Carol's Example
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This happened yesterday when I got home from the store. I saw that one of the items I bought had something on it which I had not seen. This is when I began to work myself up. I immediately had a rise in feeling. Had I touched this? I wanted to go and wash my hands and thought about how I could avoid touching the object. I had racing thoughts and started to feel a little panicky. Then I remembered what a veteran Recovery member had told me when something like this had happened before. I spotted that there was no danger and that I could have the will to bear the discomfort by commanding my muscles to pick up the object. I also controlled my impulse to go and wash my hands and did not give into it. I felt a little more tense for a while, but I kept repeating that I was in no danger and I kept endorsing myself. Before Recovery, I would have never gone out shopping, but if I had, I
would have spent a good portion of the day washing my hands. They probably
would have bled. I've had a lot of trouble Ruth -- Carol mentioned that she felt a little more tense for a while. When we control an impulse, sometimes, especially if we're fairly new, it makes us more tense, but if we stick with it, we do get relief. It takes practice, but it's worth the effort. Don -- I like the way Carol kept endorsing herself. When we go through something that is hard to deal with, it's important to remember to keep endorsing ourselves--giving ourselves credit for the effort we are making to get well. What does that mean? spotted -- Carol recognized (spotted) that there was no danger. endorsing -- Carol was giving herself credit for all of the effort she put forth.
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