Phetasy News - Sober October
9 Years Sober, Factory Settings 6 - 12 Step Programs, Sarah Haider Says Don't Label Yourself, Politically Homeless Regrets Voting for Biden, Dumpster Fire 98 and New Hoodies!
Greetings from the Phetaverse!
It just so happens that my sober anniversary falls in October—but it’s appropriate due to the rise in popularity of #SoberOctober thanks to guys like Joe Rogan and his buddies, Ari Shaffir, Tom Segura and Bert Kreischer. I love that they partake in this challenge. I think it’s great that men with such huge platforms are encouraging self-improvement. More people than they know start off with sober October and realize—they just need to keep going. Or they feel so good they decide they’re better off without the booze or significantly limit their intake.
That wasn’t my experience. When I got sober, I had what they call “the gift of desperation.” I was drinking warm Coors Light at 7am. I knew I couldn’t drink—but the thought of never drinking again made me want to die. (This was a pretty clear sign that I was probably an alcoholic by the way.) The celebration of another sober year is always a humbling experience. There is no way I could have done this alone. It truly takes a village to stay sober, something I wrote about as I tried to comprehend nine years without a drink or drug.
In honor of Sober October and our anniversaries, my husband, Jeren and I, have spent some time on Factory Settings looking back. We told our individual stories of getting sober and talked about our relationship to 12-step programs. Jeren works in a treatment center and lives and breathes recovery every single day. This is a growing crisis. Last year over 100,000 people overdosed according to the CDC. With so many people struggling with addiction in America, this won’t be the last time we discuss addiction and recovery—in fact it’s just the beginning. We don’t have answers, but maybe our experience can provide someone out there some hope.
Do I miss drinking and smoking weed sometimes? Of course. But not nearly as much as I did in those first couple of years. Like anything, choosing to be sober day after day, year after year, is a habit. It’s challenging at first but it gets easier over time. When I first quit smoking weed, I thought for sure that there would never come a day that I didn’t think about it—but that’s not the case at all. Weeks or months go by and the thought of smoking doesn’t even cross my mind. If it does, I acknowledge it, and let it pass. It’s just a thought.
What a difference from those early days and years. They were excruciating. Change is painful. I always say getting sober is the hardest thing I’ve ever done—but it’s the best thing I’ve ever done. Not just for myself—but for my family, my friends, and society. Because I was menace! Twenty years of numbing myself did not go gently into that good night. It raged, raged against the dying of the Coors Light.
Thumbnail artwork by Lara Cullen.
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100% agree, quitting was the hardest thing I've ever done and the BEST thing I've ever done - and also agree that when I first quit drinking the idea of never drinking again was terrifying to me. Ultimately it's what took me back out, after 4 months of sobriety I convinced myself I could drink normally. Of course I couldn't, and in 5 months found myself far worse off than I was before I quit the first time. I'm grateful every day I made it back into recovery and am now approaching 3 years sober. I know I have another drunk in me, but I don't know if I have another recovery, so I work my sobriety every day to make sure I never have to find out. Thank you so much Bridget for your openness and honesty in sharing your own struggles - you help us all so much!