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Post by overcomer on Mar 30, 2012 3:39:25 GMT -8
I'm curious what is the role of HP in your life of recovery and what do you seek through professional help?  This thread is "NON-judgmental". I will refrain from saying anything that would sound like it. I am only wondering because it just happened that in my experience I got my recovery from HP alone and the help of this board. So I want to hear from others, their different point of view. Thank you.  |
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Post by bklynrn on Mar 30, 2012 7:05:52 GMT -8
My recovery work is not invested in a HP or finding it as a tool to my recovery...do i feel there is something out there--something spiritual? Yes!! but it has not driven me in my choices in the work I do. I feel I am in the driver's seat and that feels very empowering to me. I can validate me and I can go within myself for answers and trust that I will do the best for myself. A HP can be anything ,from how I understand it but I'm simply not invested in the concept as the ''answer'' to recovery. I'm staying open minded though. Who knows how I will feel a year from now
Therapy has been an emotional life saver to me. Reading and seeking out knowledge and awareness has been life changing for me. If someone will label that as a HP ,then that's it for me...
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Post by sunflwrs4evr on Mar 30, 2012 8:50:02 GMT -8
great thread...For me seeking professional help came first for me...I went for counseling off and on ...more off than on...and in 2007..my world opened to the world of recovery....so i went back into counseling when i found someone who knew her stuff with food addiction & coda stuff...once i got to a certain point...i needed to get on medication to get me through more of my recovery...and after that..i had to go through intensives...which are like psycho drama in the psychology world ..which means going back into the early child memories and situations...and re experiencing the trauma by walking through it with professionals and healing from it..with new eyes on it....meaning living it through my inner child and now looking within it as an adult..so to me the professional help took me to where i needed to go with my healing....and when i got through some of that old unresolved childhood issues...i then could experience my hp within myself and my entire life....its amazing how this works...This is my journey... My Hp does for me ...what i could not do for myself....I do what i need to do through him....and letting go and letting God all the time...and working on it One day at a time...Sun:) luvmyself2...just wanted to share a few things after reading your post...on these too really big statements... "Then they want me to try some medication or some other type of therapy. I'm sick of being someone's guinea pig!" "My HP is starting to reveal things to me that may be the cause of my problems, and I'm terribly scared about it, because I'm hoping it's really my HP telling me this and not some other force. I don't know how to discern. Because what I'm being "told" is very painful and not something I care to have to visit". As i wrote alittle earlier in my post about my journey in recovery...I believe the same thing was happening to me ...especially when i abstinent from my drug of choice...it was very very scary for me...and its all recovery....my hp was revealing the truths to me...and the only way i could deal with it was with medications first...i was scared that the medications would change my brain..or something ......what helped me alot was knowing that i trusted my counselor more than i trusted myself...she is and was the professional...and i did what she told me to do.....if i didnt go on the medication..i probably would of gotten back on my drug of choice...because those thoughts and feelings where so overwhelming to me....i couldnt handle it...i heard things in my head....i was getting flash backs....i never looked at it as something negative or bad from my higher power...and thats because i had my support system in place...and i gave my thoughts feelings words....and they gave me their hope strength and experience....and here i am today....Sun |
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Post by Loving My Life on Mar 30, 2012 9:14:24 GMT -8
My hp (god) has always been a part of my life, alot of times i did not reach out to him, unless i was in trouble, and then i would always take my self-will back. But since ive been sober almost 3 years now, i now walking and thinking on the spiritual and leaning on my hp (god), and learning to have peace from within and leaning how to just let people be, and focus on what is driving me, this is what keeps me sober and this is what is leading me in my love addiction recovery. I know my God, the God of my understanding removed my desire to drink alcohol, because i was ready for him to remove it. Unless you are ready 100%, to have something removed from your life, it will still be there. Because if my desire to not drink or not to call my poa was not there, and with with help and knowledge to know i am not alone in this, i would have probably already got drunk & called my poa.
But i love myself enough today, to not keep causing myself all of this pain.
But I am not doing this alone, my God is with me every step of the way.
And learning to meditate is also giving me alot of peace that i have never had.
