What do you do

[MIKEYBEEF]

What do you do when you feel all hope is lost?You pick yourself up and find a way..Why do we think that drinking is the cure?We are still left with the saame feelings,,only amplified times 10 because we are drunk.

[Carol87]

When I feel all hope is lost I pick myself up and get to a meeting ... and look for the solution in the Steps and BB.

Feelings: Until I got sober I only knew HOW I was feeling, I had no idea WHAT I was feeling. Sometimes that still holds true today but by working with my Higher Power and other alcoholics, I get to an answer.

[MIKEYBEEF]

You just said it Carol...Go to a meeting. watch,learn and listen

[Carol87]

Right!? ?:D? ?And since this is the Big Book Discussion forum intended for discussion with other alcoholics in recovery related to the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous come back here and share what you heard from the Big Book!? ? 8)? ;D? ?

[WolfM]

Dear freinds,

I am sure I heard it at a meeting. Someone said that the quality of my sobriety is directly related to my spiritual condition.
When I feel that all hope is lost (which is rare for me), I pray or call my sponsor or write a gratitude list or talk to another alcoholic or go to a meeting or help another alcoholic or do a 10th step (or 1-5 if it is a particularly bad feeling). If all hope is lost, then there is something wrong with my thinking and what I have learned in here is that I have to change my thinking, because I can not change anything or anyone else.
And if I wake up in the morning and do not see my name in the obituraries, all hope is not lost. I still have been given another one day at a time in which to do what I believe is God's will for me. But I need to ask for that will.
All hope is not lost if, after relapsing, we can make it back to the fellowship. All hope is not lost if we can lean into the program to prevent that from happening again.
WolfM

[blossom]

I very rarely, feel all hope is lost these days - it used to be a daily place that i lived in when i was drinking!

But today i do have hope, and i get that hope from other recovering alcoholics - when i do have days that i loose faith in myself and that i can't keep doing this thing called life, then i get to a meeting or ring another alcoholic - or i try to help someone who is new or get my butt into service! But mainly i keep close to my higher power and practice step 11 the best i can, because i know today that God will show me the way even when i feel lost.

Drink for me is no longer the solution to me, but i am SO grateful that i have found this fellowship and the 12 steps because they do hold the right solution to me today!
I do a gratitude list every morning, so that i can start my day on a positive, i find it almost impossible to feel hopeless when i have so much to be grateful for.

Love
Blossom

[Ang18]

hi, blossom! I am so glad I resrarted going to AA meetings, I know i need to be there and it is so comforting. :-*. I too say Get off your behine. Life is a celebration, have an excellent day.

[kremjk]

I remember the feeling of overwhelming despair. I suppose that the re-telling of our stories keeps the memories of intense suffering available. I react to life, in part, by weighing matters according to my past experiences and past perceptions. When I was new in recovery there were not a lot of positive experiences that I could draw from because my perceptions were chronically negative.
Now that a number of sober/recovering 24 hours have accumulated, and many great experiences have been given to me, and my perceptions have matured thanks to this program, I have past experiences to draw from that prove that there is nothing to fear. Even those experiences from the drinking days.
Life still punches me in the gut ( or I sometimes do that to myself) and I freak out or overreact, I feel fear, or launch into anger, or depression, or self-pitty. But the conviction that there is hope is there still, not far from reach. I go through some emotion, then inventorying and prayer kick back in as if by nature. It is natural for me now to process the issues with expectations of good results.
This growth in intuition is among the many promises listed in the Big Book of AA.
So, when you hear the AAs chant," Keep coming back! It gets better!" please understand that this is much more than just a 'pep-rally cheer'. We say that because it is true.
Thanks for the topic Mikey, jim k

[MattV]

I have to remind my self sometimes that as long as I'm still vertical and sucking air, there is still some hope left, although it may be obscured by me.

I'm a worrier. I worry about money. My dog is boarded up north while we're down here in Florida. Even though I know he'll be alright where he is 'til we get home, I still have to worry. I worry about this, that, and the other thing. I have to make a real effort to just sit down, relax my brain, and take a good look at my worries. Then I find that most of them are self-created. I can then calm the turmoil between my ears and get on with things. I just have to remember that most of my worries and fears are self-inflicted, and that nothing is ever as bad as I can make it out to be.

Keeps me out of the barrooms, anyways.

[CarolD]

You worry
I plan
then
leave the results to God.

What makes recovery so fascinating for me
is the joy of personal discovery.

I have never had less money..
and more friends and a stronger spirit
than I have now! ;)

Blessings...

