still recovery out of BON program

TXRN2 · Jun 23, 2011

for myself, i know that once my monitoring program is over, i must continue to be 100% clean & sober in order to maintain this victorous & abundant life i have been given!!! one drink would be the beginning of the end of it all! i am glad you figured that out quickly & without repurcussions! congratulations!

in recovery · Jun 23, 2011

yes, but I had to figure that out after I got stopped with with my daughter driving without her permit yet, I had a half pint in the car unopened (thank goodness), I had not been drinking and wanted to drink it so bad, but didnt we got to our hotel and i poured it out,, but i sure wanted to after receiving the ticket for him driving. At that point I realized thats it,, no more,, never again.. I cant help my stress with a drink. plus my daughter wont drive again until she gets her permit..

she71 · Jun 24, 2011

It's nice to hear about nurses succeeding and completeing BON restrictions and or monitoring. I assume it wasn't just luck that you finished, I'm sure you worked very hard. Now that you know what the consequences of drinking could be, losing jobs, family, freedom in your career, abstinance is the best policy to go by. I'm glad you were quick to recognize that drinking, even one or two, could wake up the old habits and behaviors with alcohol you have experienced before. I'm so glad you're doing well, right now and today. Good Luck and Good Health:)

jackstem · Jun 29, 2011

yes, but I had to figure that out after I got stopped with with my daughter driving without her permit yet, I had a half pint in the car unopened (thank goodness), I had not been drinking and wanted to drink it so bad, but didnt we got to our hotel and i poured it out,, but i sure wanted to after receiving the ticket for him driving. At that point I realized thats it,, no more,, never again.. I cant help my stress with a drink. plus my daughter wont drive again until she gets her permit..

It's interesting to note that research is showing that relapse decreases significantly with 5 years continuous sobriety/clean time (notice I didn't say the risk goes away :)). I have no doubt this is the reason more monitoring programs are going from 3 years in length to 5 years.

We have a disease that never goes away. It's simply waiting for any opportunity to jump right back in and get all fired up again. And you'll discover, it takes very little time to go right back to the level of use (and tolerance) where you were when you entered treatment and/or monitoring. A recovering friend with more time than I've got told me "Your disease is right outside that door doing pushups just WAITING for you to give it a call".

Relapse is a process, not an event. It starts with a return to addictive thinking (or stinkin' thinkin') which reactivates all those areas of the brain involved in driving the obsessive thinking about your drug of (no) choice, and then the compulsive use of that drug until it's gone. And then you start all over again.

GOOD FOR YOU FOR "GETTING IT" BEFORE YOU WERE BUSTED!!! (By the police, your employer, or the board). Thanks for sharing your E,S,H here...you may have prevented someone else from going out there and using again!

Jack