Anyone else completely obsessed with "MAFIA"?? I learned it about a year ago at my sober living we used to play on Sunday evenings after dinner. Apparently also there's a bigger global following of the game than some may know. Especially in Europe. Anyways I joined a local meetup in South Jersey and it's been super fun. Great sober passtime...

@MrCoffee YES!!!! Love MAFIA, just played it recently at a East Coast YPAA convention! They play a lot of games like Never Have I ever, but I am personally not the biggest fan of that one I have seen some sessions get emotional! But MAFIA is good clean fun for all lol.

Found this concerning the game MAFIA lol. There's whole leagues and international competitions
https://mafgame.org/ 

I started my own podcast in 2020 during the pandemic. It's mostly about UrbanEx and ghost hunting I guess you could call it lol. We went and explored about 5 or 6 places around the mid-west and east coast and it was pretty freakin cool... Got a bit hooked on it, still doing the podcast to this day! It is not hard to start a podcast at all I also have a good friend that has a podcast about recovery and the big book, I guess kinda like a Joe and Charlie podcast. My following is bigger though hahah! :P

Man, alcohol withdrawal was legit hell. I don’t think other younger people realize how brutal it can be — not just physically, but emotionally too. Shakes, sweating, insomnia, the works. But what hit hardest for me wasn’t the detox itself, it was the identity crisis that came after. I’m in my 20s, and when you’re young, so much of your social life is built around drinking. Every invite is a bar, a party, a kickback with bottles lined up on the counter. And when you say, “I’m in recovery,” you’re met with that awkward silence or the classic “come on, just one drink.” It’s isolating.

Rehab helped, but the stigma stuck with me for a while. I felt like I had to explain myself constantly — like people couldn’t wrap their heads around someone “so young” needing help. But addiction doesn’t care how old you are, and honestly, I’m proud I caught it when I did.

The biggest challenge after rehab wasn’t cravings — it was social readjustment. You can’t go to the same places, can’t hang with the same party crowd. Not unless you want to white-knuckle your way through every night, and that’s just not a way to live. I had to grieve those old friendships in a way. It felt like starting from scratch socially, which is scary as hell when you're still figuring out who you are sober.
But I started leaning into film, something I always loved but never really pursued when I was drinking. It began with watching old indie movies obsessively, then writing short scripts, and now I’m actually filming my own short pieces with a couple of new friends who are also sober or just live a clean lifestyle. We stay up late working on creative stuff, having deep conversations, laughing, sometimes just watching weird art-house films until 3am.

It filled that gap I thought would never be filled. The nights out, the laughs, the feeling of belonging — I still have all that, just with different people and without the hangovers or guilt. I guess what I’m saying is, yeah, sobriety comes with loss. But it also clears space for things that are actually you. Not the version of you that drinks to fit in or cope, but the real version that maybe hasn’t even had a chance to exist yet. I'm finally meeting that version of myself — and I kinda like him.

There’s a powerful burst of motivation at the start of recovery. You’re inspired. You’re committed. You’re ready to change. But anyone who’s walked this path knows — that motivation doesn’t last forever.
Some days you’ll feel like showing up to meetings. Other days, you won’t. Some mornings you’ll journal or meditate. Other mornings you’ll want to scroll and disappear. That’s normal. That’s human.
This is where discipline becomes your best ally.
Discipline is what carries you through the days when motivation is nowhere to be found. It’s the decision to follow through on your recovery plan even when you don’t feel like it. It’s choosing to go to that 12-step meeting, call your sponsor, or get out of bed — not because you’re inspired, but because you’re committed.

Recovery requires resilience, and discipline builds it over time.
You don’t need to be perfect. You just need to be consistent. Think of it like a muscle — the more you use it, the stronger it gets. And when life inevitably throws you curveballs, that discipline is what will help you stay grounded instead of spiraling.
Some people mistake discipline for punishment, but in recovery, it’s the opposite. It’s a form of self-respect. It’s the acknowledgment that your future is worth fighting for — even when today is hard.
When motivation fades (and it will), let discipline take over. You’ll thank yourself later.