That’s great to hear! Yeah, the best thing to do is to try and recognize the things and times that make you want to drink and be cognizant at seeing the signs of urges before they turn to actually picking the drink up. If you’ve never looked into them, I’d highly recommend Smart Recovery (smartrecovery.org), it’s a great program and has a lot of excellent strategies in their toolkit online for coping with and combating urges. Keep up the excellent work ;)

There’s a book I just learned of from the Rev Left podcast called: “Lenin’s Electoral Strategy from Marx and Engels through the Revolution of 1905: The Ballot, the Streets - or Both” by August Nimtz, that you might be interested in. It discusses Lenin’s feelings on parlimentarianism, I haven’t got a chance to read through it yet, but it sounds like it addresses the same concerns you’re stating.

Here’s the preface: http://www2.hhh.umn.edu/uthinkcache/gpa/globalnotes/Nimtz - Lenin-Preface Vol. 1.pdf

And here’s a link to the book itself:https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/1385-the-ballot-the-streets-or-both

I don’t know the policy here on ‘high seas’ material, but I can PM you a link to a digital copy if you want ;)

Right now, I’d say the biggest beneficial thing you can do is just experiment. Pick a few things that look interesting and find some beginner resources to dip your toes in. It’s important not to over-analyze and be too critical of these new pursuits in the beginning. My problem was, quite frequently, I’d talk myself out of something before I really explored it to even decide with confidence if it really was for me or not.

Allow yourself to just go with an idea without judgement. Reserve your criticism for later when you have enough information to make a informed decision on if it is for you. Although, be aware that there are times when you can intuit your interest and desire based off of how it makes you feel early on, just don’t be so quick to pivor away because sometimes it’s just the learning curve of trying something new, and when you power through the initial discomfirt you find that you DO like whatever it is.

Bottom line: don’t feel as if you need to rush. With some exploring and experimentation you’ll find something that really resonates with you. For me that was writing and it’s been incredibly refreshing.

Good luck, comrade ;)

Thanks! It’s been a long road, but I am in a much better place now. Time to get back to supporting my fellow comrades!

I’d love an invite, username is kvasirofthewoods

Fantastic choice my friend! I just discovered the NA stuff as well too. Never tried it until a few days ago and I must say it is great to have since I had been missing the taste of beer since there isn’t anything that tastes like it. Anyway, good to see you here, sorry I’ve been incommunicado here on /c/sobriety , been a busy month, but I definitely aim to be on here a bit more and try to grow our humble little nook. Welcome to the sub ;)

Doing good myself. On Thursday I’ll have 2 weeks again. Should be over two months before my relapse but I’m letting that go, moving forward and staying positive. I’m not going to let anything hold me back, not even a relapse. In the past I’d have juat said screw it, but I know that as long as I keep my head straight I don’t have to let mistakes drag me back down.

Anyways, hope you guys are doing good, stay strong out there comrades <3

Excellent! Keep on keeping on :D

I’m doing pretty good myself. I’m on day 5 now after my relapse but I’m chugging right along. At a doctor’s appointment now and busy thinking about how to tackle the rest of the week. Feel a lot better about things then I did last week, so that’s good. Looking forward to the future and what that looks like. Hope everyone else out there is doing good.

Exactly. I’m so happy to be feeling a bit better and have some positivity back. This morning was rough and depressing. I’m out of the hospital now though and going to a meeting with my sponsor later on today. Thanks for the kind words <3

Thank you for that. I’ll keep it in mind. Yeah, I’m just going to right the ship and be more vigilant to possible triggers. Also work more closely with my sponsor and make it to more meetings. I appreciate all the love and support from everyone, it means a lot.

Great job! A year is big news. I get you on the ups and downs of self-esteem. Sometimes life just throws you curveball after curveball and it gets tough not to get down on yourself. Keep swinging for the fences, all we can do. I pray your job earch bears plentiful fruit soon <3

I feel you. It’s soul-draining to work as a pleb grinding away and under the geara of capitalism. My advice is to find your passion, what makes you tick. For me it was returning back to nature, reading and getting creative. Alcohol has a tendecy to get in the way of those pursuits, at least it did for me.

I would try and change up your routine (it’s not easy) to find something that really makes you happy. It wont necessarily happen overnight but when you find a genuine love than it’ll be worth the effort you put in in spades. I wish you the best and feel free to PM me if you ever need to talk to someone. We’re here for you comrade <3

Thank you. Absolutely. It is a scourge akin to the scourge of Capitalism, in fact exacerbated by the chains of the system and the despair it incurs to our fellow working class men and women. I’m blessed to have made it out, I can only hope to help our other brothers and sisters as well.

Definitely! It’s good to have you. I hope it helps. I wish you great strides in your sobriety!

Thabk you for te clarification. I’m new and still grasping the fediverse terminology.

For sure. It’s been a great past two weeks though. I’m definitetly feeling more like myself again.

Sweet! I just created it. It’s called sobriety, I wanted a space where everyone could go to stay sober, not just alcoholics or a particular drug. Here’s the link:

https://lemmygrad.ml/c/sobriety

I’ll he making a sticky sometime today when I get to the computer.

Welcome, member number uno! ;D

Congrats on the sobriety! I have 11 days sober from alcohol as of today, stay strong comrade ;) By the way, I’ve been thinking of starting a sober community, would you mind if I PMd you when I do? I’m going to try and grow it into a small, but active communuty hopefully.