In this podcast, we discuss what to do just in case you slip and have yourself a relapse.

1. It is a well-known fact that relapse is characteristic of the disease of addiction and alcoholism. A lucky few make it long term on the first try, and I hope you are one of them.
2. The vast majority usually need to get to the next lower rung on the ladder to Hell before they wake up and ask for help. But don’t let the fact that you can come back be used as an excuse that “I can always come back in from the cold.” Because the disease is so powerful, you might not make it back.
3. Addicts and alcoholics don’t wake up because they see the light. They wake up because they feel the heat. They have to arrive at their own conclusion that they are now desperate enough to reach out for help.
4. Those who have a sponsor will hear the sponsor say: “Don’t call me after you’ve been drinking and now, you’re crying to me. Call whenever you feel like drinking or using.”
5. So that is my point: call your sponsor whenever a craving hits you, and if you don’t have a sponsor, get one now. And of you slip up, call your sponsor or any of the other numbers you should have collected by now if you can't reach your sponsor.
6. In other words, get back in the saddle as soon as possible. The less time between your slip and your re-entry, the better the chances of making it, period.