need to study […]
A Recovery Story: Then Something Astonishing Happened
Posted byI was always able to get by on my brains and wits, so the drinking in high school and later in college wasn’t an obstacle to making it through. Of course, I wasted my brains by doing as little as possible academically, had a good time, and finished college with “gentlemans.” Looking back on it […]
Anxiety: “I Thought I Was Losing It”
Posted byIt was like any other Monday morning. I got up and got in the shower and began planning the day ahead. After a few minutes I started feeling dizzy while I was shaving. My heart started racing, my breathing became short and erratic, and an unexplainable sense of fear overcame me. The anxiety seemed to […]
Recovery, A Feminine Perspective
Posted byI always liked partying. I liked the way drinking made me feel. I knew I drank more than most of my friends, but I didn’t think too much about it. I played around with some drugs, but I never went to great efforts to seek them out. I was pretty much content with drinking. It […]
Worrying One’s Way to Distraction
Posted byI come from a family of worriers, and I’ve done a lot of worrying in my life. I now do it less than ever, but there was a time when I thought I was a “worry addict.” Of course, a feeling of any kind can be “addictive”—we can use one feeling or mood to alter […]
A Recovery Story: Drinking and Reality
Posted byJohnny Carson was once asked why he quit drinking and his response was, “I don’t drink well.” This definition certainly fits me, although for many years I was able to drink quite well and alcohol was my solution not my problem. In my late years of drinking, I managed to brighten up the whole room […]
A Recovery Story: What Happened and My Life Now
Posted byFollowing is the story of a North Carolina Bar member. In the spirit of avoiding pride in recovery, it is provided to you anonymously. While in my first year of law school my father passed away from hard living and booze. I was terribly angry with him at death too. Not only was there the hurt […]
A Recovery Story: An Honest Appraisal
Posted byThe stories of fellow alcoholics are the fresh minted coins of survival. You pass yours to the next person in the hope he or she will see a gleam of their own life and find the treasure of recovery. This is the story of a woman PALS member offered anonymously in that tradition. Call PALS […]