SLAAwesome!

I am a brand spankin new fresh faced addition to the field of dependency and/or addiction, emotional and/or chemical. I literally come into the rehab holding a clipboard or folio or macbook or coffee cup, all super smiley, shoulders back, perky face, bright like a diamond. Then I'm like, oh wait, need more counselor face. As if the clients, the team and I are just having lunch and planning a day. As if the clients, the team and I, didn't live and fight and know the work. As if the clients, the team and I, didn't live and fight and know the ugly. 

Sometimes it's just like barista-ing at the coffeehouse around 6am, BEFORE anyone's had their coffee and sugar. A gauntlet of sneers. Addiction seems to be made up of a million things, and at the same time, it can be the same five things. Over and over again. Until, . . . . something. 

It's more like walking into the animal shelter, maybe? Some of the dogs find that just your presence in front of their particular cage can fill them with relief. 'Optimism is close! I here her heels clicking closer down the hallway! The counselor is here to calm the blizzard of emotion that is my heart right now!' 

You walk past the next cage, there are great toys, food, water, friends even. But mostly the cage is just filled with puppy eyes that say, "I know what's up. Can you really affect my future? I feel like I have no control. I don't have much time."  

Actually, today I just did paperwork in a cold office with some good soup. No real healing. But I did run into the site for SLAA - Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous. Even in the small minute that I've been in this job, this is not a new subfield for me. But I'd like to share some insight that I found in their literature, because even to those unaffected by this disease, I think it was plain and profound. This wasn't from my instructor, or my boss, or my textbook. This was from someone who is not a writer, someone who is an addict struggling with their program, who is sharing her experience, hoping that it can be of service to someone else. 

"Addiction: Fear; running from self; not knowing how to love one's self." 

She defined her disease. I know most people think that sex and maybe even love addictions are a bunch of bologna, but maybe you can at least accept that these essentials to life - Love and Sex - can be real problems to people. She's more on to it than a lot of us. 

Can we just collectively agree that, either way, love of self and acceptance of self is paramount to ANYTHING? Thanks. I felt the community there.

Soooooo, If your relationships never seem healthy, or if your sex is dangerous/compulsive/life-threatening, try to find a meeting. You can even listen to them online, or participate on the phone  . . .  www.slaafws.org

On a lighter note, hang tight, I'm working on a 7+ minute long video of Cody eating a carrot. I'll holler when it's ready.

Credit to The Journal. Free here.