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Post by geedee on Feb 25, 2010 10:26:30 GMT -8
This discussion started on another thread but I thought it better to start a new thread here.
just for the record:
I don't talk to just anybody about my recovery.
I work very closely with a small group of expats in this country. we have worked together for years and know just about everything about each other's private lives. weird yes, but long long story of camaraderie because of our difficult work situation.
they witnessed the start of my internet affair cos we were all messing around in the office on social networking sites and getting back in touch with people from our pasts in the UK. It was a kind of chain reaction.
They saw how my relationship got out of hand. The high highs and the desperate lows lasting 16 mths on and off. And they were there for me albeit reluctantly cos they couldnt help me see reason and kept asking why I couldnt just break it off if it hurt so much. they also teased me a bit about my non existent sex life before I got married...and that kinda got the ball rolling for my affair.
I had no idea I was an addict at the time never having heard of LA. They stood by me and let me cry on their shoulders and they wept in front of me too cos of their own problems. 2 men and two women. we have heart to hearts sometimes (I suppose resembling group therapy now that I think about it.) We have worked together for over 20 yrs and been in each other's pockets for just as long. we even used to socialise with our families until there some problems arose...
I also talk to an ex colleague who is also a very close friend. we have continued to stay in contact but rarely see each other. So yet again my internet addiction came into play with him. When i was in withdrawal I leaned on him more than anyone during my affair because he is sensitive and understanding and non judgemental. And also because he wasn't sick of hearing about all my break ups. He was the one who indirectly led me here when telling me to read Shakespeare's sonnets on 'poisoned love'.
There's my long time friend in the UK.She's very religious and has stood by me even after I betrayed my h but it has been hard talking to her because she was dumped by her H in the meantime. But we do talk regularly about recovery now and she has been a real anchor for me. I'm actually helping her too.
My closest friend here that I see more than anybody knows about my affair but does not want me to talk about recovery or my addiction. tells me to put it behind me and get on with life...if only!
But as I said I can't talk to just anybody about my recovery and I must admit that we expats live in a little world of our own here...
greta
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Post by primrose on Feb 25, 2010 12:01:23 GMT -8
Sounds so nice that you have that greta. Sounds like it's a great support network. P.
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Post by miztex on Feb 25, 2010 14:40:10 GMT -8
I spend most of my day in my home with my H in the other room working. I used to be home alone all day and I was fine with that; practiced and took naps and cleaned house or taught lessons. Ever since POA, I am never alone. Even a ten minute drive in the car to the pharmacy feels scary alone. Now I am going on an airplane for 4 hrs. to spend the weekend with friends. When I wake up early, I will be alone. It scares me. I will be talking about my recovery with my two best friends from Kindergarten. One is non-judgmental, supportive and is like my brother. But I have to confess that I deceived him and lied about stuff while I was addicted. I already told him that I did those things, but not the details. Just that I lied. He said he will understand. The OTHER friend scares me. She is VERY mentally unstable; Bipolar, loves to tell me her psychiatrists latest insights into her. But mostly, she is a sex addict and an LA. She has been a torch bearer, avoidant, relationship addict, and I don't know what else. Never married. My problem is that her father tried to come on to me and every other female(including my mom) in the neighborhood. I am still upset by it years later. But she continues to talk about him in my presence. She even told me that he said that I came on to HIM years ago!!!!! That made me want to vomit. I don't want to hear about his sick sexual fantasy of me. That is in HIS head. He thinks EVERYONE wants him. He is 85, bald, fat and gross. NOBODY wants him or ever did. I know he molested her; but she hasn't admitted it. If she starts talking,she drives me nuts. We used to feed off each other, but I have changed so much that I no longer feel safe with her. She crosses too many boundaries. Still, we are stuck together for the next few days. When it is three or four of us, it will be fine. But just the two of us......phew!
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Post by primrose on Feb 25, 2010 16:03:54 GMT -8
Well id love to talk to you! But then I'm on this board, so that's probably no surprise I think it would probably help to have some boundaries about talking about your abuse. One of the common problems of having been abused is the total lack of protection a person can have because the act of abuse has taken away their natural boundaries. It's good to learn how to protect ourselves in all ways, disclosure being one of them. I used to talk about my abuse to everyone too, but I rarely do now. I'm happy to discuss it in the right context, but I do try and practice putting my wellbeing first. I am sure your take on your job is deepened by your awareness and inner work, no question, but I'm sure protecting yourself around disclosure would be a good thing. People who aren't working on themselves and people in the workplace are generally not good candidates for disclosure. Especially people at work. I have a bottom line around being appropriate at work, it's really important for me to keep my boundaries clear otherwise I can get myself into trouble by being unprofessional. Too much personal info at work is generally a bad idea. Not always of course, but for survivors it's good to keep work and inner work seperate. Helps us not project the toxic family of origin dynamic onto the workplace too much. With that, I need ALL the help I can get! Best. P.
