Back to AA: What I learned about refocussing
I've been to six AA meetings since my last relapse and I've promised to myself to share one helpful thing from each meeting here, as part of my way of developing a better mental attitude towards the fellowship. One of things I'm learning is about the power of refocussing ones attention from negative to positive. So, in times of challenge or stress, one can make a mental decision to think about something pleasurable or inspiring, even though the temptation is to get emotionally transfixed on the bad things. So for example for me, as I'm applying for jobs, it's easy to get stressed about the rejection letters, lack of replies and interviews and that was partly behind my last relapse. But rather like switching TV channel, I can decide to think about other things instead, such as how much I'm looking forward to my next rock concert or the progress I'm making with my fitness since I quit smoking and started going to the gym. AA has helped me to see that emotions and obssessions don't just happen to me because of other people or outside forces - I play a very important part in deciding what emotions I have and what actions follow from them.