sober travellers roll call

[scutellaria]

so ive seen some other posts about folks in recovery travelling, but i thought itd be neat to have a thread where sober folks can just check in and meet each other, connect and give us an idea of how many of us there are. isolation is such a huge part of addiction for me so even just having a reminder that were not slone thst we can look at maybe will be helpful to somebody.

maybe we can just say our names, if were currently travelling, location/direction, if were currently sober or trying toget sober (if you want), a little about stuff you do for your recovery on the road and anything else you wanna share.

note: this thread is not intended to be a discussion of various fellowships, debates on what sobriety means or how other people should be sober or anything like that. strictly a check in, roll call, chance to meet and see each other kinda deal.
also this thread is intended for recovering addicts and alcoholics only (regardless of if you are currently using/drinking), not for straight edge people or people who do not struggle with addiction (meaning you have an uncontrollable or unpredictable response to drugs and/or alcohol and cannot stop/stay stopped when you want to).
if you think you might have a problem with drugs or alcohol or are not sure, youre definitely welcome.

edit:: also a disclaimer - this thread being in the staying healthy section in no way means that using means youre unhealthy, that there is validity to the clean/dirty dichotomy, or anything like that. we decide what healthy means for us and what wellness means for us. using doesnt mean you have to/should want to stop using. but if you do want to, hopefully this thread can show you that you can stop and put you in touch with other people who have. find those who "have whst you want"

 

[scutellaria]

my names cassie, im a sober addict and alcholic. im currently travelling through appalachia toward cinicnnatti then south to nola. i just celebrated a year back in march and was sober for like 5.5 years in a 12 step program from 20-25 but relapsed really hard for a few years.

im still a member of that fellowship, i go to meetings while trsvelling, being in contact with other sober people isnreally important so i stay in touch via phone with sober fellows, i keep literature in my backpack, have a relationship with a sponsor and have been through the steps in my program, so my spirituality is a big part of my daily life and with that is also trying to be of service everyday to other addicts and alcoholics and also just in general in the world.

oh yeah and i always always carry extra narcan and some clean works!!

 

[Deleted member 21429]

Accolades Accolades! Good on you. My name is Mac and I am working on a stepvan and trying to become self sufficient while working on an old house and grounds. That's what keeps me sober. ~ peace and safe travels to ya

 

[Deleted member 25804]

18 years, end of August... Joined this forum last night. Keep it spiritual!

 

[Des]

Sober and currently back in portland due to some sort of black magic. Headed eastbound next week

 

[Hazardoussix6six]

Far east but if u hit cincy lemme know @Des cincy home for anyone passing thru

 

[Deleted member 125]

@scutellaria high fives for carrying narcan. I could go on for days about how that shit should be in everyone's pack regardless if you use or not.

Big fucking high fives to anyone who's sober or struggling to be sober!

 

[roughdraft]

just wanted to say damn, some real solid words @scutellaria. thank you for bringing some quality content to the forum

i myself have oscillated a lot in my life between full sobriety and addiction. I've had some of the...by far... best times in my life completely sober and it's still a goal I'm aiming for.

Best wishes to everybody

 

[scutellaria]

just wanted to say damn, some real solid words @scutellaria. thank you for bringing some quality content to the forum

i myself have oscillated a lot in my life between full sobriety and addiction. I've had some of the...by far... best times in my life completely sober and it's still a goal I'm aiming for.

Best wishes to everybody

totally. when i first got sober, i learned like youre either helping yourself or youre not and i was around people who really emphasized time sober. or maybe thats just what i was picking up. either way, when i was ready to stop using again after my relapse, i kinda weened myself off my harder drugs and booze by smoking fuck tons of weed cuz thats kinda the best i could do and i wasnt convinced i needed to be fully sober. i did a fuck ass ton of stuff to take care of myself during that time and learned a lot about my physical well being and attended to some shit regarding my physical and mental health id never been able to before. about a year later i rejoined my fellowship, stopped smoking weed and started counting days again. that was a year and change ago.

my point is, recovery isnt linear. theres something to be said for continuous lengths of sobriety and physically/mentally/emotionally recovering from the effects of drugs and alcohol, but also just because someone isnt ready or able to quit using yet doesnt mean they cant be learning or working on taking care of themself.

if you ever wanna talk about sobriety or share experience or just wanna check in with a sober buddy please feel free to pm me.

 

[Hazardoussix6six]

Sic! I need to stop drinking so much an your words r an influence to not. More power to you from myself and my pup kudos!

 

[scutellaria]

Sic! I need to stop drinking so much an your words r an influence to not. More power to you from myself and my pup kudos!

words if i ever fuckin make it to cincy (still stuck in clifton forge....) im definitely gonna go to a meeting or two. youre welcome to come if you like.

 

[Koala]

Thanks everyone for sharing! I'm recently back to going to fellowship meetings for issues with food/eating disorders, something I've struggled with my whole life. I've been compulsively eating way too much or way too little/binging/purging/overexercising on and off for years, feeling totally out of control of my behaviors. I don't exactly know what it's like to have no control over the use of a substance, but based on the fact that my group uses the same 12 steps, I imagine the pain and frustration must be very similar.

