Usually, people who point to a specific date and count the days, months and years belong to a 12 Step program.
I can’t think of anyone else who would care to count the days.
Usually, people who point to a specific date and count the days, months and years belong to a 12 Step program.
I can’t think of anyone else who would care to count the days.
I agree. I think I could dig up my specific date, because at the time I was trying a “moderation” program, which had me tracking my drinking on a calendar. I’m pretty sure I put a big “X” on the date I stopped, and assume I have that sheet around somewhere. End of April? Maybe the 25th? But not really important 15 years later.
OTOH, IMO&E, if someone claims to have had a substance issue/problem, and claims to have stopped, if they CANNOT give you at least an approximate idea of how long ago they stopped, wither they didn’t really have a problem/issue, or they are lying about being sober.
No need to count: my father (who wasn’t on any kind of program) simply happened to remember the date of his last smoke.
Sober here since November 1, 1986.
Now for the details – what exactly is the definition implied behind this statement? I’m thinking of total abstinence from alcohol, which was my big problem. I did smoke some pot since then, and although it has been years, I don’t know how many. People I know who are drug addicts would probably say I haven’t been sober since that date if I smoked pot. People who attend AA meetings for decades and smoke cigarettes heavily generally do not think that addiction counts against sobriety, though. I think people who had abuse issues with multiple substances may have to think using any mind altering substance starts the clock ticking again.
People differ over whether, in recovery, they can use prescription narcotic painkillers for legitimate medical purposes such as recovery from surgery. Doctors differ over whether it’s possible to treat addicts post surgery without narcotics. I myself have chronic bronchitis and one of the treatments is codeine cough syrup, and while I recognize that I’m inclined to go overboard with mind altering substances generally, I seem to be able to limit myself to therapeutic doses as prescribed by exactly one well informed doctor. In my mind the cough syrup does not violate my sobriety claim, but I wouldn’t be surprised at all to hear some people say they think it does.
And this is why smoking and caffeine addiction don’t count against sobriety - because they aren’t considered to be mind-altering in the way that alcohol or heroin are.
Some 12 step program emphasize how much time you have been sober or clean and give out chips for 24 hours, 30 days, 3 months, six months, one year and then annually after that. It helps motivate people to stay sober.
When I was newly sober, I couldn’t believe anyone could be sober for more than a few months so I would ask everyone. One guy said he had had five years but then had one beer so it reset the sobriety date. I decided there’s no way I would do that.
I had been on and off the wagon many times before I get serious and finally joined AA.