07-04-2010, 09:30 PM
Hi Andy
Most people who have been in the recovery programme can relate to your frustrations. One matter you don't cover in your sharing is how often you attend meetings. When I came to GA, I felt as empty as you do, long after the 269 days stage. However, I continued to go to meetings, sometime 4 per week so I never allowed myself to feel lonely. Today, 14 years down the line, I still attend two or three meetings a week. I have never found anything other than GA meetings that can replace that emptiness of the gambling void. I have tried all sorts of pastimes and hobbies and they usually last for a few months and I get bored. The meetings is the only thing I have successfully treated with discipline. Furthermore, I actually enjoy them today and my best friends are in GA. It is to be enjoyed, not endured. I was best man at a GA member's wedding last year. With your regards to your business/finances, it is tough out there. The whole country is coming out of a recession so almost nobody has been unaffected. The economic climate is generally tough. But more specifically, I agree with Roy, you will get on an even keel after a short time. The more I hang around GA, the more I realise how true the book is when it states that the financial problems are the easiest to solve. If you keep working away, financial insecurity might not leave you immediately but the fear of financial insecurity will leave you. Please just hang in there - this too will pass and in several weeks and months you will look back on it and be stronger for it. The alternative is unthinkable.
I hope this is helpful
Matthew
Most people who have been in the recovery programme can relate to your frustrations. One matter you don't cover in your sharing is how often you attend meetings. When I came to GA, I felt as empty as you do, long after the 269 days stage. However, I continued to go to meetings, sometime 4 per week so I never allowed myself to feel lonely. Today, 14 years down the line, I still attend two or three meetings a week. I have never found anything other than GA meetings that can replace that emptiness of the gambling void. I have tried all sorts of pastimes and hobbies and they usually last for a few months and I get bored. The meetings is the only thing I have successfully treated with discipline. Furthermore, I actually enjoy them today and my best friends are in GA. It is to be enjoyed, not endured. I was best man at a GA member's wedding last year. With your regards to your business/finances, it is tough out there. The whole country is coming out of a recession so almost nobody has been unaffected. The economic climate is generally tough. But more specifically, I agree with Roy, you will get on an even keel after a short time. The more I hang around GA, the more I realise how true the book is when it states that the financial problems are the easiest to solve. If you keep working away, financial insecurity might not leave you immediately but the fear of financial insecurity will leave you. Please just hang in there - this too will pass and in several weeks and months you will look back on it and be stronger for it. The alternative is unthinkable.
I hope this is helpful
Matthew