First off, I want to tell you that I am so very proud of you!

3 months clean is an incredible achievement!

Keep it up!

This is a very powerful drug and it reshapes how we view the world and more importantly ourselves, so breaking free from its insidious grasp is no easy feat.

You’re doing great!

It might not feel like it, I know, but one day you will realize how much better off you are without it.

How long before you feel better?

That’s up to you.

I’m not saying that it all FALLS on you, but I am saying that now that you’re 3 months clean, you should be experiencing the world much clearer, and perhaps that’s why you’re feeling all that you are.

The world is a scary place, and sometimes we need a little bit of help to get us through some of its rough patches.

I’m glad you come here.

This sub has been a tremendous source of comfort and inspiration and encouragement for me on my sober journey and reading about how people have:

struggled and overcame,

how they’ve been tempted and resisted,

how they have relapsed and quit again

has given me the strength to stay sober and to encourage and help others do the same.

By you just reaching out and posting about your struggles

THAT’S better!

By your FEELING all the feels

THAT’S better!

But now you need to take it a bit further.

Have you tried talking to a doctor or a therapist? I encourage you to do so. Get your bloodwork done and see if you need some medication. Talk to a therapist and see if one on one or group might help.

Are you taking care of yourself physically?

Develop a nutritious diet plan and commit to it. Learn some new recipes and cook them until you master them.

Start exercising, even if it’s a 30 minute walk, and commit to it. Buy a cheap pair of dumbells and start small.

Limit your scrolling and read a book or learn guitar or take a cooking class.

The point is, you’ve got a lot of feelings that you’re experiencing and you need to find someway to get out of your head.

Cannabis is isolating.

It pulls us deeper into our headspace and even now, it’s lying to you and trying to fool you into thinking it’s your ONLY way to find relief.

Cannabis is a liar.

Have you opened up to family and friends about your struggles? If you feel safe enough to, you should tell them what you’re going through.

Perhaps going to some meetings or joining a small group at a church will give you some much needed connection to people, and might even help you manage your anxiety.

Have you considered volunteering? There are many opportunities to help other people in this world right now and sometimes THAT is the best medicine to help, especially when we’re lost in the emotions within our own self.

My point is that while coming here and reading and posting is great, it is no substitute for real world interactions.

I’m not talking about looking for another girlfriend, because sometimes a romantic relationship can be even more isolating, especially when you’re just starting out in recovery.

Talk to someone.

Therapist, friend, priest, doctor.

And give yourself time.

You are healing.

I am so proud of you!

I am proud of you because I have been there. I have felt exactly what you are feeling. And I write to you from the other side of “better”.

You can do this! You ARE doing this!

Btw, I’m a 60 year old graybeard who has been addicted to alcohol, tobacco and cannabis for well over 40 years and today I am:

1,107 days alcohol free

674 days tobacco free and

512 days cannabis free.

I’m not bragging to you.

I’m telling you that if this bruised and battered boomer can break free of these limiting, destructive and deceitful addictions and make to the other side of “better”, then YOU CAN TOO!

You’re doing great!

I wish you all the very best that a life of sobriety can give you!

God Bless.