I already posted this in the Creative Corner but since it applies here, I figure, why not?

*imitating group check-in* "Hi, I'm Sam. I'm an ex-alcoholic and ex-pill head. I'm feeling...*insert emotion here*...today."
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I wrote this several years ago and read it at my graduation from AODA treatment upon reaching 90 days sobriety (and obtaining that coveted coin...). I lost the original copy of it, so this is my re-creation from memory.

I once watched a show in which an extremely obese man described his addiction to food. He said that curbing his habits was harder for him than for other addicts because people have to eat daily to survive. As if alcoholics don't crave the burn with every sip of something as innocent as water. As if crackheads don't wish they had one more fix every time they see that lighter. As if heroin junkies don't itch for their next high every time they get a flu shot. We all live with addiction. Whether you've been sober for 60 years or 60 minutes, you will ALWAYS be addicted. You will always want ‘just one more’. The key to beating the addiction before it beats you is knowing when to stop. Knowing that every stupid thing you did when you were ****ed up is another reason to quit, not to get high enough to forget again. Knowing when to say "never again will that be me". You can't let addiction fuel your fear of living again.