Confession of Recovery (AA article)

[unhappycamper]

Confession of Recovery
February 25, 2009
U.S. Coast Guard

BOSTON - It was Saturday night two weeks into a new duty assignment. I was sitting at home bored out of my mind. I hated my last unit, but at least I had friends to drink with. Flipping through the channels, working on my second Rum & Coke, I felt so alone. I missed my friends back on the ship. Transfer season is not a good time for an alcoholic. Years of drinking and eroding coping skills left me ill prepared to deal with change…I was lost.

In birth years I was 29 years old, but if you gauged my age in maturity, I would compare to someone just entering college. My self esteem was low; I measured myself worth by how many people I had to hang out with. At my last unit, I was a big-shot. I was only a 2nd Class Petty Officer, but I had the ship wired with drinking friends. I hung out with someone from every department and we partied like a fraternity.

Over the past few years my alcohol consumption began to cause significant problems in my life. But, when you have a large network of friends who drink just as much, it's easy to ignore the walls crumbling around you. I poured my third Rum & Coke and decided I'd head to the Casino for the night. At least there I would be around other people.

I played the slot machines, drank 16 ounce beers, and numbed the mental discomfort I was feeling. Around 0200, I decided I'd lost enough money and it was time to go home. I asked someone how to get back to I-75 on the way out. This fellow noticed my intoxication and warned me cops were serious about DUI's in this neck of the woods. I had driven drunken hundreds of times in the past; I'd surely make it one more time.

Leaving the Casino, I quickly got lost which required a couple of U-Turns. I remember hitting the breaks and slamming sideways into a snow bank and thinking "I'm in trouble", but I kept driving. The thought never entered my mind to stop. The next thing I recall was being on the expressway feeling relieved that I had made it. However, I began to notice the road signs were facing the wrong direction. A sinking feeling hit like a ton of bricks when I realized, I was on the wrong side of the expressway. I panicked and quickly pulled off to the shoulder. I turned the engine off, than I turned it back on. I tried to turn myself around, but got stuck in the medium. I franticly tried to get out of the snow, but it was no use. I waited for the police who were there in a matter of minutes.


Rest of article at: http://www.military.com/news/article/coast-guard-news/confession-of-recovery.html?col=1186032369115

[qb]

1. Thanks for posting - it's a great story.

It looks like he has a good discussion board.