Timeline
In Torah Sources
Habits/Addiction
אמר רב הונא: כיון שעבר אדם עבירה ושנה בה - הותרה לו. הותרה לו סלקא דעתך? אלא אימא: נעשית לו כהיתר. (מועד קטן כז, ב)
אמר ליה רב לחייא בריה לא תשתי סמא (פסחים קיג, א). וברש"י ד"ה לא תשתי סמא: לא תלמד לשתות סמים, מפני שתקבע להון ווסת ויהא לבך שואלך ותפזר מעות.
Beginning are hard
- שמות פרק יט פסוק ה: ועתה אם שמוע תשמעו בקלי ושמרתם את בריתי והייתם לי סגלה מכל העמים כי לי כל הארץ. וברש"י ד"ה ועתה: אם עתה תקבלו עליכם יערב לכם מכאן ואילך, שכל התחלות קשות.
From GYE Members
Third Week
- Day 19: Overall I can still feel the urges. Sometimes I really want to give in. But they are mostly weaker. They are slowly fading into the background. I know that I don't have to give in. I can sleep better, Baruch Hashem and I am tossing and turning less at night. Baruch Hashem an improvement. But I must always remember to be vigilant, because the yetzer hora has patience. #anonymousmillenial[1]
Month #3
- #Day69 - Wow, I just reread all my posts. It is such a chizuk to be reminded of where I came from. How I was stuck and after over 10 years trying I still couldn't break free. B"h I am now more than 2/3 the way to my 90 day benchmark (the journey will still continue). After starting to read through cordnoy's thread it reminded me of some of the main tools for sobriety and from the 12 steps. Yes, it is now easier to be clean and fight my y"h then it was 69 days ago. However, it is still a challenge and I no longer have the chizuk of a fresh challenge. As I am clean for longer reality sinks in that it will just be a challenge day after day. While I am excited at the prospect it is still a daunting task. In this regard I feel like I have to remind myself what I said in my first post. That I don't have the power to control my lust and without Hashems help I am powerless. I have to surrender and make sure I don't risk my sobriety by taking chances on silly worthless sights or being in places that are more at risk for slipping. #Realestatemogul
3-6 Months
- It's great that you feel like it's easier than it was when you started out. After my first time hitting 90 days, it didn't feel much easier to be honest. But after multiple longer periods of sobriety it definitely got easier for me. #Ihavestrength
- First of all congrats on the job well done! It is no small feat to reach 88 days clean! As far as advice for next stage: I would recommend setting another short term goal, 120 days is a good number. Also, I would recommend taking something you know helps you stay clean, but you don’t yet do regularly, and incorporating it into your daily routine, (or at least a few times a week on set days). This will help you to keep growing in your personal development and recovery, especially as the novelty of the journey and challenge starts wearing off. Lastly, I would say that next 90 days are no less significant than the previous ones in every respect; in healing, in opportunity for growth, and yes, even possibly in difficulty. I think people attribute too much magic to the 90 days at the expense of realizing that the time after is just as crucial to healing. To put it in perspective, I’d guess that more people fell after being clean for 90 days than those stayed cleaned indefinitely after reaching 90 days (anecdotal evidence lol). #Ihavestrength
- I can stay clean for over a hundred days with minimal effort. That is something I never thought was possible. When you’re consumed by lust you don’t realize how easy it is to say no. If you get clean for a few weeks, or perhaps days you suddenly have a clear mind. It’s as if a fog lifts and you have clarity “I don’t need it. It doesn’t do anything good for me. I can have an urge and just let it blow over.” And it gives me a lot of hope for the future. If I can do it for a hundred, I can do it for a thousand, and ultimately-for a lifetime. Which sounds like a lovely prospect... #OivedElokim[2]