On Relapse

It's Not What You Think

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The dreaded R word.

Relapse.

I hear it in meetings all the time… often sandwiched by shame and guilt. Heads downcast. Eyes wet. Hearts dropping from chests.

“I can’t believe I did it again. It’s hopeless. I’m hopeless.”

I am not a sober coach (yet… working on my certifications though). I am just one flawed human talking to another flawed human. But in these moments of deep despair, there is so much I want to say to someone experiencing relapse. And it goes like this…

Beautiful friend, your worth is not defined by your sober day count. You and your life are just as important and valuable today, yesterday, and tomorrow.

Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash

I can see you are stuck. And I will tell you we are all stuck somewhere. We are all in an in between space between one thing and the next. For you, right now, it might be in quitting drinking, but for me it is in phone scrolling, body issues, and about a thousand other things.