The difference between your sponsor and a therapist:
1. Your sponsor isn't all that interested in the "reasons" you used.
2. Your therapist thinks your root problem is your lack of self-esteem, negative self-image, and your poor self-concept. Your sponsor thinks your problem is a 3-letter word with no hyphens.
3. Your therapist wants you to pamper your "inner child". Your sponsor thinks it ought to be spanked.
4. Your sponsor thinks your inventory should be about you, not your parents.
5. Speaking of your parents, your sponsor tells you not to confront them, but to make amends to them.
6. The only time your sponsor uses the word "closure" is before the word "mouth."
7. Your sponsor thinks "boundaries" are things you need to take down not build up.
8. Your therapist wants you to love yourself first; your sponsor wants you to love others first.
9. Your therapist prescribes caretaking and medication. Your sponsor prescribes prayer making and meditation.
10. Your sponsor thinks "anger management skills" are numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12.
11. Now that you haven't used in six months, your therapist thinks you should make a list of your goals and objectives for the next five years, starting with finishing up that college degree. Your sponsor thinks you should start today by cleaning the coffeepots, helping him carry a heavy box of literature to the jail, and making your bed.
12. Your sponsor won't lose their license to practice if they talk about God.
..
Hey you,
LMAO....
I replied over on the Pillhead section but can I print this? I want to share with a few of my friends....
Smooches,
Stacey
LMAO....
I replied over on the Pillhead section but can I print this? I want to share with a few of my friends....
Smooches,
Stacey
The bit that's missing for me is the bit that says the therapist has spent years in education, training and personal reflection so that they can spend a lifetime working with people who are in great pain in order to save their lives and their sanity, having dedicated themselves to a life of professional service to their fellow human beings and committed to an ethical code of conduct enforceable by statute and submitted to supervision by their peers and more experienced colleagues....
The reason I don't need a sponsor is because I went to a therapist and quit drinking. I recommend therapy to anyone reading this who thinks they might have a problem with alcohol and doesn't feel AA is for them. It works for a lot of people. It might work for you. What works works. It's all good. Only alcoholism is bad.
And the reason for my post is this, from the Home Page of this website:
Quote:
Because psychological illnesses and traumas often underlie addiction, treatment by mental health practitioners can be an important part of the process.
End quote.
Try everything. Something will work.
The reason I don't need a sponsor is because I went to a therapist and quit drinking. I recommend therapy to anyone reading this who thinks they might have a problem with alcohol and doesn't feel AA is for them. It works for a lot of people. It might work for you. What works works. It's all good. Only alcoholism is bad.
And the reason for my post is this, from the Home Page of this website:
Quote:
Because psychological illnesses and traumas often underlie addiction, treatment by mental health practitioners can be an important part of the process.
End quote.
Try everything. Something will work.
~Applause~
Now THAT is fun! I went to a pshrink for a while asking for all the right chems and avoiding all the real issues. That was more fun than a fart in a sleeping bag. A Jaegermeister fart, at that!
Now THAT is fun! I went to a pshrink for a while asking for all the right chems and avoiding all the real issues. That was more fun than a fart in a sleeping bag. A Jaegermeister fart, at that!
There are pros and cons to everything in life. It's up to the individual to explore their options when seeking sobriety and healing. Some people don't need the help of either of these approaches.
I for one never would have come this far without professional therapy. I wouldn't even be able to explore AA without first receiving help from a trained therapist. It's finding balance in life through discovery that made healing, and made sobriety possible.
In my discovery I've found things are interchangeable. Perception and attitude adjustments are now possible because of healing and sobriety. Let's remember there are no wrong ways of healing, or sobriety. What ever is working keep doing it!
I for one never would have come this far without professional therapy. I wouldn't even be able to explore AA without first receiving help from a trained therapist. It's finding balance in life through discovery that made healing, and made sobriety possible.
In my discovery I've found things are interchangeable. Perception and attitude adjustments are now possible because of healing and sobriety. Let's remember there are no wrong ways of healing, or sobriety. What ever is working keep doing it!
Well said Chris,
I guess the thing I'd add is if whatever you're doing is really working for you and enables you to uncover the isms the way a competent therapist will, you probably won't find the need to rubbish other people's route to recovery or way of life or choices and decisions anymore..... I mean, why would anyone do that?
