Today's reading in Answers in the Heart focused on my favorite topic -- honesty. One part that stood out to me was: "The more we grow, the more we develop our ability to make one choice at a time, to experience one feeling at a time, to tell the truth one situation at a time. We admit to ourselves when we feel guilty, angry, fearful, resentful -- the difficult feelings that are hard to face."
I certainly have recognized that it is important to "feel" rather than to continue to numb those feelings with sex and love addiction, but feelings do still scare me and I do find myself continuing to want to run away from them somehow, rather than get honest with myself about how I am feeling.
Most recently, I have began to face the "other place" I go to medicate when not using sex or love to avoid myself and my feelings -- that place is food. A little less than two years ago, I started working an addiction program around food and ended up relapsing in this program. Thank God I found my way back ONCE again to SLAA. But today I am doing my best to work both programs and have to admit that I'm scared. I feel lonely and empty and an overall feeling of sadness.
It seems so strange to me to mourn the loss of two things (the diseases of compulsive overeating and sex and love addiction) that I have used to hurt and injure myself in so many ways. Yet, just like surrendering dishonesty, being without these coping mechanisms that have served me for so long leaves me feeling very vulnerable and afraid.
Anyone who has known me at any level probably has understood that it is very, very difficult for me to feel vulnerable. Control and confidence feel much more comfortable to me. But those are no good if they are empty, if they are not based in reality, if they are fueled by acting out or eating to cover and soothe my feelings.
So, for today I will be honest and say that I don't feel good. I feel an emptiness in my stomach and in my heart. I want to isolate. I have no desires to act out, but I choose to be honest enough to say that I will continue to suffer until I turn to my Higher Power, not food or sex or love for comfort. I also am willing to admit that I feel scared to share these things. I am afraid of judgment and just as afraid of the intimacy required for someone to show me their genuine support. Just for today I'm facing those fears.
Maybe I’m Regaining a Religion
6 years ago
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2 comments:
I just wanted to let you know how much I can relate to this post. I had a recent slip in my sex addiction and in the time between when it happened and I finally got honest, instead of minimizing my behaviour, my eating took a nose dive. I reset my abstinence date and have slowly gotten back on track with my food but it is a daily struggle.
There was a time when I could feel the emptiness and breathe through it, trusting I was being held in the palm of my HP's hand, while waiting for that vast emptiness to ease. I haven't been willing to trust that place for a while. I don't know how to get back to where I knew that feeling my feelings wouldn't kill me, but I want to.
I appreciate your sharing more than you know.
I am always looking for ways to numb my feelings and isolate. I hate opening up to others... it's been very difficult to do.
I'm working hard at reaching out, because it always feels better when I do. I think that these online blogs really help us with that. It becomes just barely easier to say things that I've already written out...
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