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Helping out
(Preview)
I used to get a buzz from helping people if they had a problem. I think that it made me feel useful which I guess I thought meant valued and that was enough for me in the past. Now I feel a bit resentful about being put on a knife edge of 'can I pull this off or not'. I can't figure out if this new feeling is prog...
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milkwood
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8
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373
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Grateful to be here
(Preview)
Been avidly reading here for a while and just joined so I can start sharing. So much here I relate to. Thank you everyone for being here. A little about myself. I am an A, with about three years sober time under my belt. My hub remains an active A. We were 'drinking buddies' for several years until I qui...
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SunshineGirl
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6
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280
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Is it all about control?
(Preview)
I warned my AH about moving out maybe 3 times over the last 1 year before I moved out quietly a week ago (happy "weekversary"!). I am very thankful for God's timing because any earlier, it would contain "I will punish you for hurting me" element. I moved from I can fixed this (contr...
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sunshine23
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10
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563
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you know who you are...
(Preview)
Well I'm stuck in a stuffy hotel room with a noisy air conditioner and jet lag so started feeling pretty sorry for myself and also feeling guilty because I'm in the tropics and I should be enjoying it. Anyway, this annual trip of mine is when AH used to indulge in his affair, so I guess I've got some resent...
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milkwood
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17
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419
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Ups and downs
(Preview)
I attended Al-anon 11 years ago during the first outbreak of the disease. It was affecting my AH directly but sickening my children, my family and myself. From it I came to realization it is not me, nothing I can do except to seek help from my HP for healing. I was at the point of fearing violence from him. I...
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sunshine23
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5
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458
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HP has a plan
(Preview)
In yet another chapter of The Life of an Alcoholic: Stranger Than Fiction, the A gets sent on a real life mission impossible. He chose to accept it, so he will be driving the jeep to a large city 2 hours away, where he's only been twice, with me driving.... He is supposed to deliver an iPhone for a friend who...
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Raven Juniper
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5
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251
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Dallas area meetings
(Preview)
I have always gotten a lot of wisdom out of reading the boards, but there is nothing (for me) like face to face meetings. Anyhow, I have tried to go to several over the last few months and every time have ended up as the only attendee. Someone here mentioned the Preston Group, but I had the same result there...
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cerika111
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3
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3577
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Between sobriety episodes
(Preview)
Feeling sad - my AH has gone between the strength of sobriety and the defeat of drinking. Days, weeks, months of sobriety, even years. It started long ago in his teens - stopped when we married and then started up many years ago. Just when I think he may be sober, the demon surfaces. The demon of addi...
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wifeofalcoholic
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4
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419
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update
(Preview)
Am doing my best to keep up here! (c: If you need me please pm. I am healing from knee surgery, also still anorexic and nauseated from the blood clot therapy. ugh. So it can be hard to be on the computer. Then horribly my tiny four pound handful of love and friskiness died. He was Cuddy my little tiny chi/hav...
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Debilyn
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13
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546
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Feelings are feelings - please help me understand
(Preview)
Hi, everybody! Lately I've seen some of you posting the phrase "feelings are feelings". I'm not sure I understand the full meaning of that. What is the big-picture goal of that saying? Thanks!
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Sunrise
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11
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435
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I can't "rush" his progress, but I am tired of waiting
(Preview)
My AH relapsed yet again. He is full of guilt and regret and is in that hamster wheel of trying to make up for his mistakes through "achievements". I suggested to him that He is chasing his tail. He has yet to go to a meeting. He likes to think that he is too complicated and different from everyon...
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sadsusie
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9
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1019
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feelings
(Preview)
I've had a bad week with work and personal life. My doorbell rang several times with no one at the door I finally called cops and made a report. My soon to be exah was violent and I did it for my own protection. My soon to be exAH has been posting pics of him and his young gf and saying how much she makes him smile...
