youknowwho wrote on 08 Feb 2024 18:29:
Hi Seekertooth, welcome, welcome!!
Thank you for bringing up this important discussion
I think perhaps there's no black and white answer to your question. For some, plowing ahead with a variety of useful tools can indeed suffice.
For many here who have reached more intense levels of addiction/entrenchment, things usually run deeper. And while one may break free of destructive behaviors by simply forging ahead, so to speak, ultimately those emotions that led him to numb/escape in the first place will eventually rear its ugly head.
And that's when the fun starts...learning how to deal with those emotional triggers in an honest, healthy, vulnerable way.
It's really a spectrum, (how deeply you were entrenched in these behaviors and why) and I where you see yourself on that spectrum.
I hope you have much hatzlacha!!
Great conversation.
Welcome!
I think there’s tremendous value in the attitude of “forward march!” And powering through tomorrow’s challenges with courage and foresight, be proactive about potential challenges.
But YKW’s point is well taken.
I’ll put it in a slightly different way. A wise guy (Ernest Hemingway) once said that you can’t get away from yourself by moving from one place to another.
A lot of us who unfortunately find ourselves here unfortunately have(/had) developed patterns where various emotional or psychological triggers lead us into situations where we want to
use the destructive behaviors. To numb, or escape, or comfort, or regulate or whatever.
Part of getting away from the behaviors is often involves a brutally honest assessment about when and how do I turn to this stuff and why. And figuring out how to deal with
me so the
I will no longer make those choices….
But it all starts with staying clean today.
We each gotta find what works for us. But it’s good to be walking this road together with others. It’s far less lonesome.
Stick around, brother
wishing you well,
Chaim