And on an alcohol recovery board?
Why?
Am I being over-sensitive again? Oh dear...imagine, there's an over-sensitive person on an alcohol recovery board. Who'd a thunk it. I'm particularly over-sensitive today because I've just been reminded by what's happening to someone I care about how bullies use sarcasm and "jokes" to intimidate people who are different, whose choice of clothes and independent approach to life offend them.....we all know how bullies joke don't we.....and where that can lead to for some of us....don't we...?
Don't we.....?
And we know why bullies use jokes, sarcasm and other mechanisms to disguise their bullying don't we? It's because they don't have the guts to be honest about what they're doing. Christ, they don't even have the insight to KNOW why they're doing it themselves....where's a therapist when they need one?
Their insecurity - all repressed of course but until they go to a therapist they will continue in denial about that - their insecurity leads them to gang up and hammer anyone they feel threatened by, anyone DIFFERENT....they attempt to manipulate and control through "jokes" we all know are attacks on another's way of thinking, feeling, being....they can't tolerate difference, they need to control, and they will use ANYTHING to impose their worldview on others to reduce their own - always unconscious - FEAR.
This is an alcohol recovery board. If people don't want to go to AA that's fine. If they don't want to go to therapy, fine....you won't find me rubbishing AA and nor would you consider it "funny" if I did.
Anyone smell that coffee yet?
I guess the thing I'd add is if whatever you're doing is really working for you and enables you to uncover the isms the way a competent therapist will, you probably won't find the need to rubbish other people's route to recovery or way of life or choices and decisions anymore..... I mean, why would anyone do that?
And on an alcohol recovery board?
Why?
Am I being over-sensitive again? Oh dear...imagine, there's an over-sensitive person on an alcohol recovery board. Who'd a thunk it. I'm particularly over-sensitive today because I've just been reminded by what's happening to someone I care about how bullies use sarcasm and "jokes" to intimidate people who are different, whose choice of clothes and independent approach to life offend them.....we all know how bullies joke don't we.....and where that can lead to for some of us....don't we...?
Don't we.....?
And we know why bullies use jokes, sarcasm and other mechanisms to disguise their bullying don't we? It's because they don't have the guts to be honest about what they're doing. Christ, they don't even have the insight to KNOW why they're doing it themselves....where's a therapist when they need one?
Their insecurity - all repressed of course but until they go to a therapist they will continue in denial about that - their insecurity leads them to gang up and hammer anyone they feel threatened by, anyone DIFFERENT....they attempt to manipulate and control through "jokes" we all know are attacks on another's way of thinking, feeling, being....they can't tolerate difference, they need to control, and they will use ANYTHING to impose their worldview on others to reduce their own - always unconscious - FEAR.
This is an alcohol recovery board. If people don't want to go to AA that's fine. If they don't want to go to therapy, fine....you won't find me rubbishing AA and nor would you consider it "funny" if I did.
Anyone smell that coffee yet?
For cryin out loud, it's a freakin joke. Get over yourself. Ever hear of Rule 62? It's don't take yourself so seriously. Sheesh.
Yeah, only joking, right?
We know. You know.
What you do about what you do is up to you.
Or maybe you really don't know what you're doing, even after reading my post. But you could think about it for a bit longer than that, couldn't you? Just in case...I mean, what are those Steps for?
We know. You know.
What you do about what you do is up to you.
Or maybe you really don't know what you're doing, even after reading my post. But you could think about it for a bit longer than that, couldn't you? Just in case...I mean, what are those Steps for?
Gidday All
As i read i see the funny, i see the serious and i see the differences in people that in recovery can mean so much in a f2f situation or situations that may arise as we go deeper into our journeys, i also see reality.
Not everyone gets on
Not everyone agrees
No answer is right or wrong as it is what it is in the eyes of the reader and what it means to them
If any of what is going on is triggering anyone then look at it with self honesty and either learn from it or be caught up in a battle of wits and i am speaking about myself as well because i can be caught up in it, but only as a reader and i take what i need, laugh at what i think is funny, roll my eyes and think mmmm at what i think is out there, and forget what i dont need BUT i do learn from all these interactions.
