recovery

Why RESIST talking to the Inner Child? (Part 4)

dmtorbi 12-step, ACoAs, al-anon, Alcoholics Anonymous, alcoholism, mental health, Psychotherapy, recovery, self growth, self-help , , , , , ,

tendrils of damage THE WIC DOESN’T TRUST ME & for good reasons

PREVIOUS: Why resist? #3

POST: ‘Negative Benefits’

 SITE: • ‘Emotional Age – Aware & Empower’ •‘Reconnect with your IC’ Scrapbook with 10 items

RESISTANCE to Dialoguing (cont)
🚫 Procrastination  ✳️ MAIN excuse (Part 2)

✅ MORE EXCUSES (cont)
⚠️ I don’t know what to say
ANS: Naturally! Because we constantly talk to ourselves with judgments & self-abuse, we won’t automatically know the healthy way to communicate. Obviously, we weren’t taught to speak kindly to ourselves, much less pay attention to what we actually think & feel. So changing the way we do that is definitely a new language.

• It has to be learned, from a good teacher, workbooks, listening to people anywhere who talk to their children appropriately – with respect, patience & warmth. When ACoAs hear what a reasonable & kind Inner Parent can say to the Child, many remark: “Wow, that makes perfect sense, but I would never have thought of it”.

⚠️ Taking to the kid doesn’t work – I’m still in pain
ANS: Most ACoAs have a strong belief in magic! We think things should take very little time, that we should get things we want right away, that everyone should be nice….
AND we think that recovery will work fast, even if we don’t put much effort in. Soooo, “If I talk to the kid when it’s hurting the hurt will stop right away!” Right?

Sometimes it does, most of the time NOT. The immediate goal of this tool is to be with the child THRU it’s suffering, so it’s not alone. Some ‘piles’ of emotional pain will take longer to dissipate than others, depending on how big they are (a lot from the past – the size of a car wreck, OR a little in the present – the size of a stubbed toe, a paper cut…) vs. how much has been siphoned off by doing emotion work.

REMINDER: EMOTIONS (Es) are neither + nor –, just energy.
When Es are labeled as negative – it automatically implies they are to be gotten rid of, or at least suppressed. This is a very harmful message, since the Inner Child houses most of our Es, with the Parent holding the rest – love, patience, positive pride, compassion, pleasure….).
If we say some Es are bad then we’re saying a fundamental part of our Inner Child is bad! This point of view is S-H, the child abuse we got in our family
It tells us we:
• were never comforted as kids when in pain, so those emotions were unbearable because we were left alone with our suffering
• were blatantly taught that Es are bad, weak, crazy, stupid, to be made fun of….
• never learned that there are appropriate ways to deal with & express Es, so that we can have our feelings without hurting ourselves or others

3. Other SOURCES of RESISTANCE
a. The INTROJECT (PigP)
Ultimately, the harmful power that rules ACoAs has always been the Bad Parent voice. It’s everywhere, crawling around inside the walls of our mind, like termites, whispering it’s poison:
“This stuff they’re trying to teach you is ridiculous! You can’t live without ME! You don’t know what you’re doing, that Inner Child stuff is just crazy….”

The PigP definitely does not want to be replaced by a Good one – afraid of being destroyed – so it keeps a tight rein on the Child by undermining it’s ability to think independently & function well.

b. OTHER People
Anyone not familiar with ego states & Recovery is likely to think it’s nuts, a waste of time, a fantasy…. Often people tell us we’re wallowing (even in some 12-Step programs!), that we should have forgiven them by now, so let go, move on….

We can respond to these ignorant comments – OR NOT – with: “You should try it sometime / It sounds like you don’t know anything concrete about it / Why are you being so judgmental? / Thank you for sharing…”. Make up a couple of phrases you feel comfortable with & memorize them!

NEXT: Why resist? (Part 5)

Why RESIST talking to the Inner Child? (Part 3)

dmtorbi 12-step, ACoAs, al-anon, Alcoholics Anonymous, alcoholism, mental health, Psychotherapy, recovery, self growth, self-help , , , , ,

missing info
I HAVE TO WORK THROUGH                 
my resistance to  the IC

PREVIOUS: Talking to the I.C. – #2

SITE: ‘Write Action – Dialoguing with the IC” (1-12)


1. OUR RESISTANCE to Dialoguing (cont)
🚫 Procrastination
✳️ MAIN excuse (Part 2)

✅ MORE EXCUSES 
⚠️ It feels silly, stupid, fake, self-conscious
ANS: It’s going to be awkward at first – like many new things – but that’s resistance, from the WIC &/or the PigP. If you keep at it – correctly – it begins to make sense, then becomes more natural & automatic