Being on this forum, with all of the numerous people on here, who are in recovery, and listening & taking a few simple suggestions and reading alot of books and becoming more knowledgeable is also helping me.
It is not just one thing, it has been a combinations of things that keeps me sober & keeps me from acting out on a daily basis.
Im willing to go to any lengths for my recovery..
And I have not been in therapy, and I am not on any medications.
But this is not for everyone, your doctor has to make that decision for what is the best for you. ;-)
Everyone has to choose there own recovery path, which ever works best for them.
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Post by bklynrn on Mar 30, 2012 15:44:31 GMT -8
Yes, Carolyn. Everyone has their own recovery path. Some allow a HP or God to guide them and that's wonderful. Some are atheists and that's ok too. Some are still angry at God and that's perfectly fine too. I believe there is something greater than me out there but it doesn't ''make me'' do what I do in recovery. I don't call upon it for answers.
Glad you brought this topic up.
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Post by freetolive on Mar 30, 2012 15:47:23 GMT -8
God and recovery with the 12 steps, sponsor and meetings. Prayer too.
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Post by herenow on Mar 31, 2012 3:30:32 GMT -8
My recovery has included a lot of support from 12 step, HP, therapist, medication for 2 years for anxiety, and trauma therapy.
Both of my therapists (trauma and talk therapist) had strong recovery in 12 step programs so there was a deep spiritual thread in my therapy.
I still do regular 12 step work, have committed myself to daily meditation practice and of course contact with HP continues to deepen.
I am of the belief that my HP worked through all the avenues I have pursued, even in the depths of my addiction I believe I was being guided towards recovery. For me, HP shows up in so many faces and places.
thanks for asking.
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Post by overcomer on Mar 31, 2012 5:20:27 GMT -8
So, here's my question: How do you discern what is the voice of your HP? Good question. It depends who is your HP. In my case Jesus is my HP so the Bible or the Holy Scripture "speaks" to me. The Holy Spirit guides me into all the truth as He promised. The Lord is my Shepherd so He leads me on. The more I spend time with Him in prayers and reading His Word the easier it is for me to discern His voice. Also you can pray for wisdom or the ability to be able to distinguish the different spirits (good, bad, human) or which is which. I got the gift of discernment by His grace alone. If you said you are new to this, you can compare yourself to a baby, who turns to the Scripture every time, like a newborn babe to his/her milk. You can start reading a chapter of the Bible each morning and/or evening and ask Him to speak to you through it. |
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Post by herenow on Mar 31, 2012 11:27:08 GMT -8
You know I just remembered something else I read about Bill W, the founder of AA. He would "hear" his HP then he checked it out with a small group of men who had his best interest at heart to discern if it was his HP or his ego speaking to him.
I thought that was fantastic, as a compulsive self reliant it is good for me to check things out with those healthy friends/sponsor around me who know me. It has been good to learn the balance between asking for feedback and then weighing out what I feel inside of me.
I have several very close friends in recovery and in my life in general who I check out my thinking with. Like they say in 12 step my best "thinking' got me into the mess of my addiction, so best to get a little feedback!
Luv, that is fantastic! good for you, I know how hard you have been working on that.
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Post by overcomer on Apr 1, 2012 7:47:59 GMT -8
Fantastic sharing. Everyone THANK YOU SO MUCH!
And Luv, good for you for DOING them. Keep it up.
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Post by brainhealth on Apr 1, 2012 9:57:14 GMT -8
I have a big problem with HP. However, despite what I said on other posts, I do ask Archangel Michael to intercede with God for me. I actually think it works. I'll leave it at that as I have very strong feelings on this subject which astonishes everyone around me when I start lecturing about it.
