Six Years Without Alcohol And What It Taught Me

Six Years Sober Reflection

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Welcome back to the Recovery Catalyst Podcast. I'm your host and fellow person, Recovery Cat York. Now, this past weekend, I celebrated six years of continuous sobriety from alcohol. And I just wanted to take a couple minutes and reflect on that because that is a milestone I never thought I would be able to reach. You know, growing up in an alcoholic home, watching um alcohol rule my family, destroy my family, addiction destroy my family, predominantly on my father's side. Lost a brother to addiction, to an overdose. I'm not afraid to say that. Um, because he was so much more than that. You know, and I think one of the I think one of the things that I thought um sobriety was gonna bring me was I'm gonna fix everything. Sobriety gave me the gift of my life back. That's true. But it takes work. Last six years for me or anybody has been anything but easy or simple. You know, and every day that I'm sober, I am grateful. Because it's one more day that I get to do things from a clear perspective, a clear mind, a clear soul. I'm not under the veil of alcohol. Drugs are never part of my story, but alcohol was the love of my life from the time I was 10 years old. Thankfully, that is not the case

The Wreckage Alcohol Left Behind

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anymore. But you know, as I sit here, 43 years old, you know, I look back and I wasted a lot of time, a lot of time on times that I thought were good, on people that I thought were friends. And I created a lot of mess, a lot of chaos, a lot of destruction, you know, missed opportunities, you know, lost jobs, destroyed friendships, you know, family not trusting me, not being the best mother to my son, being neglectful, um, wasting money, wasting time, energy, uh, the language that I used, the ways that I acted, uh, police being called to the house, you know, it was a mess. It was a mess. And it took

Recovery Takes Many Attempts

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me, you know, over 10 years to get six years of continuous sobriety. It was never a one and done. I wasn't one of those people that was able to walk in and get sober the first time. I I love when I hear those stories. People put it down and they get it right the first time. That was not me. That's not most of us, and that's okay. You know, but as I look forward, because we want to peek into the past, we don't want to stare, right? As I look forward, I know I have to continue to do more and to do better to not only keep my sobriety moving forward, but to keep me moving forward. You know, six years is a beautiful thing, but I can't get caught up on that. Because the truth is, all I have is today. I don't know what the next week, month, or six years brings. But I know today, in this moment, I am sober, I am grateful, I am present. My family can count on me. My son can count on me. I can show up for the people that I love and that I care about. I have goals, I have dreams, I have aspirations. You know, and do I still get that those twangs of pain looking back at all the damage that I caused and the wreckage, and do I get filled with regret and shame at some of the things I did? Of course. But the difference now is instead of drinking it away, I'm trying to do something positive and productive with my time.

Turning Pain Into Purpose

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You know, I started this podcast as a means to give a voice to not only my story, but to all those who have struggled with addiction, struggled with alcoholism, struggled with trauma, mental health, abuse. You know, because I think the truth is, I think there's beauty in the struggle. And most alcoholics, uh addicts have come from really tormented pasts, abusive childhoods. They've dealt with mental health, they've dealt with some really, really heavy things. It's not to say that we're special because we're not, but I'm just shining a light on the fact that a lot of us came for some pretty terrible beginnings. And the fact that we're still standing is something to be proud of, something to celebrate. Now, I didn't do the whole cake thing, like I didn't make a big deal about the six years. But you know, I had a couple quiet moments of reflection. And, you know, I can do that now and not beat myself up to the point where I want to drink again. Because I know it's not gonna get me anywhere. I may have wasted a lot of time, I may have made some really poor choices, and I did, and I will own that. But going forward, I don't have to make those same choices. I can make better ones, and I can do more, I can help people with the experience that I have, the story that I have, the life that I've lived, and lessons that I've learned. I'll be the first one to tell you. I am far from a polished individual. And anyone who listens to this show will tell you that. You know, I don't, I'm not big on shining things up, making things look all pretty and perfect. That's not me. It's never been me, it's never going to be me. You

Why Messy Healing Still Matters

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know, I am what I am, honestly, take it or leave it. And the it's it's all messy. Life is messy, healing's messy, addiction's messy. There's nothing glamorous about getting sober, about going to detox, about having seizures, about withdrawals, about the mental health issues that come with it. It's heavy and it's tough, but there is hope. And I've been blessed with some beautiful people in my life who have given me hope. You know, every time I sit down with a guest who shares their story, I consider it a gift. I really do. Because to me, while I may not have it all figured out as far as the podcast goes and all the intros, the outros, and this and that, when I sit down one-on-one with somebody who shares their story of struggle, that's a beautiful thing. That's a very special thing. You know, it's no different than when you go to an AA meeting, an NA meeting, and you listen to someone share so vulnerably from their heart. And truthfully, that's a lot of what I was missing growing up was connection. I felt so disconnected from the world around me because my home was such chaos. I didn't know how to talk about what was going on around me, and I really couldn't. You weren't allowed to. But everyone knew it was bad. But today I can talk about it, and I can share my story, and I can try to help others.

Writing A Memoir And Owning Truth

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You know, I'm in the middle of writing my memoir. And when I first sat down to write it, I was like, who's gonna want to hear this? Well, I don't know. I have no idea, but I know I'm still gonna write it because it's my story, and my story matters, and your story matters too. All our stories matter. You know, and once we get this stuff out on paper, we put it out there, we have no idea who we're gonna help. And that's a beautiful thing. And, you know, I don't have too much more to say. This little episode is kind of all over the place. That's okay. That's okay. Like life, life is messy, sobriety is messy.

Encouragement And Reaching Out

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And you know, if you're out there and you're struggling today, you're having a rough time, you're you're new to finding sobriety, or you're struggling in your sobriety, like I see you. You know, I I'm I hear you. You know, you're not unseen. And I just want to say keep going, and you're worth it. And it's not me being cliche or cheesy, it's truth. You're worth it. Anyone struggling is worth it. Do not give up. You have gifts that the world needs, you have a story the world needs to hear. And I want you to share it. I want you to be here. And if you recently celebrated sobriety, whether that's a day, a week, a month, a year, 10 years, you know, reach out to me. There's links below in the comments of the show. Let me know. Send me a text, anonymous voicemail, whatever you want to do. I would love to celebrate you a little bit. You know, I would love to, you know, give you some words of encouragement. And honestly, it feels good just to say that you accomplished something, right? So if you you want to share it, please do. I love hearing success stories and when it comes to sobriety and people beating the odds and you know, beating their addiction and living a full recovered life. I'm gonna leave it at that so I don't drone on and on. But thank you for listening. Thank you for tuning into my show. It really means the world to me. And I really look forward to where these next six years go. God bless.