⚠️ It feels ‘schizophrenic’
ANS: This term is mistakenly used, because schizophrenics hear voices & sometimes talk to themselves. Schizophrenia is a devastating mental illness based in defective brain chemistry, with hallucinations & delusions.
It has nothing to do with various Ego States interacting internally, which are normal conscious parts of a whole personality.
NEVER apply it to the process of talking to the Inner Child.whose voice

⚠️ I’m just making it up
ANS: Review Ego States. They’re real. We need to learn about the various components, how they sound, what their point of view & purpose is. With enough info & practice you’ll hear the differences

⚠️ I don’t know who’s talking
ANS: “I” statements are either from the Adult, if it’s a logical thought, or the Inner Child, especially if it’s self-deprecating or self-defeating.
The “You” form is the Parent voice, either mean or kind.
When you have strong emotions it’s definitely the Child.
Some of us hear the WIC very easily, some only our rational voice, some mainly the bad Parent. Writing out dialogues using both hands helps to differentiate them

⚠️ I don’t have time / it’s too much work, takes too longtoo much time
ANS: This is the same as saying you don’t have time to eat – ever. If you don’t nourish your body you get sick & eventually die.
AND if you don’t feed you heart, mind & spirit with attention & love, you starve your essence.

So no matter how outwardly successful you may be, your sad, lonely, hurting part keep gnawing away at your insides. As long as we ignore it – it runs us! If you want your life to function better, this tool is an absolute must!

✍️ Written dialogues using both hands does take time. If you’re serious about your recovery you’ll find a way – somehow. You know that you make time for the things you really want to do
🧠 BUT you can also have brief dialogues in your head throughout the day – no matter where you are – in the bathroom, on the bus, waiting in line or on the phone, before you go to sleep…. ALSO, sometimes it’s enough to just pat yourself on the chest, letting the kid know you’re thinking of him or her in a caring way.

⚠️ I never get a response
ANS: Our Inner Child (Natural & Adapted) is all our historical ages, from birth on, so when we do connect, it can be with the pre-verbal child or one of the older ages. Once it feels safe enough, the IC will talk a lot!

• The youngest one won’t have words to respond, only emotions & sensations. Pay attention to what your body & imagination is telling you
• The middle kid (around 13-14) can be the most honest, but sometimes withdrawn. Either way it needs to be encouraged to express how it feel & what it knows
• Some ACoAs don’t even talk to their teenage self, so it’s being ignored like at home, usually angry, in rebellious mode with folded arms & facing away

HOWEVER – the main reason we don’t get a response (assuming we’re actually trying!) is because the child doesn’t trust us yet – we haven’t proven ourself consistent or safe. Do you make an effort to communicate regularly, & with compassion? Are you being neglectful, and do you sound like you original parents?

REALITY – if we are persistent in talking kindly, realistically to the kids & asking them Qs, eventually one or more will respond, even if it takes months, but only if we care enough to show up evert day!

NEXT: Part 4 – Resistance from the WIC

Why RESIST talking to the Inner Child? (Part 2)

dmtorbi 12-step, ACoAs, al-anon, Alcoholics Anonymous, alcoholism, mental health, Psychotherapy, recovery, self growth, self-help , , , , , , ,

love the kid
I JUST DON’T HAVE TIME
to stop & talk to the kid!

PREVIOUS: Talking to the Inner Child (#1)

POST: “How to Dialogue with your I.C.”

 

🗣 FORMS of Self-Talk (Part 1)

1. OUR PROCRASTINATION to Dialoguing
Putting off talking WITH our Inner Child (inconsistently OR not at all) is another example of the insidious delaying tactic many ACoAs are plagued by. It represents resistance to self-care, either from the WIC or PigP.
Many times we put off taking actions, even ones we would like to do, because we can’t make a decision. Our thinking is thoroughly confused by having several conflicting points of view about something & we don’t know how to parse them out. Which one is right?

🔸 This hamster-in-the-wheel thinking can include :
🗣 the real ‘voice’ of a mentor, friend or relative, ➕our own —hamster wheel
• the PigP, society’s rules & religious beliefs as CDs
• the WIC’s fear, hopelessness & self-hate
• possibly the Healthy Child’s intuition / wishes
• sometimes even the rational Adult voice….
…… all at the board meeting in our head, vying to be heard & trying to win over the others

When this happens on a regular basis it does NOT means we’re crazy. It DOES mean we don’t have an clear sense of our own identity & permission to ‘know what I know’.

However, as we connect with our True Self – our general human rights &  specific needs – we can separate out the various internal voices, choosing the one most fitting to us & the current situation, via the healthy Adult. The others we ignored as irrelevant, incorrect or harmful

When ACoAs in Recovery are asked “Why don’t you talk to your Inner Child at all, OR if you do occasionally, then why not every day?” –  the most common response is “I don’t know” – with a lilt & a shrug. We know we’re supposed to but we have so many ‘reasons’ for not doing it!

