I'm not "in recovery." I'm recovered, and I'm on a lifelong journey of personal growth as a result of being recovered and not wanting to go back to where I was.
- "You best thinking got you here."
Yes, my best thinking got me nearly a year abstinent from drugs, alcohol, and addictive behaviors, and my worst thinking got me addicted.
I don't 'work a program.' I have a supportive community I identify with and a personal philosophy that expressly does not include use of addictive substances and behaviors.
I am not an "addict" or "alcoholic." That would be as logical as someone who just recovered from a viral illness calling themselves "a recovering virus." Besides, I'm about defining myself for the future, not disempowering myself by engaging in self-definition based on my past. I'm a teetotaler. I'm a sobrietist.
I'm not powerless, ridiculous. Choosing to, and being successful at having abstinence be my long-term goal is an expression of personal power.
- "It works if you work it."
So if it doesn't work, then it's my fault? So if I go to get chemotherapy and it fails and my cancer kills me, then "it didn't work because I didn't work it?" That's called victim-blaming.
How about just let go, and leave the invisible men in the sky for someone who believes in fairy tales?
et cetera
-DrS