Memories of Addiction

Posted on June 6th by Jordan | currently 10 commenting

Addiction is a lifelong battle that people must fight on a daily basis. A person who has battled addiction in the past and has begun his road to recovery sometimes forgets what he used to be like when he decided to make a change, and he can start to take things for granted. Taking sobriety for granted is something a former addict must try to avoid at all costs. If not, it can be very dangerous.

As time goes by, memories of what life without recovery was like becomes more and more distant. A person can begin to view that former way of life as a former life.  Those memories can begin to seem like watching a movie about someone else. A lot of those behaviors and attitudes may be dormant, but there is still the possibility that they can be resurrected.

Most of the time, a person in recovery battled with the idea that he could do it on his own until he had failed numerous times and was finally convinced he could not. “The idea that somehow, someday he will control and enjoy his drinking is the great obsession of every abnormal drinker. The persistence of this illusion is astonishing. Many pursue it into the gates of insanity or death.” (Alcoholics Anonymous pg. 30)  The fact that a person once went through this type of battle shouldn’t make him feel ashamed, but it should make him that much more grateful for the gift of sobriety. If a person tried on his own to stop or control his addiction and could not, then something else had to have happened.

“We, in our turn, sought the same escape with all the desperations of drowning men. What seemed at first a flimsy reed, has proved to be the loving and powerful hand of God. A new life has been given us or, if you prefer, ‘a design for living’ that really works.” (Alcoholics Anonymous pg. 28) The part that should be emphasized is that the new way of life was GIVEN, not EARNED.

With that said, I encourage anyone with time in sobriety to remember his past and be grateful for the gift that took him off that destructive road of addiction. One of the ways a person walking down the path of recovery can make those distant memories seem a little more fresh is by attending a recovery-related meeting. In these meetings, a person is almost certain to find someone new in sobriety who is struggling with issues the recovery veteran might not currently be struggling with, but was at one time.  Hearing the recovery rookie’s current battles can spark the recovery veteran’s memory. It can help him realize what a blessing his new way of life is, how much better off he is now that he has been given that new way of life, and what took place to get him from that former state to the current state. This is just one of the numerous ways a person can keep from taking his recovery for granted. What has worked for you?

Comments (10) Tags:
  • Brandon

    Wonderful. I love your emphasis on remembering that your new way of life is “GIVEN” by God  not “EARNED” by you,  just like our salvation. As all of your articles are, this was a very eloquently written and such an outstanding concept. Keep the insightful blogs coming.

  • Jonathan A.

    The last paragraph is something I hear time and time again from people who have relapsed. We need that constant reminder of who we were and what we were like or we will end up in that same place again. Thanks Jordan!

  • Michael

    This is something I faced approaching my last AA milestone. As God would have it when I picked up a 4 year chip that night there were two people in the room who had suffered a relapse; Pitiful and incomprehensible demoralization is how the book puts it in ‘More About Alcoholism.’ I am truly grateful for God’s continued grace and the lessons He’s allowed me to learn. I don’t wish to learn them over and over. Thank you Jordan.

  • Brett

    I love reading about history and this article made me think about why.  My favorite quote about history is this: “If you don’t study history you are doomed to repeat it”.   You must always remember the past and learn from it.

    Thanks Jordan.

  • Jyoung3187

    Thanks for the feedback, guys. Hopefully, people can learn from their past mistakes, so they don’t repeat them. That’s a good concept to keep in mind. I know that’s something I strive for. Great comments!

  • Sidney

    This is an important part of recovery. We must remain gracious about our sobriety, remember our past life but not dwell in it . Attending meetings and hearing a newcomer or someone who’s still suffering share their pain is sometimes all it takes to remind us of what we were like. I try to take a moment in the morning to be gracious for the day I’ve been given and a moment in the evening for the day I lived.

    Like you said Jordan, our old ways are dangerous !
    ” We’ve come too far to turn around now ”

    Great blog….  

    • Jordan Young

      Thank you, Sidney.  Good feedback.  I like the idea of taking a moment in the morning and in the evening to be gracious.  Those are two good ways to start and end a day.

  • Lindseybsmith

    Very good article as always.  My favorite part that you included is …”A new life has been given us or, if you prefer, ‘a design for living’ that really works.”  It’s so wonderful when people surrender to a way that truly works, instead of trying to do it their way and learning over and over that it does not work.
    thanks for sharing!

  • Tyler

    Very good, I love the way you add  God into this by saying it was given not earned. 

  • Sue

    A lot of time we want to be watching that movie and believe it was someone else’s life or family going through  those hard times.   Staying in touch  with others starting their recovery and  being reminded we were once there, helps keep us on track and be compassionate towards others.  Our pasts are not our enemy
    but our friend to show us how we’ve grown   Thanks for a great article.