[via Email]
I really liked the SMART meeting. First of all, there were worksheets, and I love that shit.
There were six people in the meeting, plus the facilitator, and for three of us, this was our first meeting. We started with “checking in,” where each person answers a series of questions about how the previous week has been. For us newbies, we were asked to provide a brief synopsis of what brought us to the meeting, with a proviso from the facilitator that the point was not to focus on the past (yay, no drunkalogues!) We talked about any slips or close calls, physical and social activity for the week, how things were in our relationships, and goals for the coming week. We were encouraged to—respectfully—weigh in when we had something to add, which generated some really great conversation that might have been labeled “crosstalk” in another setting. (I liked) that we were not only allowed, but encouraged to talk to one another.
Then the facilitator passed out a “Self-Acceptance Exercise” worksheet, designed to help us overcome irrational thinking around failure, criticism or rejection. On the back side were 30 thoughts to increase self-acceptance, which we went around the room and read aloud, with people expressing out loud how some of them really rang true. The sense of fellowship and being understood, even in a small setting with a room of strangers, was inspiring
I left feeling like I'd been both helped and helpful. I felt inspired and motivated and even more engaged in my recovery.
I'll definitely be going back next week.
Julie
Julie is a 40-something professional, married with a soon-to-be 10-year-old son. She has recently come to the realization that her decades-long Vicodin and marijuana use are keeping her from living the life she could be living.
In her own words, "I'm ready to live differently, and I think I'm already starting, even though I haven't stopped yet."