I’m someone like you. My life for many years revolved around having the craic. Being Irish, the craic always revolved around drink, and later drugs. I used to wring every last drop of craic to be had out of a night. It was my normal and the normal for so many others in this country. There were many incidents but deconstructing the war stories over chicken wings and red wine the next day was always part of the fun.
I was fully functioning and successful. No problem here, I kept telling myself. If there had been a particularly heavy session it might have been followed with some introspection about my drinking, but that was rare.
Fast forward 20 years and add a few children into the mix – the wheels totally came off. I was using booze and drugs daily just to cope. Those close to me didn’t know what was going on as I hid it well.
I thought I had the power to fix this on my own. At various stages I tried AA meetings, CA meetings, CBT, Acupuncture, Therapy, Online Courses and countless Sober Apps. Eventually after I ran out of options and excuses and I spent 4 weeks in Saint Patrick’s Hospital which I highly recommend if anyone is considering.
Part of your recovery plan and something that is hammered home every minute of every day while you are there is MEETINGS. They gave me a schedule with daily meetings marked to attend. I had tried meetings before and didn’t enjoy them so managed to skive off and pretend I had been.
One Thursday night, I randomly passed a room and saw some familiar faces. I wandered in for a chat. They were there for a LifeRing meeting. I stayed. I was converted. The room was full of people like you and me. All struggling with some form of addiction.
In the LifeRing meeting, everyone shares what they have been up to this week and what challenges they have in the week ahead. All stories are kept in the here and now and the group help suggest practical solutions to help them in their recovery. No war stories. No drink or drug-a-logs. No religion. Practical discussion and support from people like yourself.
LifeRing was started 10 years ago in California by a group of recovering addicts. The first meeting in Ireland was in 2009. Luckily I live in Dublin and there are plenty of meetings around the city. I have been every week since I left Rehab and consider the support I get at these meetings one of the reasons I am healthy happy and sober. My life and future is now full of possibilities. And I now look forward to getting to a LifeRing meeting for the “craic” that I once associated with getting hammered.
LifeRing are on a mission to bring meetings to other areas around Ireland and as such a weekly meeting will be starting in Mullingar from Wednesday 29th March at 7.30pm in the Barracks on Ashe Road. If you are looking for help in your recovery, want to meet like minded people and learn how to enjoy your Sobriety (and have a bit of craic!) then come along. If you want to chat to someone in confidence call 1800 938 768 or email info@lifering.ie
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