Hello World!

Tough times don’t last, tough people do. – Robert Schuller

My name is Ciana ‘Ci’, and I am an alcoholic. I’ve struggled with addiction for most of my life. As a teenager I experimented with drugs and alcohol but was always able to stop using drugs without any significant withdrawals or impact. Alcohol on the other hand, was not so easy.

I’ve maintained sobriety in the past for long periods of time but always given in to ‘one drink’. For those of us suffering from addiction you know that one drink is too many, and one more is never enough. I wanted this time to be different, I needed this time to be different, because no matter how much I lied to myself and tried to lie to everyone else, I could see the effects in every aspect of my life.

So, I went to rehab! I started journaling as part of my daily routine in rehab. I kept thinking about something I heard there that really resonated with me. I watched a recording of Brene Brown who said, “One day you will tell your story of how you overcame what you went through, and it will be someone else’s survival guide.” I don’t know if this blog will become someone else’s survival guide or just my journal to reflect back on later, I will be stronger for it either way.

May you be sober and happy always! Ci

  • 10 Months, One Monday at a Time

    09.08.25 Mondays don’t mean to me today what they did for so long. I no longer wake up dreading the hangover, the endless loop of trying to detox, convincing myself a “little drink” might help me feel better, and then struggling to get through the day in a fog. That cycle is behind me now.

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  • Glimmers

    09.07.25 I’m learning more and more that boundaries look different depending on the relationship, but they always come down to self-respect. This morning was a good example. I had plans to meet a friend, and something told me to text and confirm before I got ready. No response. I hesitated but still got ready, did

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  • Wasted Time to Living Time

    09.06.25 I felt like a little kid today, excited to try out my new edger. It threw a lot of sparks, but the yard looks good. I’ll get better with it the more I use it – and maybe not start a fire. As soon as I got home, the rain started, which forced me

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  • Ordinary Day

    09.05.25 What an exhausting week! I’m looking forward to some yard work and naps on the couch this weekend. The alumni meeting was good, and we went to Sonic afterward for our monthly get-together, but I was worn out. By the end of the night, all I wanted was my bed and sleep. The truth

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