Day 12.

6 am wake up – it snowed heavily last night, so woke up to a magical white castle.

Today felt like an amazing day.  Meds have now been reduced to 2mg in the evening. No more morning meds.  I’m happy to early be done with detox and have no drink cravings at all.

I felt energetic, relaxed and very involved throughout the day.

The anxiety session in the morning gave me some understanding of how to manage my anxiety when I feel it occurring.  Using box breathing technique.

The group session was emotional as one of the peers read their life story, which was very honest and deep.  I had a lot of empathy for this peer and shared my view on my own life and how things will get better.  Being in this magical castle will help this peer to detox from their addiction and the support of the other peers and therapists will help the peer through difficult times.

Other peers shared their feeling and there was a lot of love in the room towards this peer.  I have also bonded with this peer from the start, so hearing the life story gave me a deeper understanding of how to help support the peer during my time in the castle.

The cross-addiction session gave me some insight into how my addiction to alcohol is also related to my other addictions, like buying clothes.  It also made me think about building a better routine in my life, and managing and dealing with it, which previously I have not been doing.

I also had my first peer evaluation today, on another peer in my group.  This made me realise that now that I am nearly finished with detox, I must apply myself more to focusing on my recovery.  Such as reading the AA book daily and dedicating more time to work on my 12 steps.

I also felt privileged today to be involved in being a buddy, and introducing a new peer into the castle, showing them around and introducing them to other peers, to help them feel more comfortable and welcome.

I must focus more on my recovery and apply more focus on my 12 steps.