OH MAN...I use to hate that WORD!!! Patients...I never did have much patients,even before the addiction.I use to want to strangle nurses or staff that told me to be patient while I was going through withdrawals.
Even when I attended Na and AA I was told to be patient while going through cravings that made my skin crawl.How does one find patients through withdrawal and cravings?
I,like many of you,have gone through too many cravings and withdrawals to even count.I gotta be honest,I never did find patients through any of them.It took all I could muster to find ways to distract myself each day.
I did find patients later in my recovery,but for the life of me,I couldn't tell you how I found it,or can I explain to anyone else on how to get it.I believe it was a gift that God has given me.I don't know how else to explain it.The Bible says Patients is a virtue...The dictionary describes Virtue as Moral excellence and righteousness...Goodness.
Maybe someone else can share on patients.How they achieved it and can explain how all of us can achieve it.
The only way I made it in recovery was to trust.I needed to hear people with years of sobriety telling me that I can do this also.I needed to hear from people who had it worse or just as bad as I did,that it was possible to live without opiates.I needed to hear what they went through so I knew what to expect.
With so many new-comers posting we need to share our experiences so they can put their trust in someone besides themselves.With every new-comer I relive what I went through.Like I said before,I don't dwell on it,but I can't forget what I lived through in order to help another addict seeking recovery.
I sure hope this post makes some sense...LOL...getting from my head to the computer can be a challenge for me sometimes!!!
Bish,
Makes a lot of sense to me. I learned patience a long time ago. I can't do my job without it. I wouldn't be able to race bicycles without it and I wouldn't be able to fight my addiction without it. I have a strong will and self confidence that gets me through even the toughest times. The cravings will hit when you least expect them and try to trick you into thinking it's ok to have a pill. Just one will be OK.....
Patience is being able to tell yourself that it isn't OK and at it's core is the understanding of why it isn't. If you figure that out then you have just climbed one tall mountain.
Makes a lot of sense to me. I learned patience a long time ago. I can't do my job without it. I wouldn't be able to race bicycles without it and I wouldn't be able to fight my addiction without it. I have a strong will and self confidence that gets me through even the toughest times. The cravings will hit when you least expect them and try to trick you into thinking it's ok to have a pill. Just one will be OK.....
Patience is being able to tell yourself that it isn't OK and at it's core is the understanding of why it isn't. If you figure that out then you have just climbed one tall mountain.
Dictionary.com defines patience as
"good-natured tolerance of delay or incompetence"
I have to admit these past 2 weeks have tried my patience tremendously but I am usually an easy going person and don't mind waiting for things. This came AFTER I got clean, of course. When I was using I couldn't wait 2 seconds for anything. Everything was I want what I want when I want it and I want it now.
"good-natured tolerance of delay or incompetence"
I have to admit these past 2 weeks have tried my patience tremendously but I am usually an easy going person and don't mind waiting for things. This came AFTER I got clean, of course. When I was using I couldn't wait 2 seconds for anything. Everything was I want what I want when I want it and I want it now.
Hey Bish:
This is a wonderful subject.
When I was on the pills, I had none. When off of them, I am so laid back.
Either way, I have never been one for road rage but don't even blow the horn at anyone if they cut me off anymore simply b/c there is so many problems and anger in the world, they might just shoot you.
So with or w/o pills, I stopped blowing my horn. I just want to make it home, if it's 5 or 10 minutes later, at least I get here.
My d-in-law blows her horn and screams at the people - scares me to death. She is so sweet but she cannot stand bad drivers and they live on a really busy side of town.
I'll ask her to please stop - that it may get her killed but she says she can't help it.
I learned to stop after reading about the 2 working women pulled off to the side eof the road (to settle it) after a hard day at work, on the way to pick up their children and one killed the other - it's not worth it.
So, I know patience.
Love your topics. They make me think.
Love, Jean
This is a wonderful subject.
When I was on the pills, I had none. When off of them, I am so laid back.
Either way, I have never been one for road rage but don't even blow the horn at anyone if they cut me off anymore simply b/c there is so many problems and anger in the world, they might just shoot you.
So with or w/o pills, I stopped blowing my horn. I just want to make it home, if it's 5 or 10 minutes later, at least I get here.
My d-in-law blows her horn and screams at the people - scares me to death. She is so sweet but she cannot stand bad drivers and they live on a really busy side of town.
I'll ask her to please stop - that it may get her killed but she says she can't help it.
I learned to stop after reading about the 2 working women pulled off to the side eof the road (to settle it) after a hard day at work, on the way to pick up their children and one killed the other - it's not worth it.
So, I know patience.
Love your topics. They make me think.
