Sobriety
What has been going through my mind, partly because I have been going through my recovery site Soundness of Mind, but I always think the phrase when I see the word sobriety.
Many people say that it is an AA word. For me, it is a word for anyone who does not use in today. There are very few pure alcoholics. As much as many of them like to think so, there are those who get addicted to work, gambling, food, pills, etc. or refuse to give up their joint or a rigid exercise routine that becomes obsessive, or they become obsessed with religion or the internet.
I often ask, "Am I an alcoholic because I am an addict. Or am I n addict because I am an alcoholic. It doesn't really matter. What matters for me is sobriety. For me, sobriety means soundness of mind.
As I heard many years ago from a dear long-timer, "He got his physical, mental and spiritual healing many years ago. He still went to meetings for his emotional sobriety. He was 25 years sober at the time. I had about 2 years in recovery and here I am, as of yesterday, 2 months away from my 22nd anniversary. I too need to work on my emotional sobriety, one day at a time. It is a living program.
It isn't about the drinking and drugging (my pills were like dried-up alcohol to me and I had the same symptoms using them as I did drinking), it is the stinking thinking that can creep in and the daily dealing of feelings in a healthy way.
It is about making healthy choices. I no longer want to drink to someone else's health. I want a new sober life for me. It isn't about putting the plug in the jug. It is working the Steps and getting those extra gifts that allow me to be a new me; instead of the old me, acting out in my disease even though I am not drinking.
Peace on your journey.