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texasgal
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4
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403
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FRIDAY MORNING MEETING 9AM (EST) - TOPICS: LETTING OUR A MAKE OWN MISTAKES; ACTING AS IF; ENJOYING WHAT IS BEAUTiFUL
(Preview)
Meeting scheduled in the Al-anon chat room. TOPICS: Letting our A make their own mistakes; Acting as if; Enjoying what is beautiful The website link to the group meeting room is http://www.12stepforums.net/chatroom2.html. There are other ways to join the room also. Using mIRC or other chat c...
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Tigger
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0
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225
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I can't, always get it right!
(Preview)
I really do struggle with life and people sometimes, the things people do and say, I rarely ask for anything from anyone but thats because right now I have never really had too, hubby said he would collect me the other night from a night out, but when I phoned to say I was ready I got no reply, after many atte...
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Katy
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3
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322
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My Day..
(Preview)
Well I woke up late.. Yes depression kicked in at 4 am stayed up until 530 alarm goes off and called into work and said I'll be in at 10. I didn't go back to sleep.. Uggg All I thought about was my son !! What can he be doing? Where can he be? Is he ok? Is he safe? Is he dead or alive? That's when I jumped up got in the s...
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Gaby
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4
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290
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family
(Preview)
Alanon family group. I thought that meant it helped families of alcoholics which of course it does but it also means its a group of people who are like a family. In my meeting tonight an old timer shared about her a child and they are in a bad way, she was upset and it kind of hit me that I really care for her and...
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el-cee
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7
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309
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Heart breaking...
(Preview)
My son has not made no contact with me .. Yes he ecknowledged Mother's Day and sent me a private message through Facebook. I have made my days better and remind myself that these are his choices he is making. I have no control of him nor do I want it. I always thought I would have control of any of his outcomes...
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Gaby
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8
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276
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guilt!
(Preview)
I often find myself feeling guilty because I have unwittingly become the victim of someone elses bad behaviours, I have always put this down to myself not being strong enough or the other person being way too strong and clever, but today I think it has nothing to do with me really it's of my allowing some...
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Katy
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1
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219
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More venting
(Preview)
Thank you all in advance for letting me vent more. It's clear to me that I'm in over my head right now with everything. This realization that my ex-AH isn't reliable for even the little things is just the stress on top of it all. Our son is high-needs and as he gets older, it gets more challenging. I thin...
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Mattie
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15
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557
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re-visiting insanity
(Preview)
Hi-I am having an experience this week that reminds me of the insanity that can exist with alcoholic, dysfunctional family members. I am in the middle of trying to coordinate a group of my family getting to see my 91 yr old mother, probably for the last time. It's too long to explain the entire situati...
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Lyne
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4
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352
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obsessive compulsive alanoner
(Preview)
Thats me. I have a tendency to become obsessive about anything really. Sometimes its a good thing, it helped me get my degree and my career, you should have seen me before my driving test, i hardly slept for three days before because i was reading and studying up on it. I am a fast learner because if this sw...
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el-cee
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15
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462
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thought this was cool---short and spot on
(Preview)
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neshema2
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4
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265
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At my meeting last night.....
(Preview)
I brought a friend that I thought could use some al-anon, which always makes me happy to share this program with a newcomer, but it got even better. My sponsors husband was there and he told me how great my letter and card were and that I should come and visit her tomorrow. So Thursday I am going to the nurs...
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Breakingfree
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7
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434
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One Day At A Time - May 14
(Preview)
A long-time friend of AA, Dr. Harry M. Tiebout, clarified brilliantly the difference between submission and the surrender idea which is implied in Step One of the Twelve Steps. In submission, he said, an individual accepts reality consciously but not unconsciously. He accepts as a practical fact...
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WorkingThroughIt
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7
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213
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I'm back....:-)
(Preview)
Well after four years of complete and under chaos. I finally feel free. The ex-A has emailed however has not once shown up at my home, since the last incident. He has texted, but has not not texted once since my boundary. Today is pure peaceful bliss.