I've hit a couple of rock bottoms over the past few months. Habitual binge drinking has contributed to those rock bottoms. So I'm assessing whether I may be ready to try going sober to see if it helps me maintain structure in my eating habits and mental health. Same with weed.

I'm really trying to treat myself better. It's really really difficult. Habits are really hard to break and change. I'm doing the best I can do right now.

It's really awesome to read other posts on recovery ♡

 

[Hazardoussix6six]

OG

words if i ever fuckin make it to cincy (still stuck in clifton forge....) im definitely gonna go to a meeting or two. youre welcome to come if you like.

Can drive to pic you up. If you cant get out. Just an fyi

Might have to jug cause I'm broke af

 

[Des]

Far east but if u hit cincy lemme know @Des cincy home for anyone passing thru

Hell yeah. End goal is philly so if we pass through that ways for sure. Got a soft spot for Cincy

 

[wokofshame]

One year off booze, 3 years without hard liquor. I went from riding freight trains and scamming to living in an RV, having a family, and a career that changed my life. Still miss scams but not the sick/poisoned/hazey feel that alcohol gave me. I had to stop wanting to drink first.

 

[IraKai]

What's up! Love this thread.
I'm Kai, I'll have 10 yrs in December. I used to be really bad alcoholic and junkie/crackhead/the works.
Went to 12 step meetings for the first 4 years, worked the steps twice, sponsored a buncha ppl etc. Lived in halfway and oxford houses the first couple yrs.
Started travelling again after a year sober and it was magical. Housed up in PDX for a long time after that.
Quit going to 12 step meetings due to a lot of toxic shit in the rooms. Also I don't do well dogmas. (No judgements, program saved my fuckin life).

Now what keeps me sober is a love for my own well being, a desire to take in everything I can. Also it's become very political for me. I don't wanna distract myself from how awful capitalism and the state is. Need to that pure unfiltered pain for how fucked up everything is and joy for how beautiful the resilience of people and this earth are.

Currently just got to Tucson. If anyone knows sober folks here link me up!
Also if anyone needs sober anarchists in PDX to kick it with I can link ya.

 

[scutellaria]

hell yeah it makes me really happy to hear from all you folks.

@Koala i definitely can relate. i deal with a lot of "outside issues" from the perspective of my fellowship, but the lit says "liquor is but a symptom". which to me means, if your addiction leaves you in a hopeless state of mind and body, the solution can work for you.

also inreally appreciate hearing from people who got sober in 12 step programs and are staying sober outside of them, and not just being dry and miserable. i love my fellowship for so many reasons and in so many ways but ive always struggled with feeling like i have a place in it (for being trans, for my political beliefs, for my values, etc etc) and i know my relationship to it is definitely changing. all i know is i never ever want to fucking drink or use again. and i am trying really hard to remember every day all i have to do is make myself available to be useful to the world and my higher power has the rest

@IraKai i dont know sober folks in tuscon (except pat the bunny??) but what are you doin after tuscon? heading east still? im in appalachia, heading to new orleans to meet up with another sober friend to ride to chicago for a big gay oogle bike event.
also ill be on the west coast at the end of the summer prolly home bummig portland for a minute and would love to meet other sober kids.

 

[IraKai]

@scutellaria
I'll be in Tucson for a couple months. Fuck I forgot about that, is that ooglecat or scalley? When is it? Buncha my friends r goin...might try to make that.
My plans are pretty all over the place. Basically trying to set up shop in Tucson for the winter, but still trying to travel his summer and fall.
I'll be in PDX later as well to ship some of my shit to myself in AZ.
Pretty chaotic trying to plan right now.

In regards to what you said about 12 step, yea that's basically why I stopped. Being trans, being an anarchist and a nihilist, it just didn't compute with AA folx. Got shamed a lot. Had a few close comrades that all had the same experience and we all left the rooms around the same time and used each other for support.
I will say that there's a lot of great tools for sobriety and a lot to learn in the rooms. Made some of my very best lifelong friends there.

It always makes me happy to see other travelling folks in recovery killin' it

 

[scutellaria]

hell yeah. its oogle cat! i wonder if our friends are some of the same people?? you should def come!!! either way, stay in touch, maybe well find ourselves goin the same way at some point!

yeah ive been fortunate to find some awesome people and have had the fortune of getting sober in the northeast where theres def a fair amount of freaks. ive also really appreciated forming close relationships with people who are very different from me and our main connection is addiction/alcoholism but ive found that that alone is not enough to sustain a fulfilling life. so im trying to keep my program as A center of my life but not THE center and just kinda like be doin my shit but also "wear it like a loose garment" as they say haha.

meanwhile i just bailed off my train as it pulled cuz i had my directions mixed up so now inget to go to this meeting hahaha

 

[L0s3r]

Former drinker here - every day's a struggle. I'm back in my hometown again but I will say travelling sober is the hardest fucking thing I have ever done. All I crave is just a drink to numb everything, yaknow? Being housed up is a little better, but I'm still dirt broke and stressed and some days are harder than others.

Damn, just realized how much of a bummer this post was!