RESISTANCE
✳️ MAIN excuse for refusing to talk to our Inner Child is:
⚠️ I don’t woma & circleswant to connect with the pain that will come up: “I hate the kid – it only causes me trouble. It’s always messing things up for me! I want it to go away because it hurts when I do let it surface, AND I’m terrified I’ll uncover some deep dark trauma I can’t handle”

ANS: Re. ‘causing trouble’ – as long as we ignore that younger, hurt part of us, it’ll keep jumping up & down, & biting us in the butt. Only when we consistently dialogue with the WIC will it stop causing us problems
Re. fear of ‘uncovering’ – actually, we already know all our deepest darkest horrors. Originally we had to shove it under a mental carpet or lock it away in the dungeon of our subconscious, but we never really forgot the main events.
What we’ve resisted knowing / feeling is how truly abusive & damaging our family was, & so we ‘cope’ by cutting off & distracting ourselves.

Re. the Pain – We can only fully face early trauma when we have enough self-soothing skills via a good Inner Parent, a decent support system for guidance & comfort, & internal permission to feel all our Es without S-H.
❗️AND – not all our emotions are painful. We also feel excitement, pleasure, enjoyment, relief….

With Recovery comes a deeper, clearer understanding of what happened TO us & why! We must believe in our bones that we did not cause our damage, which will allow us to go deeper.
It takes a certain amount of healing to tolerate re-feeling the backlog of old pain, which is provided by Ego Strength : “the ability to maintain emotional stability while coping with internal & external stressors”.

In any case, (whether able to face old pain or not), we need to develop a rapport with the Child, which means talking with it throughout the day about anything & everything – the weather, the colors we like, what we’re going to do after work, what book to read or show to watch…. No topic is too trivial! It’s time to heal our sad little one & the angry teen, & only love heals. Information is important, but love is the medicine.

NEXT: Resist Talking to the I.C. (Part 3)

Why RESIST talking to the Inner Child? (Part 1)

dmtorbi 12-step, ACoAs, al-anon, Alcoholics Anonymous, alcoholism, mental health, Psychotherapy, recovery, self growth, self-help , , , , ,

many voicesI CONFUSE MYSELF WITH
many conflicting points of viewHealthy Adult & Healthy Adult &

PREVIOUS: Resist dialoguing, #2

SITE : “Importance Of Internal Dialogue In Leading A Happy & Successful Life”

POST:“Ego States – Basics” (Adult, Parent, Child)

TOPIC: TOOL for Recovery / healing IS
Healthy Adult & Loving Parent <–> Inner Child dialoguing

For ACoAs, the GOAL of this process is to shift the WIC’s focus away from believing all the harmful, distorted & untrue things it hears from the Introject – to stop the Child from relying on that voice for it’s identity & way of functioning in the world.
We need to woo the WIC away from the PigP & redirect it’s attention to our Healthy Adult & the newly developed Loving PARENT. To do that we use written & verbal dialogues, gradually replacing the harsh voice which originally created our self-hate

EVERYONE has inner dialogues all the time – called self-talk. We argue pros & cons, debating: “Should I or shouldn’t I?”, we obsessively argue with a ‘real’ person about something that bothers us – but only in our head, we hear the ‘voice’ of our parents or a religious figure scolding or lecturing…. AND no one thinks that’s crazy. SO – why not conversations with our younger self??

A common Q about talking with the Inner Child: “Is it supposed to grow up, go away or what?”
ANS: We want to heal the wounded child & bring forward the Natural one, which is our essence. Then they interact with the other 2 E.S. to make a whole person. (Review ADULT #2)

 🗣FORMS of SELF-TALK
a. Most of the time we think in the ‘I’ form, which is either the Adult, Part 1 or the Inner Child, positively or negatively.
➕ If the statements are positive “I’d rather not do that – thanks all the same, I need more sleep, I’ll study for that exam today…” that’s the Healthy Adult
OR
“I want to see that movie, I looove my cat, give me some more ice cream, I don’t want to be around that —, it doesn’t feel good….” you’re hearing the healthy Child

➖ If the statements in the “I” form are negative, harsh, painful…. then we know it’s the Wounded Inner Child (WIC) who is in self-hate or hopeless mode: “I can’t do anything right, no one likes me, I can’t stand being ignored!, I’ll never get anywhere – I might as well give up….”TAs P:A:C

b. However, when we talk to ourselves in the “You” form, our Inner Parent is talking to the Inner Child, probably without realizing it.
➕ If the statements are positive, then our Loving / Nurturing Parent may say: “You can do it, you’re so smart – I’m proud of you, I know you’re in pain & I’m here with you, you’ll do better next time….”

