Grex Recovery Conference

View Responses

Grex Recovery Item 7: Why get healed?
Entered by gerard on Sun Mar 2 16:14:19 UTC 1997:

This sounds cynical, but blame it one my mood. I'm an adult child of an 
alcoholic and for years have been dealing with the monsters that have 
grown up in my psyche with me. Groups, counseling, meditation, message 
boards, etc. were all a part of of my healing plan. But something always
 comes up in life that throws me back into the mirrors of scars I have 
been looking at So maybe someone out there can tell me if it ever ends. 
And if it doesn't are they better for their pursuit of a healing soul?

8 responses total.

#1 of 8 by void on Sun Mar 2 20:37:24 1997:

   as well as being a recovering addict, i'm an acoa. while i'm not sure that
it ever completely ends, i do think that people are better off for recognizing
their problems and dealing with them head-on...they are better for their
"pursuit of a healing soul" (nice turn of phrase).

   there are a lot of self-destructive behaviors that go along with being an
acoa. being able to catch yourself when you start them, and then stopping
them, is always advantageous. and the further you pursue your healing, the
better you get at recognizing and stopping those behaviors before they start.

#2 of 8 by moonowl on Sat Mar 15 18:22:48 1997:

Gerard,
        Yes, it can and does end. Recovery from these issues is not an event,
however, it is a process. The messages that we tell ourselves as a reflection
of the events in our lives often are the clues to recovery. The quiet chatter
that runs just below our loud thoughts often contain the half-truth beliefs
and false beliefs that often keep us trapped.
        In time, we learn other ways to deal with situations and stop believing
the lies that we grew up with. There is hope. There are ways to unlearn what
we grew up with and ways to learn new skills and emotional pathways. There
does some a time when most of the pain is gone.

#3 of 8 by bluedog on Mon Apr 14 22:50:14 1997:

I don't think that it ever ends, it just gets easier.  Emotions become 
more managable, not as overpowering.  I remember last fall when I could 
not think of anything else but suicide, now the worst it gets is OD'ing 
on chocolate and falling asleep.

-mb

#4 of 8 by moonowl on Wed Apr 16 17:15:24 1997:

I agree, bluedog, and the more that I go to meetings and work the steps, the
easier those emotions are to handle. I believe the goal of the steps is for
us to be able to emotionally twelth step ourselves.

#5 of 8 by bluedog on Sat May 17 17:39:30 1997:

Maybe not to twelve step ourselves, but to become more aware of emotional
states.

#6 of 8 by moonowl on Tue May 20 02:22:17 1997:

Sure, we will be more aware of our emotional states. But then what do we do?
Becoming aware of our emotional states is progress, to be sure. Then we begin
to learn what to do with them! How's you recovery coming along? How long have
you been clean and sober now?
 
Peace, Love and Light, Johnny Moonowl

#7 of 8 by jaklumen on Mon May 13 03:11:50 2002:

I certainly relish my periods of sobriety.  When I allow my Beast to 
take control and I feed my addictive hunger, I am definitely sad, but 
I refuse to give up.

As I deal with bipolar mood disorder, I have had to learn to be aware 
of my emotional states.  It's part and parcel of managing the 
condition.  For sure, that means some vulnerability; some of my coping 
behaviors for mood swings were definitely unhelathy and led to 
addictive behaviors.

#8 of 8 by jaklumen on Fri Jul 5 08:08:51 2002:

I am also learning to let go: to forgive and forget the hurts that some 
people gave me, especially loved ones.

Response not possible - You must register and login before posting.