Recovery Dharma Raleigh

“The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another”. – William James

My drinking and drug use was pinned to how stressed or anxious I was. I felt it would lessen the affect it had on me or carry me away to a land of don’t give a fuck at the end of the day. It got to the point where it was the only solution I tried whenever things weren’t going the way I wanted. I let people fall down by the wayside and increasingly turned to my substances to escape. 

In sobriety I find myself being more resilient than before. I have generalized anxiety that I have let run my life at some points. I missed out on a lot of experiences, friendships, and opportunities for growth because of it. It was hard for me to speak with people, deal with confrontation, or even answer a phone. These behaviors baked into me until they were the only way I knew to be.

I now have a practice of replacing negative self thoughts and doubts with opposite actions. It’s my rip the bandaid off approach that has worked for me. As soon as one of the old thoughts appears, I jump to do the thing that I wouldn’t have done before. I go up to that stranger, I make that phone call, I say Mom, stop buying me underwear, I’m in my forties.

Kick starting myself to do things and stopping negative thoughts instead of ruminating on them have slowed a source of unhappiness that I have been wallowing in for a long time. 

How do you manage stress and anxiety now? What helps?