➖ If the ‘You’ statements are mean, discouraging, judgmental… we know it’s the Introject (PigP / Bad Parent) talking to the Child part of us:
”You should have known better than to —, You could have done that if you’d tried harder, You blew it, you — !, You’re in trouble now! You’re so stupid, No one’s ever going to like you” ….

ACoAs: Notice that our self-talk is rarely if ever positive**, supportive, congratulatory…. Instead, we have perpetual toxic internal voices, with either the PigP haranguing the WIC or the WIC attacking itself, in agreement with the PigP

Some of us have a fairly well-developed Adult (from life experience & native intelligence) but only use it at work &/or to benefit others. Most of us are skating by on the WIC’s version of an Adult – which is very limited & full of CDs (cognitive distortions).
Even when we have a competent Adult ego state, we’re still missing the Good Parent – the main thing we’re trying to create with this tool.

**POSITIVE: Emotions are NEVER negative or positive – are just to be acknowledged, not changed or eliminated.
Only thoughts or actions (T.E.A.) can be helpful or harmful, encouraging or discouraging, useful or wasteful, valuable or worthless, producing growth or stagnation…. SO they can be corrected when they’re self-defeating.
(POST: Being Negative means….)

NEXT: Resist Talking to the IC (#2)

ACCEPTANCE & ACoAs (Part 2)

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accept-serene 

ACCEPTANCE ISN’T SO BAD
once I understand it

PREVIOUS:
Acceptance & ACoAs (# 1)

 

1. The PROBLEM (cont)
🔹 Negative MEANING (cont)
We (self-destructively) ACCEPT that we deserve / or must endure:
• being controlled, verbal abuse, disrespect,
• being treated like a dumb kid (we were never dumb, even as kids!)
• being over-looked, unappreciated, ignored
• having to let others use, manipulate & torture us
• having to deny / destroy ourselves in order for others to be OK
AND TO
• not be able to have a positive impact on our world (be effectual)
Hansel & Grethel• never finding love & validation, since our parents didn’t (narcissists attach, but don’t actually love others)
• only staying with unavailable, distant, cruel & selfish people (note the parents in Hansel & Grethel).
• staying small & ‘weak’, not knowing how to take care of ourselves

Our Toxic Rules are so deeply ingrained that even when we start having useful, valid new information about ourself & the people in our life (A1), we still skip over A2, automatically going to A3.
Whenever we have any new Awareness, ACoAs immediately ask: “What can I / should I DO about it?” (Action is not Acceptance) . This Chart shows why :
NEG 3 As
We compulsively SKIP the middle ‘A’ because:
• it’ll make us safer, considering the harmful CD we think it means
• our whole culture focuses on Action (just DO it!)
• our culture does not value process, ONLY immediate gratification
AND
• we’ve been waiting so long for something better to come along, we don’t want it to take time. The WIC is convinced that if we’re told to wait, it means it’ll never happen / never get our needs met
• our dysfunctional family made their approval conditional (if at all) – based on our actions that suited them. If you act bad, you’re bad, if you act good, we ‘love’ you – sort of.  YUCK. Healthy love is unconditional!

We think we have no choice, trapped in a double bind:
• on the one hand – we hate the rules we grew up with
• on the other hand – we’re terrified to disobey them, ever.
So, since OUR version of acceptance is so painful & debilitating, we keep trying to ignore it altogether, as if we could control the truth away!

♦️                                   ♦️                                ♦️
2. HEALTHY ACCEPTANCE
ALL Acceptance is simply acknowledging the TRUTH about things, without any makeup or mask. It’s ONLY about what actually is or was! It’s about reality, not what we wish things were like, what we think they should be, what others say things are, or even what could potentially be.

Acceptance is only about WHAT IS, such as:
• being damaged in childhood, whether from an alcoholic family or not
• that it caused us great harm
• that we are NOT the source of that damage
• that we’re responsible for working toward healing that damage, no matter how unfair
• that people aren’t always what we want them to be
• that we don’t have the power nor the right to try changing others
• seeing who people ACTUALLY are, not ignoring the parts that hurt us….

ACCEPTING good things requires that we slowly:
• leave behind all our ratty, smelly baggage & garbage in the old internal universe, carrying that broken down spooky old mess we grew up in, dropping the rags of our False Self , a piece at a time
• patiently move our God-given True Self into a beautiful new Inner Universe, with a castle that we have the full deed to, which has level floors, clearly defined halls, stairs & comfortable rooms, with cozy furnishings just to our taste!

