[madisgram]

Alcoholics and addicts facing reality is not the most common thing in the world.� Most of their lives, those who are addicted will seek to avoid reality at all costs and stay medicated and numb to their reality.
And what is the reality that they are avoiding?� At the deepest level, it is their feelings.� Most people do not want to look at that and see that their feelings are what are so powerful.� When someone gets upset, or gets scared, or gets angry, and ends up drinking or using drugs over it, it always because of a feeling that they experienced....
In almost all cases, the addict medicates out of fear.� They are covering up inadequacies because they are afraid.� If and when they get sober, they have to face these fears head on and deal with them in some way or they will eventually return to drinking and using.� We cannot live in fear and if we do then we will tend to self medicate.

http://www.spiritualriver.com/alcoho...acing-reality/

[leejoseph]

Originally Posted by madisgram

http://www.spiritualriver.com/alcoho...acing-reality/

This is so true.Just how do you get past it?

[madisgram]

hi lee, i used therapy and AA to work thru all the feelings and false beliefs i had about myself. i was a work in progress but i stayed focused cause i wanted more in my life-feeling like i was really living. it sometimes was painful to work thru my emotions and have skills and tools for coping with life. i had panic attacks, major depression and was agoraphobic, bipolar 1 etc. with a good fit with medicenes i was able to deal with these things better-anti-depressants and mood stablizer. i'm 22 pllus years sober now. i felt i was the lowest worm on earth before. today my life is so rich. i offer you hope and know we are here for you. also drinking never makes anything better only worse. stick with your gained sobriety and lean on us here. i'm sure more than myself have been where you are now in early sobriety.
i'm so glad you posted lee in this forum.