degadar

Something vegancat said got me thinking. She made a comment that the lessons she'd learned in the struggle to become vegan were helping in her sobriety. I approached my recovery armed with the lessons I'd learned successfully overcoming agoraphobia - and treated the two very much the same.

I was wondering if anyone else had found previous life experiences useful in this way?

Hopefully there's a useful discussion at the end of the list - or me an Vegancat will just have to settle for a tofu picnic alone.

Deg.

vegancat

Hehe....should we feast on veggie dogs or veggie burgers?

What's agoraphobia? And are you over it completely? What sort of things/skills did you learn from that struggle that have helped you now?

degadar

Blow the expense - let's have both!

Agoraphobia is - literally 'fear of the market' most people know it as a fear of open spaces. It's mostly worst for me in crowded public places although the worst place is on a beach. I live as far away from the sea as you can in the UK so I've never worked on that on.

I'm as over it now as well as it's possible to be. I don't think twice about going into town or to the supermarket - still aware that my stress level goes up - but it doesn't affect the choices I make.

I guess the biggest lesson was that the fix is found by getting closer to the problem and not by avoiding it. Phobias are addictions. Uncomfortable truth is that phobics are adicted to the release of escaping from their 'fear'.

Until I can pour a big glass of my favourite whisky smell it and tip it down the sink - and feel no desire to drink it - I'm not over it. One day I will be.

I'm just fermenting some rice and lentils to make dosas tomorrow - I'll bring you some along to the picnic, you'll love them.

Deg.

eddie z.

I don't know why I'm back on this forum. I must be a glutton for punishment.
That is an absolutely fascinating notion. Did you come up with that or read it somewhere?

I used to have panic attacks and learned how not to, but I can't say that I've used those tools in my recovery from addiction. I'm interested to hear more, though, from y'all...

Love, Eddie

splendra

Degadar-
There are times when I want to be like I was when I was child and first found God. I was so happy about that. It was such pure joy. At the time my family life was hell I took so much comfort in knowing God was there. I do revisit that period of time sometimes when things are hetic or painful and it does get me thru. I would probably still be a drunk had I not had my finding God experience to draw on.

degadar

Hi Eddie, you must be mad as well as being an insomniac.

The fact that phobias are addictions is really my own hypothesis - I don't know how it can be tested in a scientific setting (that's the response I got from the professors I bounced it off too).

The counter argument is that it can't be the case because phobics avoid their fear... I say that's bollocks, what arachnophobe does not 'see' spiders in inoquous objects. One part of the brain is playing tricks on another part in order to get the 'high'.

I didn't do my thesis on this one though - I did language acquisition in stead - I was told it was a much safer topic and, quite rightly, I was more likely to base it in fact rather than trying to describe my own intuition. And my intuitor is broken, beknakked, bent, twisted as we all know.

Go and get some sleep!

Deg.

eddie z.

Deg.,
I wasn't up late on here last night; it's about five hours earlier here! Silly goose. And what about language acquisition? Did you know a six-month old can communicate in sign language? I think that's fascinating, too.
Love, Eddie