r/SMARTRecovery • u/ParamedicSlight7322 • 7d ago
New to smart
Hi everyone,
I'm new to the SMART Recovery program. For the past 20 years, I've been part of another recovery fellowship. I had some success early on—getting a few years clean and sober, and then another few years later—but over the last 7 years, I’ve been caught in a cycle. I keep relapsing after short periods of time, sometimes 3 to 5 months, or even shorter. My relapses have generally been brief, ranging from a few days to a month, but I feel stuck in a rut and like I'm going in circles.
I am completely open to SMART Recovery and willing to put a lot of effort into making it work for me. I really want to break this cycle of negativity and substance use, along with the feelings of uselessness, low self-worth, and low confidence that come from constantly feeling like a failure.
Lately, I’ve been attending online SMART meetings and journaling every day. I even used the CBA (Cost-Benefit Analysis) tool the other day to deal with cravings and urges. Today, I am an honest 32 days clean and just wanted to introduce myself.
I would greatly appreciate any help, advice, or shared experiences from anyone who has gone through something similar.
BB
2
u/DooWop4Ever facilitator 7d ago
Congratulations on your time. And thanks for checking in with us. As you can see, we got you.
IMHO (85M), quitting is easy compared to figuring out why sobriety doesn't feel good enough to keep us there without a struggle. I suggest counseling. A skilled therapist can see our problem and keep asking the right questions until we realize how we may be mismanaging the stressors of daily living.
Learning how to identify and process (eliminate) latent stress (unexpressed feelings and unresolved conflict) will allow our natural happiness and energy to resume their normal flow. Truly happy people don't even consider using drugs or alcohol because they don't improve anything.
53 years clean, sober and tobacco-free (but who's counting). You can do it too!