Its easy to think as i type that F it i am doing my peacemaker bit and maybe that is a wee part of an old habit coming through but really i am more interested in the process because all of this is exactly what life throws at me in recovery.
Not just the above posts but all the posts are relevant to some part of my mental, physical, emotional and spiritual progress in recovery.
In 12 years some may say i havent learnt much but i have learnt this not everyone recovers at the same pace or success but given time and a willingness to change and learn everyone who works at it with a self honesty and the courage to change has a good chance
There are things i have said, done, believed in with a vengeance and argued for in recovery that a couple of years down the track and with hindsight i think bloody hell where was my head at LOL
I had to go through all of this because it is my recovery and i am who i am now because of it...and yes i could be stronger in all aspects of my life and the courage to change is always with me:)
Whatever is happening just laugh, swear, yell or cry but dont resent because resentment is like landmines in the mind and they can lay dorment then if enough pressure is applied BANG.....let go, let god, learn and live
We are going to see stuff on these boards that in each of our eyes mean many different things and as long as i learn about what it is doing to me then the day is not lost and i quess for me out of all that has been happening in the last few months in regards to the boards, im an alky and the drama can be inviting and i think you all know what i mean....you know like MAN i wonder what the reply is gonna be to that one...cant wait etc.....or is it just me dunno...just thoughts of an alky
light and love Zac
Two posts as i was typing my one and as i read my heart rate quickened..yep im hooked and my name is Pete(zac) and im an alcoholic:)
As i read i see the funny, i see the serious and i see the differences in people that in recovery can mean so much in a f2f situation or situations that may arise as we go deeper into our journeys, i also see reality.
Not everyone gets on
Not everyone agrees
No answer is right or wrong as it is what it is in the eyes of the reader and what it means to them
If any of what is going on is triggering anyone then look at it with self honesty and either learn from it or be caught up in a battle of wits and i am speaking about myself as well because i can be caught up in it, but only as a reader and i take what i need, laugh at what i think is funny, roll my eyes and think mmmm at what i think is out there, and forget what i dont need BUT i do learn from all these interactions.
Its easy to think as i type that F it i am doing my peacemaker bit and maybe that is a wee part of an old habit coming through but really i am more interested in the process because all of this is exactly what life throws at me in recovery.
Not just the above posts but all the posts are relevant to some part of my mental, physical, emotional and spiritual progress in recovery.
In 12 years some may say i havent learnt much but i have learnt this not everyone recovers at the same pace or success but given time and a willingness to change and learn everyone who works at it with a self honesty and the courage to change has a good chance
There are things i have said, done, believed in with a vengeance and argued for in recovery that a couple of years down the track and with hindsight i think bloody hell where was my head at LOL
I had to go through all of this because it is my recovery and i am who i am now because of it...and yes i could be stronger in all aspects of my life and the courage to change is always with me:)
Whatever is happening just laugh, swear, yell or cry but dont resent because resentment is like landmines in the mind and they can lay dorment then if enough pressure is applied BANG.....let go, let god, learn and live
We are going to see stuff on these boards that in each of our eyes mean many different things and as long as i learn about what it is doing to me then the day is not lost and i quess for me out of all that has been happening in the last few months in regards to the boards, im an alky and the drama can be inviting and i think you all know what i mean....you know like MAN i wonder what the reply is gonna be to that one...cant wait etc.....or is it just me dunno...just thoughts of an alky
light and love Zac
Two posts as i was typing my one and as i read my heart rate quickened..yep im hooked and my name is Pete(zac) and im an alcoholic:)
Zac,
You always bring light and love and I am grateful to you.
My point is simply that this is a recovery board and so some sensitivity to others' point of view is helpful. Jokes can be weapons and, as we all know, cowards hide behind them to poke and bully those who, for whatever reason, they take a disliking to.
It took me five minutes to write a similar parody about AA. Anyone who's been around it for five minutes could do the same. I chose not to post it because I don't want to offend anyone or take the SLIGHTEST risk that it could turn someone away from AA. Why would I post it?
Everyone knows I've written about my issues here. Everyone knows I feel it is helpful to my recovery. Everyone knows I'm in therapy. So are others.
