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Comatose Sphagetti

(836 posts)
Sat Feb 24, 2018, 11:21 AM Feb 2018

I used to be a drunk...

But a growing awareness something was terribly wrong - and the insistence of law enforcement - brought me to a treatment center.
There I attended recovery meetings.
Now, this was back in the day. There was no coddling. You were not-so-delicately informed you were full of shit... That your thinking was irrational, that you were suffering from a psychosis defined by delusion, denial, rationalization, minimization, etc. All in an absurd effort to keep from addressing the underlying issue (fear) causing the problem.
Now, I'm just as smart as anyone else. But I would not/could not see my behavior. I DID NOT SEE IT. It took the help of others years down the road to recovery for me to see my behavior as others saw it.
I bring this up because I see the same delusion, denial, rationalization, minimization, etc. in trumpers. They DO NOT/CANNOT SEE the hypocrisy, fear, and absurd thinking/behavior. They are suffering, as I was, from a fear-based psychosis.
How to change this? It is difficult. I was a Social Worker working with drunks and most would not internalize the fact they were mentally/emotionally disturbed - and many died. The only thing I can do is what I do today - set an example through altruism and service to others.
A warning - This inability to see our own behavior/warped thinking applies to everyone - right and left.
The great benefit of these recovery meetings is that I have others to help me see if I begin to fall back into fear-based behavior; others help me see what I need to do to stay a rational, sane, compassionate human being.

7 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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I used to be a drunk... (Original Post) Comatose Sphagetti Feb 2018 OP
America has institutionalized denial... Wounded Bear Feb 2018 #1
Thx JDC Feb 2018 #2
How do I cross-post? Comatose Sphagetti Feb 2018 #4
C&P irisblue Feb 2018 #5
THX! Comatose Sphagetti Feb 2018 #6
+1 for your sobriety mercuryblues Feb 2018 #3
Yes, my soul mate LittleGirl Feb 2018 #7

JDC

(10,130 posts)
2. Thx
Sat Feb 24, 2018, 11:54 AM
Feb 2018

Please consider cross posting in the Addiction & Recovery Group. Although it's not your primary point, your experience, explanation, and service to others is a strong message that would be well received there.

Thx again.

LittleGirl

(8,287 posts)
7. Yes, my soul mate
Sat Feb 24, 2018, 02:12 PM
Feb 2018

couldn't see his addiction and I had to walk away. I loved that man so much but I couldn't take it. I couldn't bare to see the person he was becoming. I almost stopped dating after him but his twin brother convinced me otherwise. He said that his twin would want me to move on. So I did and got married to a wonderful loving partner a couple of years later. We've been together 11 yrs. When my old lover died, I literally mourned a week and my spouse just held me. I still miss that man but the alcohol and drugs killed him when he was 50. Too young to die. Thank you for sharing your story. Your strength gives others hope. It gave me hope.

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