NEXT: Healthy A2 – Cont. (#3)

ACCEPTANCE & ACoAs (Part 1)

dmtorbi 12-step, ACoAs, al-anon, Alcoholics Anonymous, alcoholism, coaching, mental health, Problem-Solving, Psychotherapy, recovery, self growth, self-help , , , , , , , ,

'acceptance' stampACCEPTANCE – BAH!
I don’t like it, so I’ll ignore it

PREVIOUS: Healthy Give & Take

QUOTE: “Most men would rather deny a hard truth than face it.”
― G.R.R. Martin, Game of Thrones

😁 Calvin: “Now what state do you live in?”
Hobbes: Denial.” ― Bill Watterson 

1. The ‘PROBLEM’
ACCEPTANCE is the middle ‘A’ of Al-Anon’s 3 As (2. Awareness — 3. Action).  Correctly understanding & using this concept will make our life much clearer & saner.
For ACoAs this pesky A2 is the most misunderstood & the one many ACoAs HATE!  We don’t even want to acknowledge it’s something we need to deal with, because of thinking that “I can’t accept anything I don’t like or is too painful”, which is a CD – cognitive distortion

DEF : A2 does NOT mean –
• liking or not liking something! – a MAJOR misconception
• staying a victim, accepting our lot in life, being resigned
• giving up, not trying, not looking for a way up & out
• putting up with ‘crap’ from people, including our Introject’s bad voice
• sitting around waiting for things to happen or for someone to rescue us

Parts 2 & 3 will explain what it IS. Sadly, as in other areas of life, ACoAs will turn almost anything against themself, even good things. But first let’s see how we do use the 3 As, in the service of our dis-ease, a shorthand for all of our toxic thinking.
Negative MEANING of the 3 As
To put Acceptance in context, the unside downalcoholic / narcissistic family message given children is —
“You are Bad, We are Good, the World is Bad”.
And the WIC understands this triple threat to mean:
Neg. A-1 = “I’m so bad, no one will ever love me”, &
Neg. A-2 = “I try to ignore it, but believe it absolutely”
Neg. A-3 = so – “I must be perfect, (or dead!), to make up for it” 

These 3 became the foundation of our world view – being stuck with this awful protocol without any possibility of escape. Negatives EXPANDED :
A1 = Awareness re. US – the deep-seated belief of the WIC that we’re unworthy, not entitled, beyond redemption! (S-H)

A2 = Acceptance re. THEM – that our family was right about everything, which we absorbed from their overt / covert brain-washing. Guess whose opinions we still hold on to!? We believed them because :
• all humans are intensely loyal to their upbringing – it’s our most basic connection to others
• it’s the way our brain got programmed – every experience created the neural pathways which formed our understanding of life (“How we Learn“)
• AND ‘they’ constantly made it clear that we were un-acceptable. Some parents even used God, spirituality & religion to convince us of their beliefs!

As a result we were trained to accepted all sorts of terrible things as normal & inevitable for the rest of our life, in obedience to our family & community’s lessons

dangerous worldA3 = Action re. the WORLD – everything & everyone who’s not part of our distorted & insulated family mobile is considered dangerous, unhelpful, unwelcoming, indifferent…. since our family (& community) forced on us their narrow, alcoholic, bigoted view of the world. Our actions reflects this.

Unhealed ACoAs deal with the ‘A3‘ BY:
• Defiance of all authority & systems, which have become substitutes for our parents.
We can hate outside forces instead of admitting our rage at the family.
AND since the world is SO-O-O dangerous – we’re NOT going to give in or let them get us! OR —
• Compliance – we have to give in, keep our head down, hide in the shadows, so no one will get us!

NEXT: Acceptance & ACoAs (#2)

ACoAs – Healthy GIVE & TAKE (Part 3)

dmtorbi 12-step, ACoAs, al-anon, Alcoholics Anonymous, alcoholism, Psychotherapy, recovery, self growth


PREVIOUS :Give & Take #2

SITE: “Relational Sphere Hypothesis” (includes 4 universal kinds of social interactions: Communality, Dominance, Reciprocity & Exchange)


HEALTHY RECIPROCITY (cont.)

Beneficial exchanges of any kind DEPEND ON:
a. Knowing our needs.
b. Trusting ourselves.

c. Who we’re dealing with. If we can’t trust our own judgement we can’t be awake enough to identify who’s safe to take from & who’s not!
TOXIC Rules: “ No one is safe or trustworthy” , “Never, ever, hold anyone else accountable for their bad behavior”
ASK :
🔎 When was the last time this person stepped up for me when they knewI was in need? (don’t expect mind-reading)
🔎 Do I feel drained or filled after spending time with this person?
🔎 Are they someone I can count on – the way they can count on me?
🔎 Do they appreciate what I bring to the relationship – the way I appreciate them?chaos

d. The circumstances. When there’s too much uncertainly (as in alcoholic family chaos), exchanges are not possible, as one or both parties will tend to hold on to all their ‘valuables’ – time, info, money, affection, confidences….
TOXIC Rules: “Life is suffering” , “Don’t expect anything good – ever”

ACoAs – with the focus so completely on the family addicts & narcissists, we were left out of the loop of information (Ts), nurturing (Es) & protection (As) that any healthy parent would have provided.
Our training to not-be-given-to goes so deep that even the thought of someone legitimately treating us well can cause anxiety. It can actually feels dangerous, terrifying & physically painful!

