SoberRecovery : Alcoholism Drug Addiction Help and Information - View Single Post

09-29-2009, 12:41 PM

# 10 (permalink)

member

Join Date: Feb 2008

Posts: 2,433

Yikes, this time I really put myself out there. Okay.

Taz, I agree with you, fear is one of the hallmarks of addiction. I just think this post would belong in secular because it deals with irrational beliefs, CBT, etc. Like 24Hrs said, I can see how AA would help in this department too... it's definitely ODAAT

Anna, PrimalScream, your descriptions are crystal clear... it all sounds contradictory because it IS contradictory, LOL. Or counter-intuitive. The challenge is to find the irrational unconscious beliefs that cause these conflicts - this "self-sabotage", in OzSandy's words. I can relate to that 100%.

Ally, from what I gather, most fears -including fear of success- are planted during childhood. In fact, this book is big on that topic, as most of the exercises involve dredging up the distant past to find events that might have reinforced these beliefs. Specifically, you are asked to identify childhood situations in which you succeeded and that later brought about problems.

Seemingly inconsequential successes like mowing the lawn for the first time, then being asked to do it every single weekend, LOL... Or studying your butt off (to please parents + teachers with your marks), only to find that you've alienated your classmates -and even yourself- in the process.

These things might sound silly *now*, but they all added up, until you find yourself dreading success because you (falsely) believe that it will only bring additional problems. That's the uncomfortable comfort zone, Bam

Mariechi, your post made me cringe lol. I can so relate to that too. Pressure, demands... that "very good, now do it again!" Eeek.

Trish

You know me too well, LOL. Yeah, I'm guarded - I wasn't always like this, though... despite all this fear of success and failure rant, my biggest fear is getting hurt again. Always looking for trouble when I could be relaxing... and sometimes relaxing so much that I fall off the chair.

Thanks for letting me share..