What some people might not know but might have guessed is that I nearly stopped coming here because of a very small group of people who posted time and again in ways that triggered me to leave. I wasn't really an alcoholic because I wasn't like them, I couldn't post my thoughts because I wasn't in AA or because I didn't have a sponsor or wasn't working the steps....then there was the thread with those photos on, and now this rubbish joke about therapy....it's always the same little playground gang.... and what do I get when I point out what bullies do (not what they've done notice)...what we always get in situations like this ...."only joking....get over it...sheesh"..... yeah, right. None of us have heard that before, right?
I'm not going to let such insensitivity go by without inviting people to reflect on it, which is what my first post did...and surprise surprise, look what happened and posted by whom....If I do anything as insensitive I WANT to be called on it. I want to grow.
I've got miles to go in my recovery Zac, and if I was a weaker person I wouldn't have taken this step because I nearly let others repressed hostility trigger me and drive me away. And I know this triggers because of my projections and transference, because I'm in therapy.... lol....but because I'm in therapy and because others have told me they have felt the same about some posts even before I joined, I know it isn't ALL about my projections and transference.
There really are bullies in life and they really do hide their bullying and control issues behind jokes and sarcasm. then when confronted they seek further to undermine their intended victim by minimising the incident as "only joking". They really are often (but not always) unaware of their own issues and they should be confronted and given the opportunity to reflect by those who are able to confront them, especially in contexts where others who are not able to stand up for themselves might be hurt, humiliated or deterred from seeking appropriate help, whether that help be staying on this board or entering therapy.
Light and love.
You always bring light and love and I am grateful to you.
My point is simply that this is a recovery board and so some sensitivity to others' point of view is helpful. Jokes can be weapons and, as we all know, cowards hide behind them to poke and bully those who, for whatever reason, they take a disliking to.
It took me five minutes to write a similar parody about AA. Anyone who's been around it for five minutes could do the same. I chose not to post it because I don't want to offend anyone or take the SLIGHTEST risk that it could turn someone away from AA. Why would I post it?
Everyone knows I've written about my issues here. Everyone knows I feel it is helpful to my recovery. Everyone knows I'm in therapy. So are others.
What some people might not know but might have guessed is that I nearly stopped coming here because of a very small group of people who posted time and again in ways that triggered me to leave. I wasn't really an alcoholic because I wasn't like them, I couldn't post my thoughts because I wasn't in AA or because I didn't have a sponsor or wasn't working the steps....then there was the thread with those photos on, and now this rubbish joke about therapy....it's always the same little playground gang.... and what do I get when I point out what bullies do (not what they've done notice)...what we always get in situations like this ...."only joking....get over it...sheesh"..... yeah, right. None of us have heard that before, right?
I'm not going to let such insensitivity go by without inviting people to reflect on it, which is what my first post did...and surprise surprise, look what happened and posted by whom....If I do anything as insensitive I WANT to be called on it. I want to grow.
I've got miles to go in my recovery Zac, and if I was a weaker person I wouldn't have taken this step because I nearly let others repressed hostility trigger me and drive me away. And I know this triggers because of my projections and transference, because I'm in therapy.... lol....but because I'm in therapy and because others have told me they have felt the same about some posts even before I joined, I know it isn't ALL about my projections and transference.
There really are bullies in life and they really do hide their bullying and control issues behind jokes and sarcasm. then when confronted they seek further to undermine their intended victim by minimising the incident as "only joking". They really are often (but not always) unaware of their own issues and they should be confronted and given the opportunity to reflect by those who are able to confront them, especially in contexts where others who are not able to stand up for themselves might be hurt, humiliated or deterred from seeking appropriate help, whether that help be staying on this board or entering therapy.
Light and love.
Gidday Martin
As i see it there is power in the way all replies have been written...... so who is the bully......as it can have many forms punches, words, suttleness, intent also with intent we are all reading someone elses words and put our own intent to it which at times has been wrong for me and how i read some things and it isnt till a few more posts come in that i see my errors etc
Dunno really probably just be another locked thread eventually
light and love zac
As i see it there is power in the way all replies have been written...... so who is the bully......as it can have many forms punches, words, suttleness, intent also with intent we are all reading someone elses words and put our own intent to it which at times has been wrong for me and how i read some things and it isnt till a few more posts come in that i see my errors etc
Dunno really probably just be another locked thread eventually
light and love zac
Hi all. I agree that this been a recovery board people will read a post and have different reactions.What some will find funny ,others will find offensive. I have made remarks in joking when "it "was taken in offense. I just know for me that I can see two sides of the post. I see the funny side but I also can see where it would be a sensitive issue for some people. I know pesonally ,a thearpist did a lot more for my daughter than a sponsor could ever do.,whereas for me my sponsor is my lifeline to sobriety.Sometimes people need both in their lives.I agree with Zac that a persons viewpoint depends on where they are in their recovery. As long as we can accept, that even though we are all the same ,we are all different as well. God bless and take care.