EXP: A successful business man found out (from some careful questioning) that over the past 10 years he had employed 3 different assistants who were ACoAs. One of them, Jane, was not only efficient at work but had consistently gone above & beyond her duties to ‘take care’ of her boss.

• This CEO wanted to show Jane his appreciation in addition to the usually expected business ‘gifts’, & asked her what he could do for her.  She was adamant that he should do nothing more. He was puzzled & insisted she receive some additional compensation, such as an all expense paid vacation or free school tuition. She began to shake & cry, insisting she could not possible take anything more. Her reaction was so intense that he finally backed off, shaking his head in

Reminder: Don’t confuse positive givers and narc takers! If you consistently have unhappy experiences with someone (narcissist, controller, bully), stop giving to them.
Giving them anything or expecting reciprocation – will always disappoint. Eventually you will be drained, get angry, then hopeless – & back in your childhood!
Unjustified giving is the WIC’s denial of past & present abandonments: trying frantically to create reciprocity with someone who’s not capable – wanting / demanding to get a return on our investment, in an impossible situation.

BASICS : To get more comfortable with the idea of receiving, it’s helpful to know some universal facts about how human society functions. In social psychology, the “norm of reciprocity” is the expectation (assumption) that people will respond to someone else’s behavior in like manner – they will reward a positive action with another positive action, & conversely will react to hostile behavior by responding either with indifference or hostility.
The focus is centered on trading favors rather than making a negotiation or a contract with others.

• Reciprocity is basically an exchange of energy,  beneficial to all concerned when the exchange is positive. It’s something everyone needs, like trees exchanging their oxygen for our carbon dioxide. So being a receiver is just as vital to smooth social functioning as being a supplier

And it’s not just about the things that are exchanged, which may or may not have value in themselves, but needed as a linking mechanism used as social capital (spend/expend) to bond with others – hopefully to create trust, affection & solidarity. It’s a powerful mechanism for creating & maintaining social ties of all types – anywhere from 2 friends to 2 nations.

NOTE: Accepting honest kindness, respect & generosity from others is a way to say you value them. They’re also some of the same ways we can give back.

NEXT: Healthy give & take #4

ACoAs – Healthy GIVE & TAKE (Part 2)

dmtorbi 12-step, ACoAs, al-anon, Alcoholics Anonymous, alcoholism, coaching, mental health, Problem-Solving, Psychotherapy, recovery, self growth, self-help , , , , ,

reciprocity
THE MORE I KNOW ABOUT MYSELF
the more I can enjoy what I’m offered

PREVIOUS: Give & Take (#1)

 

WHAT TO TAKE from others – or NOT

👎🏽 Saying ‘NO’ requires that we know enough about ourselves & our rights – to make the best choices.
In some cases it also depends on who’s offering & why. If the giver is a relative, a boss or important client, taking the gift may be the kindest, or wisest thing to do, regardless of our taste. We can always regift

But if it’s close family or friends who are supposed to know who we are – & they insist on giving us things that are clearly not appropriate or suited to us – it’s legitimate to say “No thank you!”

EXP: Paula & Sharon were BFFs who lived in adjacent buildings & spent a lot of time in each other’s place. Paula was ‘earthy’ & preferred antiques, while Sharon liked everything bright, shiny & new. For their B/days (one day apart) they exchanged lovely gift BUT Paula always gave Sharon things that were her taste & totally NOT Sharon’s.

After a few years of this Sharon finally spoke up, asking to be considered accurately. The following gift again did not fit Sharon clothes or decor, so with regret, she gave the gift back!
PS. Years later Sharon developed another close friendship, also an ACoA, who admitted not knowing how to give appropriate gifts. They solved it by exchanging a short list of what each would like, to choose from. It worked great.accept good

Say YES to:
• complements about anything – looks, skills, style, accomplishments, knowledge, talents,  creativity
• freely given generosity – of money, help, provisions, short-term free services, lending something you need
•  kindness, respect, positive attention, appreciation….. any time
• offers of aid when you most need it
• new ideas, suggestions, other people’s experiences we can learn from
• something frivolous & fun – just because!