Love, Jean
bish,
great thought provoking post, bikeman i hope you dont mind if i steal one of your lines cause it is so me as wel " I have a strong will and self confidence that gets me through even the toughest times" as well as i believe in the power of prayer and i ask god to give me the peace,strength, courage to keep me keeping on. plus my kids have taught me plenty of patients. i've learned having patients with them makes us all much happier and more productive.
terrianne
great thought provoking post, bikeman i hope you dont mind if i steal one of your lines cause it is so me as wel " I have a strong will and self confidence that gets me through even the toughest times" as well as i believe in the power of prayer and i ask god to give me the peace,strength, courage to keep me keeping on. plus my kids have taught me plenty of patients. i've learned having patients with them makes us all much happier and more productive.
terrianne
I can only think of three things that have ever caused me to feel that way.
Waiting for drugs
anyone who doesn't treat my children fairly
and my mother.
Well, I don't have to play the waiting game anymore so that one is over.
I will never stop being my kid's advocate.....I won't back down on that one.
And my Mom......well she's just who she is.
I eliminated one thing and accepted the others.
Now if I could get my family to be calm and not want what they want right NOW, life would be easy, lol.
Love, Kat
Waiting for drugs
anyone who doesn't treat my children fairly
and my mother.
Well, I don't have to play the waiting game anymore so that one is over.
I will never stop being my kid's advocate.....I won't back down on that one.
And my Mom......well she's just who she is.
I eliminated one thing and accepted the others.
Now if I could get my family to be calm and not want what they want right NOW, life would be easy, lol.
Love, Kat
Im a selective impatient lol i hate queing, oh and my slow pc at time jaxxxxxxxxx
Dear Kat:
I think we had the same Mother.
When you mention yours' - I think of mine.
I used to think I was the only one who had a Mother who wanted her children not to get along and I don't think she wanted us happy, either. I am fairly sure she didn't, just giving her the benefit of the doubt since she's no longer here.
I never dreamed of her acting "normal" to all of us at one time before she died b/c I knew it would never happen.
I do hope she is at peace now b/c she was not on this earth.
Love, Jean
I think we had the same Mother.
When you mention yours' - I think of mine.
I used to think I was the only one who had a Mother who wanted her children not to get along and I don't think she wanted us happy, either. I am fairly sure she didn't, just giving her the benefit of the doubt since she's no longer here.
I never dreamed of her acting "normal" to all of us at one time before she died b/c I knew it would never happen.
I do hope she is at peace now b/c she was not on this earth.
Love, Jean
I found patience when I let go absolutley. When I admitted to myself and another human being that I am what I am. I admitted that I was powerless and my life was unmanagable.
That's when it hit me like a ton of bricks.
Cowgirl
That's when it hit me like a ton of bricks.
Cowgirl
Patience and tolerance are two very hard ones for me. I am better than I was but I still work on them daily. I am trying to do things differently, for me, that means staying away from situations and people that are unhealthy for me. That seems to help :-)
Hmmm, powerless. How defeatist that sounds. I for one am not powerless and have assumed control of my life. I'm back to the way I was before the pills. I found the root cause and have destroyed it. I could change my surroundings, but I would have to change carreers and that would be very difficult. I kinda laugh about it these days, but I'm also very mindful of my not too distant past. The one where I was leading the charge to get high. When I'm asked why I don't want to get high, my answer has been because i don't need to. It creates a huge debate among the users, but I just smile and walk away.
Bikeman
IN AA we use the word powerless a lot because once we put a drink or drug in our systems we have no power over how many come after. When you were taking pills did you have the power to control how many you took? That's not defeatist. That's plain old common sense. When I was using my will power was nil. Those pills had all the power in the world and no matter how many I PLANNED to take, I took as many as I had.
IN AA we use the word powerless a lot because once we put a drink or drug in our systems we have no power over how many come after. When you were taking pills did you have the power to control how many you took? That's not defeatist. That's plain old common sense. When I was using my will power was nil. Those pills had all the power in the world and no matter how many I PLANNED to take, I took as many as I had.
What 12 stepper said.
I am powerless when it comes to drugs. I have no self control if it were put in front of me. With NA, I have back up.
It's not defeatest for me. It's reality and I'm ok with it. I stopped fighting it.
Have a great day you two.
Cowgirl
I am powerless when it comes to drugs. I have no self control if it were put in front of me. With NA, I have back up.
It's not defeatest for me. It's reality and I'm ok with it. I stopped fighting it.
Have a great day you two.
Cowgirl
CG & 12stepper,
yes, I understand. I would be powerless too if I were to start taking Vicodin again.
yes, I understand. I would be powerless too if I were to start taking Vicodin again.
