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"Find Your Way Home" by David Bullard - • Nite Show Web Exclusiv...
“There is Hope and people when you're ready” David Bullard Narrates His Recovery Journey.
David took about 10 years of struggling to get better before he got a grip of sobriety. His is a story of hope in recovery:
“My name is David Bullard, 59. I'm originally from Southern California. I came to Maine in the mid-eighties. I had an alcohol addiction and found recovery in the late nineties. I have been successful in recovery. I’m continuing to grow, feel better and work with others all the time.
I was highly independent growing up. I accomplished whatever I wanted to do, and that could mean staying up late or possibly drinking too much. As the years went on, I got married, had kids and all those reflections came right back to me. Working harder and harder all the time. I realized there's no way possible to do this. I struggled with trying to quit for about 10 years from 1988 to 1998.”
Neglecting Responsibilities
“I would have obligations; either recreational, work, or family obligations. Not only would I not make them, but I would also make excuses for not making them. In the case of having family obligations, for example, going camping on a weekend, I would not be able to do that. I’d say something else came up. However, the truth was that I was shattered inside from medicating. My medication was alcohol.
It was in 1998, that I had finally reached a point where I needed to see this stuff clear. I started to attend a 12 step program meeting in the mid-coast area. I was able to see that I needed to reign it in and see myself as I go through the day. Not to just get charging or get going too fast, not to make quick decisions, and maybe call someone first before making a decision. That was going on 23 years ago and I've continued to do that. Life has gotten simpler and better.
All those years that I was attending meetings, I never once took the suggestions totally to heart. I'll never forget the day I was in a coffee house and a guy who I knew from the meeting had said to me, ‘if you ever have any trouble at all, just give me a call. I actually did that and it worked. About 10 minutes after, I felt like I had a 500-pound weight lifted off of myself. He gave me that time to talk and opened up the door for me to feel okay about calling somebody to work through an issue.”
Life After Recovery
“I don't over-commit. I’m doing things like making basic obligations. Let's say I have a job; I'm going to do something so that I show up on time. I drive the speed limit and go calmly down the road. Through the years I've been working on a book that took me 45 years to do. It's a book of all songs that I wrote and it's being published. It has photos of all kinds of stuff in it, people that I've known and people that I've played music with. That is part of an accomplishment through sobriety that I would have never done.”
“There’s help and people that will help. The craziest thing about addiction is unless the person's ready, you can’t help them. You could have the best coaches or sponsors but If you're not willing to take it, it's really difficult. Also, there’s hope and there are people when you’re ready. Third, it isn't easy. It took me about three years before I felt better. It's not going to happen overnight, but it's much better than staying there in that space forever.”
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15 сен 2024