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Truth
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7
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200
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Video Chat
(Preview)
Happy Mother's Day All I had a internet visit with my son this afternoon and he told me he will be sentenced on June 9th. So anyways we continued to chat then it came..... HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY MOM....I LOVE YOU AND SORRY I CAN'T BE WITH YOU. I told him thank you and it was the best gift he could have gotten me ju...
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Cathyinaz
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11
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324
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WEDNESDAY AL-ANON MEETING 9AM (EST)
(Preview)
WEDNESDAY AL-ANON MEETING 9AM (EST) TOPICS: My life is unmanageable when I.... Serenity is attainable when I.... Sponsorship is.... The website link to the group meeting room is http://www.12stepforums.net/chatroom2.html. There are other ways to join the room also. Using mIRC or other ch...
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shimo
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0
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136
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Please help. I feel my husband is a alcoholic.
(Preview)
He drinks a 750 bottle of whiskey or vodka in 2 days. Probably 2 bottles a week. Switches between that an a a 12 pack of beer he finishes in 2 days. It's not everyday. Every week is different but it's most days. I can't stand the way he is when he is drunk. He is either mean or overly affectionate. Am I wron...
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Somesay4
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6
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328
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chuggin along doin' that one day at a time
(Preview)
Hi all. My RAH has been home a week now. He's going about his own recovery and that is good. I had a weekend away with the kids planned for Mother's Day.......long before I knew he was coming home. So we left and I gave him instruction on how to care for the animals.....including our new Lionhead bunny...
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jillybean1
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5
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281
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Happy Mothers" Day
(Preview)
To all the Al-Anon and MIP women in my life who have re-parented me and taught me to get in touch with my "female side" LOL... Imagine how I handled that one at the first suggestion. "Should I get my shots before doing that and exactly what step does that come under". LOL ...
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Jerry F
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10
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523
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One Day At A Time - May 13
(Preview)
MAY 13 What finally impels the spouse of an alcoholic to look for help in Al-Anon? One large factor is the need for reassurance, to know that were not responsible for the alcoholics drinking. We know we are being torn down, usually by the drinkers own guilt and self-reproach. This has left us without a s...
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WorkingThroughIt
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3
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295
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Magic!
(Preview)
Have been really out of sorts the last few days- just...dropping things, fuzzy thinking, arguing instead of walking away and then getting upset about it...you know how it goes. Today I had a driving lesson and asked the A to drop me off on his way to work (my instructor and I meet in town so I can practice c...
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Melly1248
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14
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567
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Managing the Chaos
(Preview)
I went on a very short business trip and my ex-AH took care of our son while I was gone. Now my ex-AH is a binge drinker who goes for long spells without drinking, so I had a reasonable expectation that there'd be no bingeing while I was gone. I saw no sign that there was, so I think my expectations were reas...
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Mattie
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8
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594
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one step forward, two steps back
(Preview)
Some days I really feel like I'm making progress in this program. Then there is today. My stress and emotions got way too high. My al-anon knowledge didn't provide enough to bring me anywhere close to serenity. I bawled my way through my face-to-face meeting tonight. And then, after sharing at th...
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Sunrise
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5
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356
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in retrospective-mixed feelings...
(Preview)
sometimes I am suck back into the should have/could have/would have -thinking. It's not a good place to put myself into. That's why I can only say, it's super important in recovery to write a journal, write down the facts. It will help in moments like those, when we are confused, or got our views distort...
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tortuga
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3
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300
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TUESDAY MEETING 9AM (EST) – TOPICS: PROBLEM SOLVING; 1ST THINGS 1ST; CHANGING WHAT I CAN
(Preview)
Meeting scheduled in the Al-anon chat room at 9:00AM Eastern Standard Time Current Meeting Schedule: Group Business Meeting held in this room on The FIRST SUNDAY OF EACH MONTH immediately following 7PM meeting. ~ (Morning Meetings) Mon. - Fri. at 9am eastern time & Sat - Sun. - 10am eastern...
