Many of us understand that positive affirmations can change the way we see ourselves and, in so doing, how we see others. But how many of us actually practice these? Daily, I mean. Taking them like a spiritual prescription, to be repeated aloud a dozen times, three times a day, every day. It's hard to keep that up, right? What makes it so hard is not just as simple as introducing a new habit, like adding them onto your morning/lunch/bedtime routine - it's the embarrassment, the guilt, maybe even the shame of saying something good to ourselves out loud and definitely not in front of another person. After a lifetime of self-loathing, in whatever manifestation that takes, it's incredibly difficult to begin what seems to be an arduous struggle for self-love, self-compassion, self-worth.
After soaking up years of negative messages, snippets of insults and/or aggression or just feeling invisible, it can feel as if you don't count - as if your thoughts, your feelings just don't count. Even years after the death of an abusive parent or other significant figure in your life, the story of "I don't matter" has become so embedded that they don't need to be around anymore to tell you this because you've learned to take hold of the stick and beat yourself with it. Affirmations help us to put down the stick. They move us from losing the battle to winning the war raging within ourselves. They can bring us to peace. The first few times you affirm something positive about yourself, your mind will invariably reject it: "Huh? What a load of bullshit! That's not you!!". Why does it do that? Because it's so used to the pain of the stick that it can't comprehend this new positive and information which can offer an antidote to the pain. Your mind will try hard to keep you stuck, depressed, sad, angry, hopeless, fearful... so much so that you'll give in and think, "Oh, what's the point?" because there is comfort in discomfort. It's what we've come to know - the insecurity blanket shielding us from healthy relationships with others. It's time to let go of the blanket now. So... stick and blanket dropped, get yourself into a confident pose, take a deep breath, affirm: "I LOVE AND RESPECT MYSELF!" (say it loud and proud) and, above all, SMILE!! It can help to do it dramatically - when you begin to laugh (or maybe even cry), you know it's penetrated. It's broken through. It's landed. But like any new road, it must be travelled down regularly in order to form a more direct route to peace. When you discover that that's your authentic path - to love and respect yourself NO MATTER WHAT HAS GONE BEFORE, you'll feel more peaceful inside. Because you've uncovered a truth. You ARE worthy of love. You ARE worthy of respect. And if you want it from others (let's be clear, you don't NEED it from others when you have your own), it begins with you. Charity begins at home. Be charitable and compassionate to yourself first and foremost and wait and see what treasures begin to unfold in your life. Infinite riches await - are you willing to take that first step? Start your spiritual prescription to day and see how much better you feel 3 months from now.
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Although many might suggest that codependency is a curse, I prefer to believe that it is - at least in part - a gift. There are many wonderful pay-offs for individuals who receive from the codependent - gifts of undivided attention, one's needs pre-empted and ministered to, one's thinking done for one... that kinda thing. Oh wait... erm... what was that last one? Oh yes... 'one's thinking done for one'.... hmm.
"Help..." someone once said, "..is the sunny side of control" and this would appear to lie at the very heart of the problem with codependence - and let's face it, there's a lot of heart in it. The more the codependent feels out of control, the greater she attempts to regain some control, some firm-footing... and the only sure foothold she seems to find is when her feet are planted firmly in someone else's business. "They need to be taken care of... I know what's best for them... I can fix their problems... if only they'd listen to me, their life would be so much better...". She is unable to stay in her own business or 'fix' her own problems - that's way too painful... and she's undeserving of all that attention. Any attention she might give to herself means less time given to others and well, quite frankly, she's not worth that because... she's not good enough. All this giving and over-caring and the codependent often cannot see that they're actually taking.... Taking away an individual's right to make his/her own decisions, meet their own needs and yes... do their own thinking. When the gift of giving is given to oneself, the rewards are indeed bountiful. And what the actively addicted codependent doesn't realise is that she has more to offer those around her when she begins to meet her own needs and allow others to take responsibility for meeting their own needs too. So if help really is the sunny side of control... Does it follow then that with self-help begins self-control...? Getting a handle on those chaotic feelings and behaviours and letting go of feeling solely responsible for others' well-being... Wow... I have a feeling this could be a greater gift indeed... Have you reached saturation point yet? Maybe you don’t know you’re there yet because you’ve been living – or existing – this way for so long that you are uncomfortably unaware that there might be an alternative. I’m here to tell you that there is – an alternative way of being, of reacting, of behaving… of feeling.
If you keep on giving and giving and giving to your partner and feeling worse about yourself by the day (whether that’s financially, physically, sexually, whatever), to friends and/or family, this all takes its toll on your emotional strength until eventually you’re zapped… and you snap. Where there are givers, so there will be takers. Thus sayeth the law of give and take, cost and reward. But what you need to figure out is… What are the pay-offs for you in staying miserable? What are you actually getting from this? Often we think that we are giving without reward; only cost to ourselves. We are playing the martyr. The costs are, of course, more obvious – sleepless nights, appetite changes, anxiety, depression, self-medication using alcohol or food (or other drugs) to make you ‘feel better’ by blocking out the pain and anxiety.. only leading to more pain and anxiety. But how could there possibly be rewards for all of this hard emotional labour? This sounds like garbage, right? I thought so too until I examined my own pay-offs for ‘overcaring’. I got to stay in my familiar place – the place I grew up in on the inside – there is comfort in discomfort, for many of us. At least we know that place – feeling free of anxiety, free from others’ expectations of us, free from others’ opinions of us, free of obligation, free of the responsibility for others’ happiness… that’s unfamiliar and more uncomfortable; more apposite than their opposite. And somewhere along the way, the growing up on the inside kinda stopped short. For many of us in recovery from ‘overcaring’, we come to realise that, although we appear like fully-functioning adults and able to juggle many responsibilities, the truth is that we have some kind of arrested emotional development. The music stopped inside at a certain age. So how do we move away from saturation point and begin to grow up? Without some kind of external input, this process will invariably be slower and self-awareness is absolutely paramount in this process. Recognising that you’ve had enough – that you’re all out of love (almost) – is a good start. From there, the journey begins… to retrace the steps to your authentic self. What does your authentic self really want? From my own experience both as an ‘overcarer’ and a recovery coach, when we get down to it, material things don’t matter. They will never fill the void inside which has existed for all of us who give too much. The road to recovery begins with the first step to self-love. I love and respect myself. I am good enough. Powerful words when you say them aloud. Even more powerful when you say them and begin to believe them. That takes practice. Are you willing to begin your practice and start to find that love you’ve been searching for? |
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