Originally posted by bettie
…I made my 9 months …
Good morning Bettie, Well done!
Well done on making "your" 9 months, on living gambling free during the past days and learning how to continue in "your" recovery. I wish I could tell you with certainty, or even "most likely" that you were going to make it to a year, and eventhough I see in you the desire and needed changes — the "progressive character change within oneself", for you to make it; I can only offer support and encouragement and tell you that you can make it, that you can continue your work in recovery and stay gambling free. Some days you may have to abstain from gambling when an urge or situation tells you to gamble, but the days in between these times of struggle you are living gambling free and enjoying the benefits of recovery. "BE PATIENT! The days and weeks will pass soon enough, and as you regularly attend meetings, abstain from gambling and follow the guidelines on this page, you will experience continued recovery."
If you feel that you are not working your recovery, or that you are lacking in some areas, take a fearless inventory of yourself and use that as a guideline to go further. If others are judging you or feel that you are lacking, don’t let their negativity drag you down, keep working your recovery, and, if possible, help them work theirs; they may only be reflecting their shortcomings.
You talk about attending meeting and not wanting to give up your life to keep to someone else’s standards. While I believe that "meetings make it"*, I too share in your need to also live life during recovery. My addiction controlled my life and prevented me from enjoying it, and now that I am in recovery to gain my live back I cannot let recovery control my life either; my recovery guides me in the right thing to do, but I cannot let it control me or I will be in the same predicament, only with a different master. This is how I feel and what is working for me, you or others may need more "live" meeting to help strengthen or provide more guidance, and a sacrifice or extra effort may be needed to gain this, but, you are the one to make this decision.
Again, well done. God’s speed. Stay strong, keep working "your" recovery.
Note:
* An additional comment on meetings was part of my post in the The topics group Forum concerning technology: i.e., The Gamblers Anonymous portion of my recovery ask that new members "attend 90 meeting in 90 days"; there is no way that I could have made "live" meetings, the logistics were not there for me. I know that I was able to make 90 visits to the casinos in 90 days, but here is where the other side of technology came into play; the casinos are able to operate 24/7 without any of time or operating restrictions that GA meeting sites (and as I now realize, myself included) are forced to deal with.
I also feel that my continued use of this technology provides the time in meetings that I now need to continue in my recovery. While I recognize GA’s need to only stress and promote their program, I feel that an individual can add to this program without diluting it by using things that cannot be presented in the GA meetings; this may not be recognized as working recovery by some, but the outcome speaks for itself. I will also add that these thoughts are in no way meant to take from or challenge the GA program, it works, it is just that I feel that additional help that compliments GA is available and usable.
Larry
Thanks to my Higher Power, My 3G’s – God, GA, and GT, "Day Two Is Another Day Behind" and with the help from all , I will continue to remain gambling free.– 5/20/2011 12:24:44 PM: post edited by paul315.