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Desirae
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0
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223
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Unsure and yet I know ..
(Preview)
or at least speculate is a better way to say it .. I'm just relying on my intuition and doing what is best for me at this point. If he's really not drinking .. truly .. I feel REALLY sorry for him .. I think I would want to end it all than be stuck thinking the way he does and not be drunk. I would be in a mental war...
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SerenityRUS
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2
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601
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Phone Calls from the Alternate Universe
(Preview)
Spending some time reflecting, praying, trying to hear HP and not use prayer for my own will but prayer for HP to guide me has given me some nice gifts. A called and came over after bailing out on me again to get drunk. I asked him to leave. He gave dramatic speech is this is how it ends. I said yes. He asked me n...
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mm830
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7
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253
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Making a list
(Preview)
I sat down and made a list: a list stating why I have separated myself from my AH. I was starting to feel guilty because he's been above and beyond normal these past 2 days (birthday and mother's day) and I was feeling guilty because all I see is manipulation and future pain when I look at him. I resent his...
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ilovedogs
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12
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557
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Aha moment
(Preview)
Yesterday AH was HAPPY! It was really out of the ordinary and I started to wonder why, it was just mid-morning. Decided to just let it be and continue on. fast forward couple hours, falling "asleep" at lunch claiming it was the baby that kept him up and was tired, awhile later I went into garag...
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Kerrymom
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7
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536
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tired but content
(Preview)
Things are going well w/ my sisters. They are visiting but my mom on the other hand...more later!
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Hoot Nanny
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1
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223
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Set a boundary follow through....
(Preview)
I told my ex-A that "if he texted me about anything other than arrangements for my son, I would block him"
Today, he thought bc he was being nice he could text. I blocked him. 
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Truth
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7
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340
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Mother's Day update :)
(Preview)
The kids went and visited with their dad .. my poor daughter had a major panic attack during the visitation .. she's very over his behavior. She hasn't had a panic attack for months and he is a definite trigger for her. Thankfully she has a therapy appointment tomorrow. We have all hit a false sense of...
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SerenityRUS
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5
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296
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My Kitty Ruby
(Preview)
I lost my Ruby this morning. She had kidney failure and she wasn't going to get well. I had to have her put down. I'm so sad but I did have 10 good years of love with her. Rest in peace Ruby...I love you
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Cathyinaz
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17
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568
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When it is time to leave, how to proceed?
(Preview)
Hi all, This is my first post in several years. A little history... I married my wife in 2001. She has always battled alcoholism. About 3 years ago, the longest and most difficult battle arose. It lasted a year and a half. During that time, she lost her job, was hospitalized twice and arrested twice, o...
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Tool1248
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8
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498
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Feel so down
(Preview)
I think I remember that when I feel so down it is time to do something for me.... but it feels so far from possible today. Adolescent daughters and my work as a nurse and a sober BF who feels a million miles away. Everything weighs on me. So many struggles. I know there is a brighter day ahead, but it sure is ha...
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Fifi
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5
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258
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Did anyone else have a difficult mothers day?
(Preview)
Hello, This is my first post and i apologise in advance for any major mistakes... We had a baby girl last year. I was really looking forward to my role as a mother being acknowledged in even some tiny way (a home made card, a cooked meal, some flowers picked from the garden etc.) - nothing expensive, extra...
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Angrywife
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10
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459
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Beneath the role of Mother is a person
(Preview)
On yet another Mother's Day, I remember that: I was a girl child who loved to make clover rings, bake mud pies in the sunlight, stick my teddy behind a door with a corn pop in his rubber mouth waiting for him to magically eat it when I wasn't looking, stand in closets that I pretended were elevators that I o...