I agree zac.
I've been thinking about my responses to this thread. I know, as I've said above, that some of it is me triggering me because I read intent into it.....so I try to test that against reality before I post....which I've set out above...and it's part of a pattern I see in the posts of some people....and my first post was really just an invitation to think about what was being said.....perhaps it IS just my perception.....but I don't suffer from paranoia in any other area of my life.....according to my therapist lol...and I see the same tendencies in posts to others, the tendency to preach, lecture, push, tell, instruct....you're doing it wrong, you don't get it, you're not good enough, why are you hesitating, do the steps, be like me be like me be like me.....I'm cured...lol....all of which triggers me of course....and none of which is how the recovering alcoholics I know would handle it, but then some of them have have only got 30+ years recovery...
I dunno either.....I guess I'm just hoping for some sensitivity and kindness around people who might be reading for the first time, unsire what to do, who to trust, where to go....choosing to go into therapy is a big admission....every bit as big as saying you're an alcoholic...choosing to be open about that is a big self-affirming, self-accepting step, as is going to AA....choosing to be open in a public arena about your issues, even anonymously, - for your own sake and also because others seem to relate and find it helpful...is as challenging as opening up to a sponsor in private....
Jokes are great. Why about therapy? Still haven't got an answer to the why. Perhaps it's just a joke.
The why of my responses is mostly because it triggered my need/desire to protect. Somewhere inside me is a tiny little policeman. He's quite rigid, bless him. He is very black and white. That's because he was fashioned by a little boy who knew what right and wrong was because people TOLD him what right and wrong are......the trouble was, those same people kept doing things that he knew they knew - or should know - were wrong....lol...trigger anyone????....lol.....sadly for me, the little policeman knew what was wrong but was powerless to do anything about it.....well I'm not so little, and sometimes I am triggered to step in and sometimes it hooks the blackest rage you can imagine in me as it does so....and I have to work quite hard to control that rage....and I have, all my life....I'm a good man. I'm a very good man. Kind, gentle, loving, brave.....if you're being beaten up or raped on the other side of the street by a couple or four thugs I'm the man you want to be walking past....because I won't....
Those are my issues, and I have to work with them until I'm clearer about my boundaries....oh yes, boundaries....lol....
I dunno zac, and I don't want to drag you in so this is all rhetorical....for me the question is this - if people post things that are potentially unhelpful to others, do we walk past on the other side of the street, or do we invite some reflection? Mmm...aren't there some steps for that...lol....
I undertake to become more gentle and skilled at inviting others to reflect on things that might be unhelpful to ME or to others...co-dependency? I dunno...but if I'm walking in your neighborhood one day and I think you're under attack I won't walk past.
Peace to one and all.
ps.
And zac, I see you're right about what I think you mean about both sides. I edited those posts several times to try to dilute that rage I mentioned. I am so very sorry if it still howls out to you in what I write. I stopped drinking three months ago and yet....ye gods....the rage...this thread has been a gift to me.....I promise everyone that I did my best and I'll try to be more mature next time.
I've been thinking about my responses to this thread. I know, as I've said above, that some of it is me triggering me because I read intent into it.....so I try to test that against reality before I post....which I've set out above...and it's part of a pattern I see in the posts of some people....and my first post was really just an invitation to think about what was being said.....perhaps it IS just my perception.....but I don't suffer from paranoia in any other area of my life.....according to my therapist lol...and I see the same tendencies in posts to others, the tendency to preach, lecture, push, tell, instruct....you're doing it wrong, you don't get it, you're not good enough, why are you hesitating, do the steps, be like me be like me be like me.....I'm cured...lol....all of which triggers me of course....and none of which is how the recovering alcoholics I know would handle it, but then some of them have have only got 30+ years recovery...