CONSIDER: Rejecting someone’s good-faith offers of time, kind words or small objects – is a way to dismiss the person as unimportant, & can un-necessarily hurt their feelings. It implies that what they’re not good enough for you

EXP: In early Recovery Sean was reminded to appreciate whenever he was complemented, rather than negate it by explaining at length why he didn’t deserve the acknowledgement. His sponsor said: “It’s insulting to the person who is giving you a gift, by throwing it back in their face. Just say ‘thank you’ & then zip the lip.”
He remembered thinking: “OK, I’ll just say thank you, but privately I don’t have to agree!”  Oh well, Progress – not Perfection! Eventually he was able to appreciate genuine praise.

HEALTHY RECIPROCITY
IMP: Being reciprocal means that we are supposed to receive something in return for our efforts – it can be a Thank You, a smile, a vacation or even a house! It means we ‘allow’ others to give to us in return for something positive we have done (once or regularly) – OR just because they like us! Can you imagine?

Being able to receive is a normal part of life. This is hard for many ACoAs to believe & grasp – if we’ve been blindly obeying Toxic Rules such as “Only other people’s needs count”. Do-ing for others is all we know & taking anything makes us feel guilty! Because we don’t feel worthy of anything good, we’re not comfortable receiving – even when it’s done freely & with pleasure.

Beneficial EXCHANGES of any kind DEPEND ON:
know thyselfa. Knowing our needs. Directly or indirectly, we were taught to ignore & deny them. So now – how can we know what to take & what to reject, if we can’t tell what’s good for us or what we need?
TOXIC rules: “No one wants to help me, nor ever will” , “I should never be comforted when in pain”….(Post : Our Rights)

b. Trusting ourselves. We learned that we could never believe our own thoughts, experiences, emotions, good judgement or intuition!
They told us everything we felt was wrong, stupid or the opposite! So now – how can we identify what feels right for us or not?
TOXIC Rules: “It’s weak & dangerous to have needs, ask for help, have our emotions”

NEXT: Give & Take (#3)

ACoAs – Healthy GIVE & TAKE (Part 1)

dmtorbi 12-step, ACoAs, al-anon, Alcoholics Anonymous, alcoholism, mental health, Psychotherapy, recovery, self growth, self-help , , , ,

taking in love
I CAN TAKE IN GOOD THINGS –
& I decide what they are or are not

PREVIOUS: Give & Take (#2)

SITEs: The UNDER-Receiving OVER-Giver
• 5 reasons why it’s HARD to RECEIVE


WHAT TO TAKE from others – or NOT
ACoAs have a tendency to do everything in extremes, black & white, no room for fitting an action or emotion to the current situation. This applies to the issue of ‘receiving’.
🔻 Because we think that taking anything is a form of manipulation, we don’t want to seem greedy or taking advantage of others.
🔺 But, as with all mental health, we need a balance. Not everyone is like our family, many of whom were selfish & stingy or insensitive & oblivious.

👍🏽 👎🏽 People GIVE – based on their state of mental health:
• healthy ones only offer what they legitimately have, can & want to do
• co-dependents usually give others what they want for themselves but aren’t allowed to have. They want to fix you (whether you nsharingeed it or not) so you’ll be well enough to take care of them in return, hoping you’ll intuitively know to do that

• narcissists only extend themselves to give whatever they like to do or give, which has nothing to do with you
– If their offer doesn’t suit you, say “no thanks & don’t give it a second thought
– If it does suit, don’t agonize & wonder why they’re doing it & what you have to do in return – just take it & smile.
AND – they do love to be appreciated & fawned over!

1. START from the assumption that IF someone volunteers something, they have the ability & the willingness to give you what’s offered. Take it at face value. In general, people like to share what they know, what they have & what they create. They feel good about it & we have the right to take it

NOTE: It’s usually best to accept what’s offered as a way of respecting the positive motivation of the giver. This is not co-dependence, as long as you also feel free to refuse, when appropriate

2. EXCEPTIONS to taking something offered. You can say “no thanks” :
👎🏽 taking what’s suggested would in any way harm you or someone else
👎🏽 because you don’t like / can’t stand it
👎🏽 if it truly does not fit your genuine needs & tastes – especially if you ask for something specific but offered something completely different
👎🏽 when a gift or action is inappropriate for the current situation (‘too soon’, not ‘that kind of friend’, not age-appropriate….)
👎🏽 if you already know that the ‘offerer’ is manipulative, sneaky or will use it against you – based on experience reject the bad

Say ‘NO’ to anything which retards Recovery, & is:
• against your principles & spiritual beliefs
• generally harmful / abusive
• mentally repetitive &/or boring
• not your right to have
• not what you need at the moment
• not suited to your personality or your taste
• something you’ve outgrown
• something you don’t want, ever
• useless & a waste of your time

