The various problems the addict describes may sound like too much for anyone to bear. On closer analysis, though, an addict’s problems are not that different from the nonaddict’s problems. But the addictive thinker’s perception is that they are radically different: Other people get a break once in a while, but not me. Never.
Recovering addicts may bring their unrealistic expectations into sobriety. They may believe that other people in recovery have had an easier time. My problems are the worst, they think. My spouse used to complain when I drank, and now I hear about my going to meetings every night. The supervisor watches me like a hawk. My oldfriends don’t call anymore…. As recovering addicts come into regular contact with others in recovery, however, they begin to see that everyone else doesn’t have it better and, in fact, other people are a lot like they are.
Every aspect of recovery is subject to growth. Accepting life on its own terms, accepting powerlessness, surrendering to a Higher Power, taking and sharing a moral inventory, making amends
—Abraham J. Twerski
Wondering Whom to Read Next?
- Elisabeth Kubler-Ross American Psychiatrist
- David Viscott American Psychiatrist
- M. Scott Peck American Psychiatrist
- William Glasser American Psychiatrist
- Michael Edwardes British Business Executive
- Harold Pinter British Playwright
- Neil Armstrong American Astronaut
- R. David Thomas American Entrepreneur
- Derek Walcott West Indian Poet
- Mark McCormack American Sports Agent
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