So you know how the story miners used to carry a canary with them in the mines to warn them when there was gas.

Well who's your canary in your use? Who's got your back that you feel like you can be honest with your use and they keep an eye on you for when you start fucking up and starting to hit that red line, danger zone?

Myself I keep a few of them, most of them aren't local to me but they all know about my use and we regularly talk and I'm candid about my use and how my life is going so they know everything.

One is my friend I oddly met off Reddit. She lives probably the furthest from me but she's been a solid person in my corner. She uses herself but she keeps her shit together in a way I aspire to be most days. She has my corner when I started the year trying to stay sober for 6 months and didn't beat me up but made me reflect when I ultimately relapse leap day in February. She's honestly my first line of defense in keeping my use recreational.

Then there's my home girl who lives about an hour or 2 away. Again met off Reddit in this sub. She is truly a do what makes you happy type and can sometimes be a bad influence but in a good way. Like so the drugs but so them responsibly.

Then there's my estranged wife that I'm reconnecting with. She knows, in fact went through a different addiction with me in the past, she's still sober while obviously I use and has even been in the same room with me while I used and just kept having a normal conversation. This is probably my most important canary because she will not hesitate to tell me I'm fucking up and because I don't want to lose her again I will always listen.

Final one my therapist. He's cool as shit and will tell me in the most therapeutic way I'm escalating and what I should do to get back. Well we crack jokes about my use and he's 100% behind harm reduction and since I see him weekly he can almost recount in real time if I start going off the rails.

So yeah not sure how this turned into me gushing about my support system and how they keep me from being the worst version of me while using. So I ask again if you stayed this long who is your canary? Who keeps you safe while using?