When I was first coming into sobriety, I didn’t know what to expect. Coming from a family with recovering alcoholics, I had an idea though. Back then though, and at least in my family, none of them went to an alcohol rehab treatment facility, so it was all different when it came to working through my own demons and making the decision to get help through an alcohol and drug rehab treatment program.
As a child, teen, and even a young adult I never went to any meetings with any sober family members. Nor did I ask them about their sobriety. My thought was that it was private and if they wanted to talk to me about it then I’d listen. There was a part of me that felt Alcoholics Anonymous was rather cultish. My family members changed the longer they stayed away from alcohol and attended meetings. It wasn’t a bad thing…I wasn’t used to it, and I kept thinking the ‘other’ person was going to come back. It took me a long time to trust the new sober ‘person.’
I’d be lying if I told you I wasn’t afraid the first day I walked into rehab treatment. As a matter of fact I was afraid of how much I would change. My ‘bottom’ was not horrific in any way really, well, except that I was on the precipice of losing it all. I was a high functioning addict.
I will share more in the next segment next week.