The Gift that Keeps on Giving (from David)

David sent me this blog post. It is dated October 6, 2009.

David writes:

Since I have a little extra time on my hands my therapist suggested I do some work in a book called "A Gift to Myself". The book has been around a while, and is focused on recovery from co-dependence and family dysfunction. Lucky for me, I claim both. And then some! Lisa had the book sent to me and I started digging in the last couple of weeks. One of the first exercises is to basically identify and prioritize the issues you need to work on. There are 31 questions like - Do you isolate yourself? and Do you fear being rejected? The answers are on a scale from never to always. Of course, my top two "issues" were self-esteem and intimate relationships. Go figure!! Anybody who knows me at all would have probably come up with the same results. These are like two albatross around my neck. As it is for many struggling with addiction. That's why we sought comfort in alcohol, drugs, sex, food, work, and anything else that isolated us and made us forget our self-loathing. Recovery has proven to help us overcome these and many other issues. But just like starting to work on "A Gift to Myself", I must take the first step and make the effort. It is not going to happen through osmosis.

God bless,
David