aasharon90

Hi Im Sharon and Im an Alcoholic.

By the grace of my HP and people
like you here in SR I havent found
it necessary to pick up a drink of
alcohol since 8-11-90.

For that and you Im truely grateful.



SELF-PITY


No words can tell of the loneliness
and despair I found in that bitter
morass of self-pity. Quicksand
stretched around me in all directions.
I had met my match. I had been
overwhelmed. Alcohol was my master.


Self-pity is an ugly emotion. It's not
something we want to admit having.

The Big Book quotes.......

"Depression is unfocused self-pity."

This makes a lot of sense.

I could think of hundreds of
legitimate reasons for my
poor-me-ism. Self-pity is an
enticing swamp that is easy
to slide into because it takes
less effort than hope or faith.

Sometimes self-pity is very
hard to avoid. So many things
I felt sorry for. So instead of
working to better my situation,
I compounded it with drinking
more and falling further and
further into that swamp of
self-pity.

I was so caught up in me! me!
me! that I alienated everyone
close to me. Total self-
absorption, I lost touch with
virtually everyone else.

Now when I look back, it's
perfectly clear how hard it
can be to put up with
someone like me.

Family intervention took place
and I entered rehab for 28 days.
It was then that I found out
that I wasnt the only person
dealing with similar situations.

Getting involved in AA,
attending meetings it was
then that I began to see my
self-pity for what it was.

People in AA told me there
was something I could do
about it other then drinking.

For once in my life, I was willing
to take some responsibility for
my sorry self, instead of rubbing
more salt in the wound. I was
very blessed with friends whom
I trusted enough to talk openly
with.

Real friends who would tell me
the truth, and call me on my BS.
Like the book says, humor is an
excellent weapon, and it describes
busting out laughing at a meeting
at someone's latest story of self-pity.
I can so relate to that. Even here,
we laugh, and laughter takes
the pain away.

One of the most powerful tools
to fight self-pity is gratitude.
Misery vs. Blessings. Instead
of sadness over personal loss,
or old wounds, I simply tally up
the blessings that I have today.

Today I am sober. I have a HP
who is guided me and protectsme.
Over the yrs I have slowly mended
fences still learning how to patch
broken relationships.

Thanks to my HP, the program of
AA, and fellowship....I know how
to deal with self-pity.


Thanks for letting me share.