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when it comes to CLEAN TIME...??

belfort

Bluelighter
Joined
Nov 2, 2005
Messages
2,293
does it strike anyone else as amazing that many addicts can remember the EXACT day they got clean??i mean, they literally count days eventhough they have been clean for years...hell, when i got clean, i dont remember what day i gto clean and i sure couldnt tell you right now even what year i got clean from opiates...is this a good thing or a bad thing??maybe this is because im not a member of NA and they are big fans of dates and times..??

anyone know what im talking about??
 
They document it because it's their way of knowing when they chose to start a new way of life, it doesn't matter that you know the exact date or anything like that, but more the fact that you are clean and satisfied with your new way of life.
 
It doesn't seem amazing to me for one that many addicts remember the exact moment that they got clean, for many this is a watershed moment in their lives and the linchpin upon which the changes which happened in their lives rest upon and gives them a healthy sense of accomplishment and/or shows them how far they've come/progress. Although in my personal experience a sober date can be a double edged sword. I have seen many addicts relapse over and over again after a set number of days (whether than be 90 days or a year or whatever) it seems that their brains set them up for failure somehow or that they look back and say "look what i did a year clean! I deserve a reward!"...Some in the rooms of recovery actually actively DONT have a sober date and say it is counter to the "one day at a time" mindset....so really its neither a good or a bad thing that you dont have a sober date, it just is, and if that works for you and your happier thats AWESOME :D
 
I'm not addicted to drugs, nor have I been, so I can't speak from experience, but I would assume it really wouldn't matter if you remembered the date or not. What is time but a paradigm that's relative to each person. As long as you're clean and are enjoying life, I say just go on living happily.
 
I find it even more amazing that some addicts can remember the exact day they started using!
 
I find it even more amazing that some addicts can remember the exact day they started using!

I wouldn't be surprised, sometimes when they started it fell on a special occasion, where smells, songs, even tastes of certain things can remind them of those days.
 
I rememeber the day i first did heroin so vividly...i couldnt tell you the exact date i got clean though. i remmeber the suboxone doctor visit vividly that day however.
 
^ Really? The exact date you started? I can remember the month I was introduced to meth, but definitely not the day.
 
Yep, August 16, 2008.

I used to keep track of the days, did so for quite awhile in fact, but stopped doing so once I started cheating a little here and there.

It's an amazing realization, once those days start adding up. At first, it's like something to grasp onto to keep one's sanity, (can't explain it much better than that), and once you start to feel better and get your life in order, it's like a point of positive pride, and very encouraging/motivating.
 
I just try to forget about all that stuff. I dont even want to think of myself as an addict. It seems like I would just be reminding myself of my DOC all the time if I did that. The important thing for me is that I am clean now. I do know that ive been clean for about 5 or 6 weeks though. I have no time for pride, nor do i have time for regret.
 
I don't think it's all that crazy for an addict to remember their clean date.

It's a BIG day for some people, when they are putting years of drug use behind them takin that first step toward a new life.

It;s not that hard to make note of the day then remember it lol..
 
Yeah. My boyfriend knows the exact day he stopped drinking alcohol. I think it also has to do with the fact that he fell down stairs while drunk and almost died after cracking his skull wide open. He just hit is two year mark. From what I understand, he wasn't exactly an addict, but he just acted really fucking stupid while drinking and now that he's so focused on his career he can't afford to slip back into that mindset.

I don't remember the exact day I stopped doing drugs though. I remember the month I quit and I do know it has been almost two years, but I don't know anything other than that. A lot of people seem to though, especially if they've entered a treatment facility or start attending some kind of group.
 
I can't remember when I started, nor the exact date that I stopped using coke. I only remember July of 2009, because I made a promise to both myself and my wife that I could easily go 1 year without coke. Had I not made that promise, I don't think I would have remembered.
 
A lot of people give up using NA/AA and they get you to keep track of days. 12 steppers know what date they gave up on usually.
 
I don't know exactly... I think it was the first or second week of 02-2010. And remember your first day of using? That sounds even crazier since you'd be fucked up on that day (and probably a lot of days to come).
 
Like many others have said, it is a major moment in most addicts lives when they got clean. Also those who attend 12step meetings, a lot of emphasis is put on celebrating clean dates and so forth, so it would be kind of like forgetting your own birthday in the 12 step community.

If a certain date isn't as important to you I wouldn't see it as a bad thing, some people just are happy to have a new way of life and enjoy the moment rather than getting hung up with past dates and what not. to each his own really
 
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