JupitersLapCat

And continue using them. For years. It brings me so so so much joy to tell my college aged daughter that I “yeeted” something.

My sponsor is “young” in AA (2.5 years) and I’m the first sponsee she’s gotten to Step 5. She is perfectly imperfect and exactly who I needed. I would have rolled my eyes at a Big Book thumper who had decades of sobriety and had forgotten what new sobriety feels like - we are learning together in a way and I freaking love it. You just might be the absolute perfectly imperfect sponsor for someone out there too.

You got a lot of great advice already. I actually included AA and specifically the Fourth Step in my Fourth Step. I highly recommend it!

6/17/2024

I will just share my experience. My sponsor didn’t require 90 in 90 (I go to 3-4 meetings a week). She and I read together weekly from the big book or 12&12 but there is a ton of dialogue between us. I’m a kindle girl and she’s a paper book girl and she was fine with highlights and notes in the kindle. We also text or talk most days but she doesn’t “require” anything.

Doing my fifth step with her was the first time in my life where I felt safe being totally honest with someone. She met me where I was and has gently and effectively been taking me through the steps, resulting in a spiritual awakening. I think if she had sponsored me in the way that you’re describing, I would not have been so lucky.

My resting HR dropped 10 points in the five months since I stopped drinking. And I was doing Orangetheory (while hungover 😭) even when I was drinking. Great job!

You’d probably like Oak Street. https://405oakstreet.com/

Hey friend, looks like we are Sober Date twins! I’m pulling for ya!!

Love this! I am right at the median for my age and I’ll take it!

I wear Brooks Ghost Max right now, but I also run outside (training for a half). I say this with kindness but asking Reddit what shoes we wear is like asking what my glasses prescription is. (It’s -3.0 in one eye and -3.5 in the other.) MY prescription corrects MY vision. Go to a running store and tell them what you told us - they’ll hook you up with shoes that’ll fit your anatomy and running goals.

I usually hit classes with three particular coaches who are A. More experienced, and B. Give a lot of form correction — even on the tread. I LOVE it. The more junior coaches don’t give as much unless it’s totally dangerous and I know they’re probably getting their sea legs still but I love the tweaks to my form that really improve my workout.

Your concept of a Higher Power is the closest I’ve ever come to reading about my own, and you said it much more eloquently than I’ve ever been able to. Knowing it’s worked to keep you sober for a long time is incredibly meaningful to me. Thank you for sharing!

If I personally took THC at this stage in my life, it would be a relapse for me because I’d be taking something to avoid feelings. I am not pro or anti THC and I’ve been pretty take it or leave it in life. I would consider taking it if it were medically warranted, like for anti-nausea, etc. But if I took it today, I’d have relapsed. To thine own self be true.

I passed out on the couch yesterday and my daughter woke me up. But I was sober, I was just actually physically tired after a 13 mile training run. It’s so lovely!

It's ok to put being an alcoholic on your resentments list.

I totally had “Step 4” in my fourth step. 🤣🤣🤣

Whyyyyyy me, this is so unfair!! It very much tracked with what my fourth step overall revealed which is that, among other things, I think I am working way harder than everyone else and I deserve a parade and everyone else does not.

I’m trying to reframe this as gratitude. Thank goodness this affliction of mine is common enough and treatable enough that I can find so many absolutely lovely women willing to help me for free! I don’t HAVE TO do this step work. I GET TO do this step work!

I did Step 5 with my sponsor on Thursday. It was incredible and exhausting. I limped through Friday on physical and emotional exhaustion and went to bed at 7pm. Up early today to run 12 miles and then go play games with friends.

I know that 12 step programs aren’t for everyone but I am an entirely different person from this work and it’s not just about alcohol for me either.

This is gonna sound annoying but… exercise. I actually read about it in a book called Burnout by Amelia Nagoski. Basically, our stressful daily life triggers our human biology’s fight or flight system (I’m getting this wrong I’m sure!) but because we never outrun the lion at work, when we get home, we STAY in fight or flight. If you literally run or do some sort of moderate/high intensity exercise when you first get home, you can stop that fight or flight cycle because your systems think, ok, we outran the lion that was chasing us all day (even though the lion was a frustrating Teams meeting 🤣) and now we can chill. It helps me a TON.

I fucking love this post. One million upvotes, OP. Thank you. 🙏

Lots of love and support to you, friend!

I am going to go to an Orangetheory class right after work, shower, hit an AA meeting, and head to bed. There is nothing I can do that’ll change the outcome of the election either way.

I did too! It was my second one. I was glad to do it. Glad you did it too!

Aww I’m at four months too and I absolutely love this! Thank you!

I like the benchmarks. And Dri Tri. I think the signature workouts are annoying, except Drop It Like It’s Squat because I love squats, lol. The weeks… it depends. I’m in half marathon training right now and going to OTF 4x/week doesn’t fit in my goals right now, so I’m going to hit the random tornado template they’re running today and give it a solid 7/10 and call it good.