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Post by bklynrn on Apr 1, 2012 12:30:27 GMT -8
Brainhealth--feel what you feel. It's fine...though the strong emotions that come up about this might be telling you something too.. |
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Post by LovelyJune on Apr 4, 2012 2:44:57 GMT -8
I do not owe the success of my recovery to an HP, the 12-Steps or therapy. All those things failed for me. The HP concept taught me to believe that I was powerless and I am not. Therapy wanted me to divulge the trauma from my past and once I divulged all that, I didn't feel any weight lift off me or any sense of having healed. And the 12-Step program that I attended tried to teach me, again, that I was powerless and had to humbly "accept" my circumstances, which I felt was not acceptable. Although I do owe credit to the 12-Step for enlightening me on my INVENTORY and all the ways in which I allowed my life to be destroyed by this disease. Believe it or not, I owe most of my recovery success to three things: group conscience, books, and my own will to change and NEVER go back. When I quit smoking I joined an online group called quitnet.com (total plug for them!) Their forums were amazing. Unlike here (which is a great forum!) theirs were so populated that when you'd post an issue, it was answered by 20 responses in MINUTES. The idea of so many people working together to help each other was, by far, the most spiritual, uplifting experience of my life. And one of the best things that I was ever taught on that site was by a very wise man who said, "Your body, mind and spirit are TEMPLES, why pollute them with toxic waste that will destroy the temple?" This sentence alone very possibly woke me up and made me realize that the same logic could be applied to my PoA. He was toxic and poisonous. ANd I no longer wanted to pollute myself. I give the people on quitnet so much credit for saving my life, that I put together a VERY LONG collection on my blog of all the best of the best quotes that I heard. It is here. I suggest reading every line! thelovelyaddict.com/2010/01/12/lessons-about-love-addiction-from-a-quit-smoking-site/ |
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Post by Jacarandagirl on Apr 4, 2012 4:28:34 GMT -8
WOW, that's a fantastic list! I haven't finished it yet but I'm loving it. Very astute of you LJ to see the correlation to love addiction. I only feel there is something needing to change with it when they talk about once an addict you can never use the substance ever again. As a LA, I want to have another relationship one day. I know it will be hard to avoid my codependency. It makes me feel a bit scared.
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Post by LovelyJune on Apr 4, 2012 4:34:41 GMT -8
I justified that easily by understanding that you are not quitting love or healthy relationships, you are quitting the TOXIC kind of relationships. There is a huge difference between the two. Part of my growing was to be able to tell the diffeence between a healthy choice and a not so healthy choice (in food, men, and habits!). That's key to a fulfilling life. ANd just like an addiction to food (you can't quit eating!) you have to learn to tell the difference between healthy food and unhealthy. You have to recognize that it's a lifestyle.
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Post by Jacarandagirl on Apr 7, 2012 10:29:09 GMT -8
Mmmm, yeah. Thanks, that's helpful. In a way it's even funny that it's called Love Addiction, since it feels like it was an addiction to NOT love for me. It's an addiction to WANTING love. There was a good quote today from Byron KAtie on FAcebook about that-
"If I want love, I can’t have it. I am love, and as long as I seek it from you, I can’t know that."
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Post by Chosen on May 6, 2012 9:25:39 GMT -8
Note:
See I RESPECTED EVERY SINGLE POST here. Since I gained recovery for a half year now I know how to observe rules and boundary. I am no perfect but please practice fairness to everyone and stop focusing on me. My HP cured me with the help of this board like LJ, HappyBerry, etc. If you did NOT help me in my recovery please help those who are *still in addiction*. Additionally YOU may need YOUR attention more for YOURSELF.
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Post by brainhealth on May 6, 2012 10:26:20 GMT -8
If i have breached any rules of this board or offended anyone in the HP discussion in this or other posts I apologise. I respect the rules of this board, and the opinions of everyone sharing their recovery journeys. Despite what I have posted on the HP issue, and I accept fully I have ranted about it, my intention at all times has been to offer very practical assistance to my fellow recoverers.
This board has given me my life back. Thank you everyone. I hope I can provide encouragement to others to get to where I am.
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Post by LovelyJune on May 7, 2012 7:40:40 GMT -8
The ultimate goal of being in recovery is to not only stop obsessing or remain addicted, but to look into yourself and question who you are and why you do the things you do.
All of us on these boards, in some form or another obsess. It is even possible to obsess over good things. All PoAs are not bad people. When we obsess over them, however, it makes for a bad situation. It creates imbalance.
We all need to look into why we obsess and what we obsess over. It's part of recovery. It's part of getting to know yourself.
Lastly, if this topic or thread triggers anyone, it's time to stop adding to it.
You
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