I dunno either.....I guess I'm just hoping for some sensitivity and kindness around people who might be reading for the first time, unsire what to do, who to trust, where to go....choosing to go into therapy is a big admission....every bit as big as saying you're an alcoholic...choosing to be open about that is a big self-affirming, self-accepting step, as is going to AA....choosing to be open in a public arena about your issues, even anonymously, - for your own sake and also because others seem to relate and find it helpful...is as challenging as opening up to a sponsor in private....
Jokes are great. Why about therapy? Still haven't got an answer to the why. Perhaps it's just a joke.
The why of my responses is mostly because it triggered my need/desire to protect. Somewhere inside me is a tiny little policeman. He's quite rigid, bless him. He is very black and white. That's because he was fashioned by a little boy who knew what right and wrong was because people TOLD him what right and wrong are......the trouble was, those same people kept doing things that he knew they knew - or should know - were wrong....lol...trigger anyone????....lol.....sadly for me, the little policeman knew what was wrong but was powerless to do anything about it.....well I'm not so little, and sometimes I am triggered to step in and sometimes it hooks the blackest rage you can imagine in me as it does so....and I have to work quite hard to control that rage....and I have, all my life....I'm a good man. I'm a very good man. Kind, gentle, loving, brave.....if you're being beaten up or raped on the other side of the street by a couple or four thugs I'm the man you want to be walking past....because I won't....
Those are my issues, and I have to work with them until I'm clearer about my boundaries....oh yes, boundaries....lol....
I dunno zac, and I don't want to drag you in so this is all rhetorical....for me the question is this - if people post things that are potentially unhelpful to others, do we walk past on the other side of the street, or do we invite some reflection? Mmm...aren't there some steps for that...lol....
I undertake to become more gentle and skilled at inviting others to reflect on things that might be unhelpful to ME or to others...co-dependency? I dunno...but if I'm walking in your neighborhood one day and I think you're under attack I won't walk past.
Peace to one and all.
ps.
And zac, I see you're right about what I think you mean about both sides. I edited those posts several times to try to dilute that rage I mentioned. I am so very sorry if it still howls out to you in what I write. I stopped drinking three months ago and yet....ye gods....the rage...this thread has been a gift to me.....I promise everyone that I did my best and I'll try to be more mature next time.
Gidday Martin
From your post i can see a lot of humour in the way you are responding so maybe the process of working throught the anger might just be working and if i can laugh at myself and learn then that is why it is called recovery
Dont worry about dragging me into anything i can do all that by myself, it is the process and the learning that hooks me every time and oh yeah sometimes the drama...
light and love Zac
From your post i can see a lot of humour in the way you are responding so maybe the process of working throught the anger might just be working and if i can laugh at myself and learn then that is why it is called recovery
Dont worry about dragging me into anything i can do all that by myself, it is the process and the learning that hooks me every time and oh yeah sometimes the drama...
light and love Zac
Martin
The reason I post jokes about therapy has absolutely nothing to do with you. I was in therapy for a good 15-20 years. I know what it did to me and what it didn't do for me. As long as I continued to dwell in the past I continued to drink and drug. For me, therapy did nothing to help me get sober. They medicated all my problems and taught me to take a pill for everything. I prefer AA where I learned to deal with things head on and not run for pharmaceutical (sp?) help. If therapy is working for you, great. Later I am going to post a joke about AA. Don't take offense. I won't either. One thing I've learned about AA is we like to poke fun at ourselves. If we didn't learn that we'd probably all be drunk. Have a great day or is it evening by you? Not too sure about the time difference.
Edit to add: If I hurt your feelings, I apologize.
The reason I post jokes about therapy has absolutely nothing to do with you. I was in therapy for a good 15-20 years. I know what it did to me and what it didn't do for me. As long as I continued to dwell in the past I continued to drink and drug. For me, therapy did nothing to help me get sober. They medicated all my problems and taught me to take a pill for everything. I prefer AA where I learned to deal with things head on and not run for pharmaceutical (sp?) help. If therapy is working for you, great. Later I am going to post a joke about AA. Don't take offense. I won't either. One thing I've learned about AA is we like to poke fun at ourselves. If we didn't learn that we'd probably all be drunk. Have a great day or is it evening by you? Not too sure about the time difference.
