"Please don't take this the wrong way, but Dov needs to be bottled and sent out to everyone as shalach manos! His Daily Dose is so satisfying and geshmak, even better than a mun hamentashen! One of the most impressive things about it is that it makes SO clear that it is written by a REAL PERSON. Real people are like glasses of water. Sometimes, you are served a glass of water when you were hoping for a soda, so fine, I'll have the water. And when you drink it, you have this revelatory moment where you realize that hey, this is fantastic and I didn't even know I was thirsty! Your thirst is quenched, you immediately feel better, refreshed, no cloyingly sweet aftertaste ("Dov - It Goes Down Smooth with only a little burn, but it'll be good for you"). He is not preaching, just sharing with us what he feels is the emes and has worked for him. As a non-addict, I appreciate his continuing clarification on what makes one an addict, as opposed to someone who has many of the same behaviors but is not an addict. Can we get him a radio show? Please pass along to him."
-Rob R.
On the question about 'powerless' being 'anti-Torah' (issue #1801):
"There is a well known line in the Gemara 'every day the yetzer harah renews itself and if Hashem didn’t help us, we couldn’t overcome it.' This means one is powerless over the yetzer hara and we need Hashem to 'keep us sober.'
-Mosmas2001
"Thanks for your daily emails, I really enjoy them.
Regarding this powerless thing, what that person is really missing is that addiction is an illness, not a Nisoyen. (Sure, it is a Nisoyen to accept, just as having a physical illness) That's why when I tried using all types of Musser to combat the Yeitzer Hora it didn't work! Because it's not the Yeitzer Hora I'm fighting - I'm fighting myself, which bashes me up even more!
I need to find something that heals my inner soul so I could recover from Sexaholism. I'll never be cured, I'll always have to take my medicine, but I believe I can recover!"
-Yakov A
From the Editor:
Thank you all. Please keep your emails coming. From time to time, we will publish them, but even when we don't share your email with the oilom, we always acknowledge and answer it.
If you enjoy Dov's writing, you will love his recorded Q&A sessions. Click here to access a list of all recordings.
Best wishes for continued recovery,
Mottel
GYE content editor.
"I've been a member of GYE for over a year and a half. Recently, I have gotten married to my wonderful wife. Since I got married, I have been clean. I have a therapist and a GYE partner who I keep up with. I've read a lot about other people's success stories, and the common thing they share is that after a while of not using, they find joy, emotions, passions, intrests, and love etc. I am currently over 7 months clean and still have depression (for which I take medicine), and I get into the escape mode a lot (I surf the news or just try to numb my exsistence). I'm feeling lost, what am I missing?"
-Lost in Depression
From the editor:
Dear Lost,
You may need to change medication and/or therapists if they are not helping your depression. But what you describe here is not altogether unusual. Not everyone finds joy, passions, interests, and love after stopping acting out. As a matter of fact, the acting-out is often not the problem, but rather the "solution" we had been using for dealing with the life's problems. So when we stop, our issues may become even more marked and acute.
Depression can also be a symptom of feeling a lack of fulfillment in your life, or a lack of spirituality. Is there anything you can do to improve these areas?
You may find Dov's recordings (above) very enlightening.
Stay sober, my friend,
-Mottel.
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Still Clean
