Sober Life

Sober Life Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Sober Life, Santa Rosa Beach, FL.

09/05/2026

September 5
Battles we’ve won or lost.
Achievements.

Even the continuous sobriety we’re enjoying is no shield from traps we seem to set for ourselves. At times, we can find ourselves in the foolish game of continuing to fight battles we’ve won or lost.

One losing battle is the attempt to win the approval of someone who has always disliked us. That person may be gone, but we still fight….and lose….. the same battle when we find ourselves in a similar situation.

We also may have won some battles without knowing it. This can happen when we’ve set our goals unrealistically high. We may be fairly

successful in our work, for example, but still feel that we have failed because a high goal we set eluded us. That goal, however, may have been all but impossible to attain, and while we mourn our perceived failure, we ignore the successes we many have achieved in the meantime. Consequently, we should never let any of these battles interfere with our plan for sobriety. We must stay sober at all costs.

This day, I’ll not strive to impress people who may always disapprove of me. I will also accept my successes even if they fall short of my highest dreams.

09/04/2026

September 04

Generational Grief
"Our search for our grief/loss can begin by asking this question: ‘What did I receive from my dysfunctional family and what would I have received from loving parents in the same situation?' " BRB p. 204

We grew up with expectations of normal, supportive behavior, but our expectations were not met. This spawned a grieving process. We didn't realize that previous generations were grieving too, which helps explain, but doesn't excuse their dysfunctional behavior. We often say our parents did the best they could with what they had. Unfortunately, what they had was too often not nearly enough, just as what they had received was not enough.

Unprocessed grief from our childhoods and our ancestors' childhoods can put us in a perpetual state of mourning. The generational nature of this is called "complicated grief." This grief can hold us hostage, undermine our ability to function well, and adversely complicate relationships. It can contribute to medical problems, because grief has friends called shame, sadness, depression, and insecurity - a great prescription for being unhealthy.

In ACA, we uncover the roots of our grief, recognize what we didn't receive as children, and see how we learned to react as a result. ACA teaches us how to stop the grief cycle and become our own loving parents. We do the work for ourselves before we can help future generations have less baggage to carry forward.

On this day I recognize the immense grief I carry. I know I can work through it and change my life, giving myself what I didn't get as a child. I reparent myself using the tools of ACA recovery.

Copyright © 2013 by Adult Children of Alcoholics® & Dysfunctional Families

09/03/2026

September 3
What is Possible?
Spiritual Power.

With God, all things are possible, goes an old saying. Yet most of us haven’t seen any evidence of doing the impossible.

But through our program, we have truly accomplished things that we had considered nearly impossible at one time. No human power could have relieved our alcoholism, we read in the AA Big Book. How many more conditions are we accepting because no human power ….. particularly ours… can relieve them?

As we grow in sobriety, we should continuously reinforce our belief that God is living and working in our lives. The impossible problems we’ll need to work on will have roots in our own habits and feelings, but even if one of these deeply rooted problems has gone on for years, we need not despair of finding an answer.

If we persist in prayer and in turning the problem over to our Higher power, and answer must come. It is never too late to find the changes we need and deserve.

Even if I haven’t solved all my problems, I’ll take the position today that correct solutions exist in the mind of God. I’ll be open to signs that changes are coming.

09/02/2026

September 02

Trait Ten
"We have ‘stuffed' our feelings from our traumatic childhoods and have lost the ability to feel or express our feelings because it hurts so much (Denial)." BRB p. 17

If we came to ACA from another program and were familiar with Step work, we may have felt we had covered all of this ground before. We knew how to speak "program talk," and our lives were already better, right? So why were these people in ACA not focusing on the Solution? What's with all the complaining?

In ACA, we don't hide from the pain anymore. To others this may sound like complaining, but we know that's not what it is. We are locating our pain so we can heal. We allow our Inner Children to come out of hiding and flourish. First they may be angry and sad and need comforting. Then they become our best friends and companions in our Step work. We find new vitality as we see where this partnership leads us.

Our lives become the greatest adventure there is, totally unique. We learn more about ourselves each day by integrating the past into our present and seeing that we are no longer stuck. When we visit old neighborhoods of feeling, we are no longer parched and starving for attention. We nourish ourselves with the love and support of our Higher Power, the Twelve Steps, meetings, and fellowship.

On this day I will chip away at the years of denial by being willing to be present for whatever feelings come up in my day

Copyright © 2013 by Adult Children of Alcoholics® & Dysfunctional Families

09/01/2026

September 01

Surrender
"We must find a way to surrender and to become teachable." BRB p. 156

At each meeting, we see ourselves in the ACA Problem as it is read aloud. We identify with the Traits and know the pain they have wrought. We hear the Solution and want to see it working in our lives. We took the difficult step of walking through the door into our first meeting, and gathered the courage to return again and again.

In order to recover we must trust in the process by admitting that we cannot heal alone. By listening to our brothers and sisters in ACA, we learn something new and realize we do not have all of the answers. We can know the Problem and Solution in our heads, but without help, many of us will have great difficulty knowing it in our hearts, where it truly matters.

We learn to let down the walls of isolation we have so carefully constructed and allow ourselves a measure of vulnerability in order to work the Steps. We surrender our old ways of being and trust that our Higher Power is leading us to greater levels of growth.

On this day I practice trust by surrendering to the recovery process. I open my heart and thereby open myself to healing.