Edit to add: If I hurt your feelings, I apologize.
Kat, thank you very much. I really appreciate you taking the time to explain that to me. It is a real act of kindness.
I apologise for reading things into your post that weren't there. It is hard for me, aged 50, and to all intents and purposes reasonably successful in life, to get my head around the fact that everything was hanging by a thread and I'm really pretty unwell and have always actually been quite deluded about who I am and why I do what I do. I'm trying as hard as I can to be honest with myself and to see things with clear eyes, but I don't know what I don't know.... and from inside this place I'm currently living.......well....it's clearly still a mental prison and my ghosts and delusions persist.
Please forgive me, and if I go off the rails again one something like that please help me understand as gently as oyu can. Part of can't believe that I can be so deluded but thankfully I hear the honesty in your post. I really appreciate it.
And I guess I'll have to talk to my therapist about paranoia...lol..
I apologise for reading things into your post that weren't there. It is hard for me, aged 50, and to all intents and purposes reasonably successful in life, to get my head around the fact that everything was hanging by a thread and I'm really pretty unwell and have always actually been quite deluded about who I am and why I do what I do. I'm trying as hard as I can to be honest with myself and to see things with clear eyes, but I don't know what I don't know.... and from inside this place I'm currently living.......well....it's clearly still a mental prison and my ghosts and delusions persist.
Please forgive me, and if I go off the rails again one something like that please help me understand as gently as oyu can. Part of can't believe that I can be so deluded but thankfully I hear the honesty in your post. I really appreciate it.
And I guess I'll have to talk to my therapist about paranoia...lol..
Martin I think you have every right to post how you feel on a certain topic. We all have that right. 3 months ago I would never have replied to a post that was in the least bit controversial ,afraid of how people would respond to me or if I had hurt someones feelings. However I do reply now if I feel I have anything to say . I know it can be done with honesty and I think people will take it for what it is.If they don't I can't help it. This is a recovery board. It is a place where we should be able to express our feelings.Whether these feelings change from day to day or minute to minute we have to be reminded that we are not perfect and it's all about learning and growing. If we were all on here and everybody agreed with everyone and we all thought the same way,what would we learn? So Martin I see where you did nothing wrong , you expressed what you felt and isn't that what this is all about.? God bless and take care
Can I ask you a personal question, Martin? You don't have to ask if you don't want to. You have that right, of course. My question is are they medicating you? What do they have you taking? I know my shrinks gave me horrendous amounts of addictive drugs that I was very happy to take until the time came to stop them and I couldn't. I worry for people that don't know the consequences of taking prescription drugs.
Dammit. I thought it was all about ME!
When I was drinking, it was ALL about me. I gave "you" all the power to control my emotional stability; my mood; my reactions. "You" had the power because I allowed "you" to have it. Everything "you" said, wrote, thought, or imagined was about me. that allowed me to be offended and thus pout, whine, and wallow.
And I stopped. And my sponsor said, "You know, everything isn't about you. If you are not part of the solution, there is no problem." Moron. Toad. Jerkoff. Who the HELL was HE to tell ME that I had a 'Thinkin' Problem?'
Today, when I start getting sideways, I know, "If I am not looking within, I am looking without," and I now have to tools to let others' opinions--OPINIONS--be theirs. I can no longer afford to give someone else the power over me--because it belongs to MY HP. "You" can take my inventory, "you" can be offended but in the end, it IS, in fact, all about "YOU."
When I was drinking, it was ALL about me. I gave "you" all the power to control my emotional stability; my mood; my reactions. "You" had the power because I allowed "you" to have it. Everything "you" said, wrote, thought, or imagined was about me. that allowed me to be offended and thus pout, whine, and wallow.
And I stopped. And my sponsor said, "You know, everything isn't about you. If you are not part of the solution, there is no problem." Moron. Toad. Jerkoff. Who the HELL was HE to tell ME that I had a 'Thinkin' Problem?'
Today, when I start getting sideways, I know, "If I am not looking within, I am looking without," and I now have to tools to let others' opinions--OPINIONS--be theirs. I can no longer afford to give someone else the power over me--because it belongs to MY HP. "You" can take my inventory, "you" can be offended but in the end, it IS, in fact, all about "YOU."