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grateful2be
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11
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413
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Mothers Day Expectations
(Preview)
Well, I was very determined to have an amazing day, just my girl and I. I had such wonderful plans! But daughter has been sick all week and is fed up with coughing and being stuck at home with me and being bored. She's not in the best of moods. (To put it mildly). So the reality of today was- dragging a sullen c...
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Melly1248
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6
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427
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Al-Anon or CODA?
(Preview)
Hello everyone, I am new to this site and would like to say "hello", as well as ask a question. I am finding myself a bit confused on the difference between al-anon and coda.When I was first introduced to al-anon many years ago, we were co-dependents, now it seems that is a totally separate p...
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Reeny
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11
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1399
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a little red nose that can change everything...
(Preview)
Hello MIP family, I am in recovery, working my program , each day at a timesometimes i progress, sometimes I regress. I am learning that this too is normal process. What I mostly am in recovery is curious. And so I keep an open mind and look for new things to learn, always with a 'why not' in my head. Every...
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tortuga
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2
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317
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Birthday Fun
(Preview)
My son's birthday is this week and he wanted to go to the movies today. We had actually planned to take him for months when he found out about that the new Spiderman was being released close to his b'day. I had told my son that he could invited a couple of friends along but he replied no I wants us 4 (me, him,...
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ct1203
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2
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318
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Fear, control and the cha-cha ..
(Preview)
I don't know where I am going with this post .. it really has been a rough week .. just emotionally .. I'm so overly hormonal at the moment anyway and it just seems like everything is hitting at once .. it's completely going to be fine .. it means no procrastinating on my part and I still struggle with this c...
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SerenityRUS
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7
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603
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I know better, but still
(Preview)
I'm struggling today. I heard from one of my 3 adult children who live an hour and a half away. They went out to brunch with their father and stepmother. My middle son, who texted me has always been close. My daughter has estranged herself from me since she was about 15. My oldest son had cleaned himself up...
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Raven Juniper
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6
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294
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progressing
(Preview)
Its time to take my recovery forward, time to get rid of one maybe two of my shortcomings, im not sure how it works yet, one at a time or do one get one free. Oh well, it doesnt matter. What matters is I stop procrastinating and being distracted by life and get back inside my head and do the work. Im still on st...
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el-cee
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6
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208
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SUNDAY NIGHT MEETING 7PM (EST) - TOPICS: HONEsTY; TRUST; OPEN MInDEDNESS
(Preview)
Meeting scheduled in the Al-anon chat room. TOPICS: Honeaty Trust Open mindedness The website link to the group meeting room is http://www.12stepforums.net/chatroom2.html. There are other ways to join the room also. Using mIRC or other chat client, the server we are on is irc.chat4...
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Tigger
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0
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131
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Mother's Day
(Preview)
Yesterday for work I drove a bus to where my mommy lives and got picked up for lunch and some shopping until time to go back to work, was great. We had a good lunch at a new place (my sister's ongoing New Year's resolution (3 years running) is to try a different place every month, very cool concept and she dis...
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likemyheart
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4
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296
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My Meditation for the day
(Preview)
The quote below from"Say Yes to Life" confirms my experience with working the Steps of this priceless program Because we are willing to work this program we are all WINNERSI produced the failure in my life. For years I would blame everything and everyone - my parents, the job, my health...
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hotrod
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5
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280
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Please help. Should I leave him before or after the baby is born? :-(
(Preview)
Taken a lot of courage to come on here and tell my story. It is such a long one that I think I will keep it short in case I bore anyone. lol. I am a mum to a 3 year old and am 6 months pregnant. Our marriage is in a terrible mess and after 3 or 4 times of nearly leaving this is the last time I contemplate it and back out....
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moleinahole
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15
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362
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Mothers' Day Wishes
(Preview)
Love and respect to you this weekend and always... I know holidays can be difficult and heart wrenching for many of us. Lots of (((((hugs))))) to the MIP family!
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Raven Juniper
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4
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169
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