gj59

from my own experience in recovery - find a 12-step recovery group (I'm a recovering addict who attends AA meetings) - you'll be amazed. As far as the anxiety till Monday - prayer is a miracle itself. When I first hit bottom, someone told me to ask God for peace of mind and then to believe that He could and would . . . I'll I can say is that it worked then and still works for me today.

I found this site and have been reading the blogs for several months now, I enjoy the fellowship and support that I have witnessed within this blog. I would like to share my experience and hope and would love to hear back from others in recovery. My license was revoked in 2001 when I made the decision to leave nursing and not remain in the nursing assistance program. I had about 2 weeks left of my 3 year stint in the nursing assitance program, but my relapse shook me to the core - I wanted sobriety and serenity more than I wanted to stay in nursing, and felt that I could not have both until I did some serious step work. I have been a member of a 12-step program since 1998, but did not begin working with a sponsor till after the relapse in 2001. By working the steps, recognizing what led to my relapse, and having the courage to change character defects I am celebrating 8 years of serenity. With that said, my sponsor (who happens to awesome) has been encouraging me to seek reinstatement of my license (for several years now) - she knew that I had a heart for nursing and that I had been "punishing" myself for the relapse - I was reluctant to call the state board of nursing, as I was sure they would say "no way" (unrealstic fears), but a month ago I made the call and I am currently taking the steps needed to get my license re-instated. Yes, I will have to take a nursing refresher course, which means theory classes and clinicals. Yes, I will have to re-enter the assistance program, which means monthly drug screens and monitoring meetings. Yes, I will have a key restriction for a time period. But most importantly, yes, I get to take back what my addiction took from me, my nursing career. Wish me luck:)