[BOBBY]

WELL LET ME FIRST SAY THAT MY NAME IS BOBBY AND I'M A ALCOHOLIC , AND HAVE 11YRS OF SOBRIETY OF THIS CHRISTMAS THAT JUST PASSED , DECEMBER 25TH , I TOO AGREE THAT THERES NOTHING LIKE A MEETING TO GET OURSELVES BACK ON THE BEAM , AT LEAST FOR ME ANYWAY , I HAVE YET TO EVER LEAVE A MEETING FEELING THE SAME WAY AS I DID GOING IN? :)

[kremjk]

Thanks for sharing Bobby. Welcome to AASL. Looking forward to hearing more from you. jim k

[samf]

Thank you, Bobby!

Glad you are here! (Welcome!)

Sam

[sioux]

I have had many feelings of hope being lost over the years, and at different times, different things have worked.


I have never had more encouragement in my life than when I started up with Alcoholics Anonymous. I have to remember, that sometimes, I am an alcoholic that still struggles. I don't struggle with the booze factor as much as I do the life issues. Sometimes I am a taker, and sometimes I don't know what it is that I need to take away with me.


Trust the process.


As others have said, going to a meeting is a good pick. I don't get to hear these precious words outloud for some reason when I don't go...."Do not be discouraged."

[BOBBY]

LAST NIGHT I WAS AT A MEETING AND THEIR WAS THIS GUY THERE WHO "HAD" 23 YRS , AND RAISED HIS HAND AND SAID FRIDAY MORNING WHEN I LEFT MY HOUSE TO GO TO WORK I HAD 23YRS OF SOBRIETY, TODAY I HAVE TWOS. WOWW THE PAIN THIS GUY MUST BE FEELING , MY HEART GOES OUT TO HIM , HE SAID HE DIDN'T KNOW WHERE HE WENT WRONG , HE SAID HE HAS BEEN PASSING THE BAR THATS UP THE CORNER FROM HIS HOUSE FOR 23YRS AND NEVER ONCE THOUGHT ABOUT GOING IN THERE , HE SAID? BUT THIS TIME HE SAW A FRIEND THAT HE HASN'T SEEN IN A FEW YRS GOING IN , SO HE THOUGHT HE'D JUST POP IN TO SAY HI AND SHOOT THE BULL WITH HIM , HE SAID HE NEVER TOLD THE FRIEND THAT HE WAS NOT DRINKING , AS HE WAS TALKING AT THE MEETING, I THOUGHT TO MYSELF WOWW HOW SAD TO THROW 23YRS AWAY JUST TO SAY HI TO SOMEBODY BUT I WILL PRAY THAT GOD RESTORES HIM BACK TO SANITY

[angussdundee]

Bobby, sometimes we learn more when we read between the lines!

Anguss.

[BOBBY]

YOUR RIGHT ANGUSS , SAD TO SAY BUT I GUESS HE FORGOT HIS WHAT HIS LAST DRINK WAS LIKE , BUT THERE FOR THE GRACE OF GOD GO I ,HOPE HE HANGS IN THERE

[Brevis]

Hey everyone I am new to AASL but have enjoyed the comments and experience that I have read so far. I have 10 years in and lovin it. I just started back doing long-distance truckin and will be using this for my meetings when I can't get to one on the road. I love to discuss the Big Book and all it has done to change a hopeless and helpless drunk into a alcoholic with a faith in a HP that allows me to meet life on life's terms.

I am excited about getting back driving, its what Ireally enjoy doing. I get to do HP's work in a bigger setting is all. The people that I will get to meet will surely enhance any spiritual experience that I have had up till now. My life has evolved into an adventure of the soul that keeps growing as long as I stay in fit spiritual condition.

I hope that I will be able to drop in and chat with y'all from time to time to keep me on track. I will still have regular contact with my sponsor but will look forward to chattin about recoveries many trials and rewards.

[angussdundee]

Hi Brevis, glad you pulled your truck in here to AASL. Hope you stop by some more. I have a friend who drives a truck the length and breadth of Britain and he always keeps his copy of 'As Bill Sees It' in his cab, just for reference.
Like you, I think it's just as important for us to mix with the civilian's on a daily basis as it is necessary to mix with recovering alcoholics. We cannot keep ourselves cocooned from the everyday trials that we must meet and face now that we're sober and getting on with our lives. Learning how to get back in the mix is what recovery is all about.
Keep on truckin...

Anguss.

[BOBBY]

HI BREVIS AND WELCOME I TOO AM PRETTY HERE MYSELF , AND I ALOS LOVE THE BIG BOOK , I EVEN HAVE THE LITTLE MINI BLUE BIG BOOK THAT I CARRY AROUND WITH IN MY BACKPACK IT COMES IN HANDY A LOT OF TIMES WHEN WAITING IN LONG LINES IT HELPS ME WITH MY PATIENCE :D

HAVE A GOOD DAY AND KEEP IT SIMPLE