Use EFT to make a shift – for each step, tap or thump the points while breathing IN thru the nose & OUT thru the mouth – 3X

😩 BEGIN with the negative BELIEFS you want to change / undo.
EXP: “I can’t receive. It’s not ok to get things. I’m only supposed to give”
Specific aspects of the main self-defeating statement are combined with tapping parts of the face & body : eyebrow, side of & under eye, under nose, on chin, collarbone, under arm & top of head

💚 REVERSE: New statements are combined with tapping the same face & body parts, in the same sequence, refining the desired outcome with each successive area. (MORE….)
EXP: While tapping Collarbone, say: “I’d like to receive respect, honest responses & encouragement from those I love, & from those who work with me”….. AND

❤️ END with – Top of the Head: I am so happy to receive; I receive divine gifts of time, energy, playfulness, joy, laughter, delight, but especially love. Love is the best gift to receive. I receive love now.” (Also Fear of being loved)

NEXT: Healthy Give & Take (Part 2)

ACoAs – NOT allowed to RECEIVE (Part 3)

dmtorbi 12-step, ACoAs, al-anon, Alcoholics Anonymous, alcoholism, coaching, mental health, Problem-Solving, Psychotherapy, recovery, self growth, self-help , , , , ,

giving infoNOTHING IS FOR FREE!
I know I’m going have to pay a high price!

PREVIOUS: Not allowed to Receive – #2

 

ACoA REASONS 
1. ABOUT US (cont)
c. Backlash – Most ACoAs believe that if we ever got the good things we long for – we would be SOOO happy (right away) & all our problems would vanish.  It’s true that over time being with healthier people, pursuing our dreams, being loved… is healing, but not always right away!

Of course there may be some negative or mistrustful reactions from other people (bosses, friends, family, spouse, even adult-children).  But since we assume everyone will reject us for changing, we’re surprised when some respond positively

IRONY: We need to keep in mind that when we first start receiving emotional & practical benefits of Recovery, we may actually feel worse – for a while! This seems counter-intuitive, until we understand what’s at work, & can prepare ourselves to manage the discomfort, until it fades.backlash

• Moving toward positive things in our life – going on vacation, going into Recovery / therapy, finding a loving friend or mate, getting compliments & validation …. can produce internal backlash – from ourself.

Our discomfort is confusing & unexpected, especially when nothing seems to be wrong on the outside (it’s actually tooo good). It makes us think we’ve done something wrong because:
• the PigP’s voice will get louder “Who do you think you are…”
• we feel depressed, fearful, unsettled….  which is so ‘normal’, we don’t make the connection
• we may feel angry at the person who has been helpful, complimentary….

Actually, the ANXIETY comes from: • breaking the Toxic Rules
• feeling disloyal to our parents, even though they were neglectful & cruel, because the WIC thinks they were right! so we feel unworthy of receiving
• the contrast HURTS – compared to all we’ve suffered as kids & since then – at the hands of family, teachers, mates, sometimes even healers
• rage at being duped by our ‘disease’, when we “Could’a had a V8” (Love) all this time!

REMINDER : There are still people who insist (from ignorance, denial or control) that: “The past is over & done with & has nothing to do with now – let it go & get on with your life”!

Unfortunately those of us who experienced abuse & trauma as kids have a toxic programming deep in our bones. So, being conditioned to believe we’re unworthy of receiving, we can’t properly nourish ourselves or let others help us. To ‘let go’, we need the right info! To heal takes courage & time
🧤
2. Assumptions ABOUT OTHERS
• ACoAs project onto others all the overt & covert experiences we had with our dysfunctional parents (see list in Part 1). Since they were absent, careless, crazy, controlling, depressed, incompetent, demanding, violent, incompetent….
we unconsciously assume everyone else in the whole world is like that too, even though, as adult, we have definitely seen, heard of or met capable, functional people.
Emotionally, we simply ignore this knowledge & automatically react to everyone as if they’re a carbon copy our family

a. Actually, many people we run across will not be like our family, yet we treat them unfairly. Such people will be confused by the way we act & react to them. They inwardly just shake their heads & stay away!

b. More commonly, because ACoAs are talented at sniffing out people who indeed are similar to our background – we feel pulled to them, drawn in by their familiar dysfunctionality.

They have little or nothing to offer – but all the while we’re wanting, expecting, even demanding to have a different kind of interaction with them – better, more satisfying!

• We try to create a different outcome because we think it was somehow our fault that family relationships didn’t work out – & therefore we can change it, fix it, even if it has to be with substitutes! This is clearly impossible, but we keep trying – until we ‘get it’ that we didn’t cause the original problems and that we’re powerless to change other people.

NEXT: Not Allowed to Receive #4