Copyright © 2013 by Adult Children of Alcoholics® & Dysfunctional Families

08/31/2026

August 31

Grandchildren of Alcoholics
"More and more people are identifying as grandchildren of alcoholics. Technically, these ‘GCoAs' are ACAs. They were raised by parents who passed on the disease of family dysfunction without having alcohol in the home." BRB p. 56, footnote

Some of us have wandered through life wondering why we had so many problems. Our childhoods were not filled with alcoholism or addiction. And yet, there was a dark cloud over our homes. We couldn't talk openly; we couldn't be ourselves. There was a lot of confusing behavior. We received punishments that didn't make sense. We had to watch out for ourselves. Sometimes our parents were available, but often they were full of rage or confusion, or they seemed to mentally "check out."

The first time we heard the Laundry List in a meeting, we related to many of the characteristics even though no one drank or used drugs at home. We felt the need to be there. We heard others share and realized that ACA embraces all of us, simply because we walked in the door.

Working Step One gave us an opportunity to draw a family tree. We soon saw the connection: alcoholism and addiction in past generations. The disease of family dysfunction was like a legacy. This helped us stop wondering if we belonged so we could focus on recovering.

On this day, even if I can't pinpoint where there might have been addiction in my family, I know I belong in this program. I will use all the tools available to me to recover from my family's not-so-unique dysfunction.

Copyright © 2013 by Adult Children of Alcoholics® & Dysfunctional Families

08/30/2026

August 30
THE MASKS ARE FALLING

Openness Individuals and families can be quite successful at masking personal problems and feelings. This doesn’t always work very well with alcoholics, though some of us did manage to conceal our problem for long periods before our lives began to break down.

However, it is becoming more acceptable to admit to such problems, and it is no longer surprising to read that a prominent person is being treated for an addiction.

This new openness has also made it possible to abandon the masks we’ve been wearing to hide our feelings. When people learn they can be more open with their problems and need for help, it also becomes easier to admit that they are angry. fearful. unhappy, or even frightened.

Removing our masks and letting others see us as we are is only the first phase in the real honesty we’re seeking. After expressing ourselves authentically, do we find we like who we are?

Now that we know and admit the truth about ourselves, what are we going to do to make needed changes?

I will face who and what I really am today. I will use my strengths and not let any shortcomings keep me from being effective.

August 29This day I choose to spend in perfect peace.— A Course in MiraclesToday, let’s be gentle and kind. Lets talk to...
08/29/2026

August 29

This day I choose to spend in perfect peace.
— A Course in Miracles

Today, let’s be gentle and kind. Lets talk to ourselves with love and respect. Let’s be gentle with others too.

Today, let’s be clear in how we think, speak, and act. And if we start to get mixed up, let’s stop thinking and listen for our Higher Power’s voice.

Today, we know that we have just a small job to do. It is to live today with love in our heart. We can’t take care of every problem in the world. But we make our actions today part of the answer instead of the part of the problem. Let’s Keep It Simple.

Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me find Your calmness and peace in my heart today.

Action for the Day: Do I believe that peace starts with me? Today, I’ll listen to the simple voice of peace inside of me. And I’ll Keep It Simple.

08/28/2026

August 28

Boundaries
"I am more aware of how I overstep my boundaries, and how I try to force things to work the way I want them to work." BRB p. 414

We were vulnerable as children in dysfunctional homes. We experienced no one who was able to set healthy boundaries and maintain them.

In ACA we learn to see the importance of boundaries by practicing the Steps and by identifying and working on our character defects. We learn to recognize boundaries that have been crossed, including when we do it to others. We feel free when we set new boundaries. Progress happens, one day at a time.

The ACA program also helps us recognize manipulative behaviors, which is usually a companion for those with boundary issues. If we're the manipulator, we begin to see that our attempts to change others will eventually fail; in the meantime, they'll only complicate things. As we grow stronger, understanding boundaries places everything in perspective.

To help us stay focused, we look to Step Ten, "Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it." It allows us to inventory our thoughts and actions on a regular basis. This keeps our impulsive natures in check so we recognize boundaries in everyday life.

On this day, as my identity and values become more clear, I will work to become consistent in setting my own boundaries and honoring the boundaries other people set.

Copyright © 2013 by Adult Children of Alcoholics® & Dysfunctional Families

08/27/2026

August 27

Self-Sabotage
"I decided the only way to overcome this self sabotage was to integrate my critical parent into my recovery process." BRB p. 207

We tried to ignore our critical inner parent - that compilation of the voices we heard as children and were used to hearing in our heads. If it was too strong to ignore, we tried to fight it, but it always seemed to find a way to win.

In ACA, we learn to uncover why this critic has had such a strong hold on us. By acknowledging the trauma that's behind the voices, we understand and gradually learn to substitute new behaviors so we can silence this tyrant in our heads.

This gives us freedom as we bring new light into our lives in little ways. We begin to trust ourselves, others, and our Higher Power. We have healthier relationships as we find ourselves attracted to the strengths and depth in people who can hold our feelings safely rather than trying to shut us down.

We let go of the dysfunctional people. While they may have taught us the lessons we needed to learn, we know that staying is toxic. In doing so, we feel no shame or remorse; it is time to move on. We are open to the next adventure.

On this day I will be aware of my attempts at self-sabotage because I believe in the promise of the growth ahead of me. I will use my lifeline - the support system that ACA gives me.

Copyright © 2013 by Adult Children of Alcoholics® & Dysfunctional Families

Address

Santa Rosa Beach, FL
32459

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Sober Life posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share