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Post by primrose on Feb 26, 2010 5:40:17 GMT -8
Look forward to that! Did you set any bottom line for yourself? If you did, PM them to me if you want, would be happy to help with that if you need to discuss them. P.
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i.wonder
New Member
A clear mind is worth the pain of getting there.
Posts: 12
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Post by i.wonder on Mar 3, 2010 11:52:21 GMT -8
Recovery for me is very personal. I am a private person and talking about past childhood abuse and the effects it has on me in my present life are just not natural for me. I have been in recovery for many years (since the 1980's), all of it on my own, with the exception of the help of a good therapist for a couple of years. I am strong-willed and possess a fierce independent mind. The thing that has been lacking in my recovery is the group experience. Because of past issues, I simply do not trust groups. Yet here I am, listening and attempting feeble shares. I sense that I will remain at a plateau in my recovery until I have a positive experience in the group setting. I do have a couple of recovery partners in SLAA, but I still relate to them on a one-on-one basis. The group experience seems too risky. I think much of this feeling stems from the fact that I came from a large family and my role in the family was to be invisible. Invisibility back then helped me avoid further abuse. I have grown past the cloak of invisibility in my personal life and can relate well in very small group settings. However, the thought of sharing the details of my recovery program with anyone other than a sponsor or one-on-one with a RP is quite daunting , though I realize that there is benefit to sharing for the sake of another who may glean something from my share that is totally unforeseen on my part. Nonetheless, I am here and keep coming back. Thanks for listening.
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Post by primrose on Mar 3, 2010 12:43:10 GMT -8
Hi! Welcome! Am sure your instinct is right about needing to share in a group and that facing that will move you forward, and we get the pleasure of your company and the benefit of your recovery P.
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Post by lacypooh on Sept 29, 2010 20:26:24 GMT -8
Hello,
I used to share all the details of my life with anyone who would listen, but i have sense become more isolated & find it hard to trust others. Since finding out that i'm a love addict, I've only told my brother, and two good friends of mine. The sexual abuse from my childhood was a hard pill to swallow, harder than being a LA, so outside of my brother, I felt weird being around the other two people after i told them. I knew i could trust them, but i felt so dirty. I just didn't want anyone to see me.
For now, these three people are the only ones I feel ok with telling.
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Post by candee on Sept 29, 2010 22:00:07 GMT -8
Prettywingz:Im sorry to hear that you felt dirty about what you had no part in. I know that feeling all to well. For it wasnt about who knew about my past.Sometimes I just didnt have to tell anyone.As long as I was working through it and dealing with it.
Stay well on your road to receovery and whatever that process may be.
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Post by lacypooh on Sept 30, 2010 5:34:25 GMT -8
thanks Candee,
You are right, it wasn't my fault. Working through it builts my confidence, it makes me feel good that I am taking charge of my life!
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Post by browneyed on Oct 24, 2010 21:16:36 GMT -8
I always felt guilty about sharing too much. I learned to feel guilty talking about "private" things from my mom. It was her way of trying to stop me from sharing the family secrets. Since then, whenever I ended a long conversation with a virtual stranger I would feel guilty. I had probably told them everything I could possibly tell them about myself, nothing vital or important you know like, I'm being abused or I'm scared out of my mind, just everything else I could think of. I guess I thought that sharing would somehow transcend the isolation that was imposed on me. I was outright not allowed to have friends. My parents repeated at least once weekly stating if I wanted friends, they were the ones for me to turn to, of course they never had time to pay attention to me when I did turn to them. But I would get in trouble if they saw me talking with someone else or getting a phone call. They felt threatened I know now. Well, the long and short of it is, I feel I overshare. I fight the guilt whenever I get talking to a virtual stranger and spill out all my beans. Of course still not detailing my childhood abuse or my 'labels' as a codependent love addict or anything else, but I'd tell them of my past abusive marriages and present day injustices. Learning I was isolated, but thinking it was completely normal, I made a conscious effort to have someone to call friend. I picked out all the people in my life who had been around at least a year and I kept a lookout for people I clicked with. Now I have a handful of people that I speak to on a deep basis. Two of them I talk to about my recovery pretty regularly. One of the two is in denial about her situation so when I speak to her about recovery she has to work hard not to take it as a covert lecture. The other has been on the outside looking in on my family dysfunction for a long time. She is the only one that I don't feel like I'm covertly lecturing or that I'm being judged. But as she has opened up to share her own problems I am starting to feel some guilt as I talk to her about my recovery. The emotional incest my father committed against me has me stuck where I'm struggling to be a good listener to my adulthood friends and I'm struggling to 'feel' like friends, like equals, when we talk to each other about our problems. Up until now its either been, I'm superior for you bringing your problems to me, or you're superior for me bringing my problems to you. Always a counselor/client role, never an equal footed friendship. There are a lot of things mixed into how I feel about sharing. But basically, an inability to control my sharing and shame about that inability. Thanks for letting me share.
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