PREVIOUS : Power Motive

POST: “Unhealthy vs Healthy Family Rules“

🤬 The adults we grew up with were internally powerless (cont)
a. About Them //  b. Toward Us

c.🔒IN US – some RESULTS from not being allowed to have an effect on ‘them’ in childhood :
• Procrastination – ACoAs use various excuses for putting off decisions & actions. The underlying reason is the WIC’s sense of powerlessness, translated into endless obsessions + hopeless apathy

• Lack of self-motivation – An ACoA double bind:
🧸 We have legitimate needs & desires that will not go away, no matter how hard we try to deny or ignore them

IRONY :  ▪︎ On the one one hand, we assume everyone is like our family – that no one will ever see, hear or care about us  – so there’s no way they’ll meet any of our needs
▪︎ On the other hand is co-dependence. Based on our assumption that we don’t have the power or permission to provide the needs ourself (we’re not worthy), we keep looking for other people to approve, validate & motivate us to function! Talk about a double bind!                                                         

🌺 RECOVERY: A person’s subjective feeling of confidence & power comes from a realistic sense of achievement, efficacy & usefulness – which can & are making a difference.
We can modify or undo our WIC’s brain-wash, correcting the false belief that we’re ‘forever powerless to have any effect in the world’
BY :
👨‍👦all thru the day – giving the young Inner Child hugs & strokes – who is mainly scared , & just sitting quietly near the older one – who is mainly angry, so they know they’re not forgotten.
This is especially useful when you’re busy or don’t yet know how to communicate very well with them .
BY :
✍️ regularly using “Bookending with your Inner Child” to prove that we do have an impact on others by our actions AND non-actions, bringing the ‘younger us’ into the present
BY :
✍️ daily doing -at least- a little 2-handed writing with one or more ages of your Inner Child (possible ages : 5-6, 12-13 & 17-19), not only when something bothers you, but about anything that’s happening that day – pleasant, unpleasant or just interesting.
☆ Make sure it’s a dialogue, not a monolog telling them what you think, & not letting them talk.
BY :
🚙 going to 12-Step meetings, reading recovery books, the blog & your Bible, & praying. These are to strengthen your Adult so you can take better care of the kids. (Review the tasks of The UNIT)

💻 Just because our family short-changed us, does not mean everyone else will too. Notice & write down all the ways you’ve already had positive responses throughout life to get a desire or need met, provided you asked the ‘right’ people – those who were already, willing & able. You may be pleasantly surprised.

☛ And it’s OK if you don’t trust what they’ve said (yet) because the Bad Parent voice won’t let you feel good about it. That will change as you heal.

NEXT : GROWTH – Gaining PP