Applying the Book Living Sober to Your Life

There is a well-known book in the recovery community for alcoholics just getting sober that breaks down daily habits to make sobriety more manageable.

It is called Living Sober by AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) Services.

The number one rule is just don't pick up that first drink. Call your sponsor BEFORE you take that first drink, get to a meeting, call someone else if you can't reach your sponsor, pray, read out of Alcoholics Anonymous, otherwise known as "The Big Book."

The 24-hour plan is one commonly referred to in Living Sober. What this means is that if you can't conceive of not drinking again, just try it for 24 hours and see how you feel. Sometimes it's a minute at a time rather than a day.

Remembering that alcoholism is an incurable, progressive, fatal disease is also key, especially for those who have relapsed and been down this road before. It gets worse, never better as their experience has shown. The book compares it to a food allergy. If you knew if you ate strawberries, for instance, that you would break out in hives, would you keep doing it?

"Live and Let Live" is a slogan that is not used much in the fellowship any more but you will find it on some walls in various meetings depending on where you are. This means that you just focus on yourself and not worry about what others are doing with regard to their odd behaviors or comments. It's also applying the concept of the fellowship "Principles Before Personalities." This means that you place your goals in the program ahead of what other people do or say to you.

Getting active is another key factor in staying sober. Whether it be getting a job, exercising, volunteering, or working with others it is vital to your livelihood.

Changing old routines is also crucial. There is a saying in the program, "Change your playmates and playthings." This means you don't hang out with the people you used to in bars and you don't play Russian roulette with alcohol. If you are used to passing by a certain place on the way home to get a drink, you change your driving route. The book refers to those who used to start off the day with a drink who now have switched to coffee instead.