COVID-19 Isolation

I can’t help but reflect on how crazy 2020- 2021 really has been and the affect it had on my sobriety (and serenity). It had some steep ups and lots of slippery downs but I made it out alive, even if it was by the skin of my teeth. I began the year in LA, and I will end the year here in Orange County. This year I managed to move to three cities in the midst of a global pandemic. Moving out of two apartments was not easy. The stress started mounting and I stopped attending AA meetings. Soon enough, isolation led to relapse.  In what seemed like a moment, I showed up at South Orange County Detox to end the year clean and sober. As much as I say I love my alone time; too much alone time is not healthy. During a time when told to quarantine, I thought, “I am an only child, I have been training for this my entire life!” What I did not know was that this trait would lead to my mental and physical undoing. However, I did learn how to ask for help. I now understand that I need healthy people around me when I’m having a hard time. The disease of addiction is like a sleeping tiger and it will swallow us alive right when we think we are ok.