Bryan Hullihen talks about early recovery and his early days following prison

My name is Bryan Hullihen and I am an alcoholic. I have suffered many consequences as a result of my drinking and getting sent to prison was just one of many consequences. During my time in prison I stayed busy and worked a program of action relative to my alcoholism, however, I knew that life in prison was the minor leagues. By the time I walked out of that place I had over six years of sobriety but when I was given my freedom I felt like a newcomer. I had experienced the psychic change necessary to live a life of sober independence and help others do the same but restarting my life and having my freedom restored presented me with some challenges that I hadn't had in over half a decade. Seeing women all over the place was just one of many distractions that I knew could have me placing my recovery in the passenger seat very quickly. There was also the distractions of all the shiny things and an innate desire to keep up with the Jones's. After several years of not having many social cues to differentiate me from other people, clothes, cars, etc., I was now in a world where everybody seemed to be in groups and cliques and noticing separation was easy. This proved very difficult for me to maintain a desire to destroy my ego and on several occasions I found myself acting out in self and having to make more amends in two weeks than I had to in my last two weeks in prison. This is just a couple of the many challenges facing addicts and alcoholics following their release from prison and navigating these challenges can prove fatal for those who don't posses the necessary information to navigate around these recovery landmines. For me, Bryan Hullihen, I found that the things that benefitted me the most was knowing what I was going to do each day before the day began, putting my recovery above all other things, and having healthy people in my life that were loving, patient, and had my best interests at heart. I ended in a perfect situation and still found it difficult to maintain a healthy level of sanity necessary to successfully navigate a life in recovery following a protracted prison sentence. Remaining ever vigilant at keeping the main thing the main thing is what I attribute to my success following prison. Bringing my recovery principles into every facet of my life and remembering that things will rarely go the way that I want but always exactly the way I NEED them to go helped me maintain my sanity. This prevented my ego from growing to a point where I would've found it impossible to disconnect yet again which surely would've resulted in another relapse. Humility goes a long way and when I am able to maintain a humble attitude toward life I find I live in an amazingly genuine state of existence that I absolutely love. The people who end up in my life when I live that way are some of the greatest in the world and everyday I look around and am humbled by the love I am given and am able to give. Thank you God for keeping me alive long enough to have had that experience.

My name is Bryan Hullihen and I live my life today with an attitude of gratitude which each day gets easier and easier due to the amazing people in my life. Keep recovery number one and you can't lose.

You can find me and all my work at facebook.com/soberlivingarizona and I look forward to reading your comments. You can also check out an awesome conversation between me and an amazing woman who helps other people go further in their lives on a daily basis by visiting my youtube channel at https://youtu.be/xxE0HUJTR1s

Thank you for all your support.

your Friend,

Bryan Hullihen