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h the guilt and shame part of it is like, ‘Oh, my God, I lost this time, I lost my date. And now, I have to, I have a new date. And I have to start over’“It’s not all starting over, it’s not all lost. And you didn’t lose the time that you had. You just got a new clean date. And that’s how I look at it.”<h2 id="4bd1">Community camaraderie</h2>An important part of Macklemore’s efforts is connecting with the sober community.“I didn’t realize that there was this massive recovery community of people that had the same disease as me, that spoke the same language, that were there to help and show up and greet me with a hug even if I relapsed, that they understood, that there was no judgment,” he told GMA.I think we can all vouch for that. I know that, just in a month of writing about this stuff here, I’ve met lots of great, positive, supportive people.So if you’re struggling today, take heart and remember Macklemore’s words: recovery isn’t linear. Just keep doing the best you can!Thank you very much for reading this piece! If you liked it, please give it a clap or two so other can find it. If you really liked it, you can give it more by holding down the clap button for as long as you want!The latest from me:<ul><li><a href="https://readmedium.com/the-one-priceless-book-that-kicked-off-my-quit-alcohol-journey-f9c3f257bb74">The one priceless book that kicked off my quit alcohol journey</a></li><li><a href="https://readmedium.com/i-love-this-soccer-dancing-stars-inspiring-quit-drinking-message-cd6cf2a221bf">I love this soccer

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star’s inspiring quit drinking message</a></li><li><a href="https://readmedium.com/youll-fail-at-quitting-alcohol-if-you-get-this-question-wrong-51264431919e">You’ll fail at quitting alcohol if you get this question wrong</a></li></ul>My most-read stories:<ul><li><a href="https://readmedium.com/why-i-finally-decided-to-quit-drinking-alcohol-39862c8ad68e">Why I finally decided to quit drinking alcohol</a></li><li><a href="https://readmedium.com/what-musician-james-taylor-taught-me-about-sobriety-and-myself-11c54c131442">What musician James Taylor taught me about sobriety — and myself</a></li><li><a href="https://readmedium.com/cheryl-burke-reveals-key-to-avoiding-alcohol-60ef1d51a61b">Cheryl Burke reveals key to avoiding alcohol</a></li><li><a href="https://readmedium.com/how-alcohol-tricks-us-into-coming-back-cb102c0eb878">How alcohol tricks us into coming back</a></li></ul>I have some exciting news! If you’re interested in seeing my face or hearing my voice, I’ve just launched a YouTube channel. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC1k_0PYxesTxiD_QmjPp6w">You can check it out here</a>!Have you found Medium via this story but aren’t yet a member? Did you know membership starts at just $5 a month (and you can cancel any time)? There’s no risk and you get access to all Medium has to offer. To continue reading stories like this and give me a ‘lil kickback, <a href="https://jamesjulianwrites.medium.com/membership">please consider supporting this publication directly by using my link to sign up!</a> You can also leave a tip using the button below if you enjoyed this article!</article></body>

Macklemore has an important message about faltering on sobriety

The first wave of COVID-19 and the resultant lockdowns and general chaos cost a lot of people their sobriety.

Myself included. I had gone about two full months without drinking alcohol when all of our lives were suddenly turned upside-down.

After about a week of being locked in my house with everything closed and no indication when we might be able to get back to normal life, I finally caved and drank some beers that had sat dormant in my cupboard for more than 60 days.

San Francisco Foghorn, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Recovery isn’t linear

But Macklemore has an important message about slip-ups like that: recovery isn’t linear.

The rapper told Good Morning America this week that making mistakes is normal — the important part is showing up the next day and making a better decision.

“Something that’s so important in recovery is time. What I’ve realized along the way is that it’s one day at a time. It’s how am I showing up today.

“I can’t get back that relapse from two years ago. I also didn’t lose what I had before that.

“And I think that that’s something that we kind of like beat ourselves up with the guilt and shame part of it is like, ‘Oh, my God, I lost this time, I lost my date. And now, I have to, I have a new date. And I have to start over’

“It’s not all starting over, it’s not all lost. And you didn’t lose the time that you had. You just got a new clean date. And that’s how I look at it.”

Community camaraderie

An important part of Macklemore’s efforts is connecting with the sober community.

“I didn’t realize that there was this massive recovery community of people that had the same disease as me, that spoke the same language, that were there to help and show up and greet me with a hug even if I relapsed, that they understood, that there was no judgment,” he told GMA.

I think we can all vouch for that. I know that, just in a month of writing about this stuff here, I’ve met lots of great, positive, supportive people.

So if you’re struggling today, take heart and remember Macklemore’s words: recovery isn’t linear. Just keep doing the best you can!

Thank you very much for reading this piece! If you liked it, please give it a clap or two so other can find it. If you really liked it, you can give it more by holding down the clap button for as long as you want!

The latest from me:

My most-read stories:

I have some exciting news! If you’re interested in seeing my face or hearing my voice, I’ve just launched a YouTube channel. You can check it out here!

Have you found Medium via this story but aren’t yet a member? Did you know membership starts at just $5 a month (and you can cancel any time)? There’s no risk and you get access to all Medium has to offer. To continue reading stories like this and give me a ‘lil kickback, please consider supporting this publication directly by using my link to sign up! You can also leave a tip using the button below if you enjoyed this article!