Name: Michael P.
Age: 31
Home: Hamilton, N.J.
Sobriety Date: March 14th,2007
Interests: Family, Church, Sobriety
Hobbies: Shore, Crabbing, PS2, Gadgets
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 | Biography/Personal Statement
My name is Mike and I'm a 100% real alcoholic. My story
starts as a child, always wanting what I want and going to any lengths
to get it. As a kid growing up, I always felt like I was missing
something. I never felt like I fit in, although I tried. Maybe even
too hard at times. I was born and raised a Roman Catholic but when my
family moved house I stopped going to Church. From this time on it
always seemed like a project, to keep a friend. I would always change
them, trade them in for a new one, never happy with the old one. It
seemed that people could not give me what I was looking for and yet I
didnt really know exactly what that was. Later on in life my alcohol
and drug addiction would go the same way.
As I got older, things became tougher. My depression deepened and I
felt that sense of not belonging more and more. I landed in my first
rehab around the age of 17. Back then I didn't quite grasp the concept
of recovery. I remember thinking that quitting drink and drugs meant
my life was over, today I feel as if it is just beginning. As time
went on my addiction progressed. Still searching for something and not
know exactly what it was I began to isolate myself from the world, I
felt it was better to be alone than to deal with people, besides by
that point I really didn't like people too much anymore, at least that's
what I thought.
By the age of 27 I ended up in another rehab, Princeton house
and spent a week or two there, my depression had gotten greater than
Id previously known. When I left Princeton House I stayed sober for
almost a year and although I never really worked the program I did
feel better and yet there was still something missing inside. Thinking
Id recovered from my addiction I decided to pick up again, I lasted
another two years.
In some ways it wasn't as bad as it had been before but as my
addiction grew my feelings got worse and worse. I lost my girlfriend,
I lost my apartment, was losing my family and I could no longer manage
anything in my life. I remembered all the things Id once heard in A. A.
I thought about giving another shot for two weeks before finally
reaching a moment of clarity. I was coming off a high and realizing
how awful I felt I knew I couldn't stop using on my own, I called my
old sponsor and he took me to a meeting. For the next two weeks I
struggled to stay clean and sober, I met Gez and we talked about Tabor
House. He allowed me to move in and today I have been here for six
months with continual sobriety.
Throughout my story I have talked about something missing in my life,
I have finally found out what it was, God. Today I have a connection
with God that helps me feel whole, today I no longer struggle to stay
sober, I listen to what others have to say and I take suggestions. I
am finally working the steps as they have been handed down to me and I
am doing the work I didn't do before. Today I am happy. Life is really
good and though I can have my problems like anyone else, I can deal
with those problems today, (as long as I stay focused and do the next
right thing). When I put God first in my life, great things seem to
follow, I wouldn't want to give that up for anything. That's my story,
I tell it in the hope that it might help someone feel encouraged, that
they might not have to feel the way I once did, thanks for reading it
and God Bless.
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