Steps on the Road to Recovery

Steps On the Road to Recovery for 26 Oct to 1 Nov 98.

Published Last Week. A daily hint published each day since June 1996. This is past my second year anniversary since starting this site. Page Down for the next days that are added a day at a time. I have moved to http://www.recoverybydiscovery.com and this daily page is now here at https://www.recoverybydiscovery.com/daily.htm . I would appreciate any feedback, questions and suggestions that you have.

What I am going through now is the DSM-III-R Desk Reference a "disorder" at a time and commenting on the spiritual and recovery aspects. The DSM is what the American Psychiatric Association uses to label symptoms to facilitate communication in their community. Unfortunately, the labeling from the DSM can shut down communication with those seeking temporary assistance and spread the stigmas of mental illness. The DSM can also bring some comfort by telling some that others have had the same experience. I am adding additional comfort by pointing to some ways to start getting out of the "disorders". I am not writing about cures. I am writing about how the cure process works over time. Instantaneous cures can be as traumatic as the original event that generated the disorder or illness. Instantaneous cures do not do us any good when we get the same disorder back since we have not changed the thought system that caused the disorder in the first place.

26 October 1998

Last week I was continuing writing about some of the symptoms of Generalized

Anxiety Disorder [GAD]and some hints on what to do at first. What one does later

is a matter of how much we are getting in contact with our intuition and guidance

from our lord most high within. The first symptom this week is the 8th symptom

out of eighteen to qualify us for GAD. That symptom is "dry mouth". Boy, who

has not had dry mouth. Especially as a side effect to mental medicines. Dry mouth

can have to do with thirst. Dry mouth can be a precursor symptom to diabetes.

Diabetes can be an indication of inability to handle too much sweetness.

So we have some clues to at least start our unraveling process. We can forgive

ourselves for judging ourselves as too sweet and too bitter. We can forgive ourselves

for judging ourselves as too thirsty or two wet. The idea is not to resolve everything at

once, the idea is to begin the process of pealing back the layers of our onion. There

may be may tears in the process. Also we can accept the thirst and at the same time

try to drink enough to neutralize the thirst. Nothing precludes trying something else.

27 October 1998

Today's symptom is "dizziness or lightheadedness". Another common symptom

that I and most others have experienced. Sometimes there are physical causes.

Sometimes there are conscious and or unconscious thoughts that are causing the

symptoms. Sometimes the physical causes are coming from the conscious and or

unconscious thoughts. Since this symptom can be an indication of serious physical

conditions, it is important to clear that possibility first. Then when the symptom

persists and no physical cause can be found by a medical doctor, it is time to see

what might be going on.

When this dizziness or lightheadedness is going on we can also look for the

possibilities of spirit working. Dizziness could be an inner ear problem or

your spiritual rebirth. It just depends on what we are really asking for consciously

and unconsciously. That is why knowing ourself and exploring our unconscious

is needed when we are ready to really find out what we really want.

28 October 1998

The next symptom is "nausea, diarrhea, or other abdominal distress". The same

comments as yesterday apply. Another example of the mind body connection. The

next symptom is "flushes (hot flasher) or chills". The same comments as yesterday

apply. Another example of the mind body connection. I prefer the description of

hot flashes as power surges. Both the hot flashes and chills pass. I found that when

all I did was just observe them passing that is what they did. I found the shortest

way through most anything is through it, to get through with it. The last symptom for

today is "frequent urination". The physical implications could be diabetes or too

much drinking. I noticed that diabetes sounded like "die a beat ease". Sort of an

easy way to die over time instead of beating yourself up. I knew someone that would

fit that description. Frequent urination could also be about being pissed frequently.

Sometime our physical symptoms are metaphors that could help heal us. Sometime

they are just symptoms.

29 October 1998

Today's symptom is "trouble swallowing or "lump in throat"". As above, this can

be a physical hint that needs addressing medically. This also can be trouble swallowing

some concept. This can be about changing your mind. Sometimes we get stuck. Sometimes

we need to help ourselves get unstuck. There are as many ways to help ourselves as there

were to get stuck in the first place. One way is just holding our throat with our hands and

letting healing spirit flow. Another is gently tapping the throat area to assist in getting that

area unstuck. Lightly scratching and or massaging that area may assist. Staying present

with the feeling and asking the feeling what it is telling us can help. Asking ourselves

good questions and waiting for our answers can open up a whole way of relating to

ourselves. Of course we need to be open to more ways of communication like inner

visions, intuitions, all sounds, feelings, and what happens next.

30 October 1998

Today's symptom is "feeling keyed up or on edge". Boy can I relate to this symptom

today. I had some problems with my desktop computer and putting it all back together

will take more time than I planned. So I have a case of a difference between what I

want and what I have. The end result is some feeling on edge, or in my terms, mild

anger. So I get the opportunity to clear up my own anger that is coming up over my

not fully accepting what is going on. In fact I am late with today's hints because I

got myself into too much. Now I get the challenge of getting myself out of my lack

of acceptance and letting go and get on with letting my attitudes change to more

altitude with the assistance of my lord most high within.

No matter what I call spirit, some will not like that name. So, when that is true,

we need to use our own names and definitions of spirit. Over the long term spirit

will define spirit for us when we continue to explore what spirit is. Over the long

term spirit will have names that are meaningful to ourselves and perhaps not to others.

After all, each person's relationship to God is unique, and yet will have some

generic qualities.

31 October 1998

Today we have the "exaggerated startle response" again. Jumpy, are we not

jumpy at times. The challenge is to keep this capability for when we really need

this capability. We need this when we are in danger. Some aspect of us must

think we are in danger to exaggerate our startle response. This is an aspect it

could be useful to get to know and to know what it is doing. Perhaps there

might be a better use for this sensitivity.

Some people spend a lot of time jumping on others, perhaps to keep others

from jumping on them. Perhaps some of our sensitivity to being startled is that

we have been jumped on too much. The other side of the coin for being startled

is to startle others. This can be a negative spiral process. So, the question is

how to make this a positive spiral process.

A positive spiral is possible when we get to know them and what they are

doing. Then we can help them get what they want without jumping on us.

Then we can help them get what they want without as much sensitivity to us.

1 September 1998

We are ending our week with the 16th symptom out of 18 symptoms associated

with "GAD", generalized anxiety disorder. Sort of like a form of "SAD". The

symptom is "difficulty concentrating or "mind going blank" because of anxiety".

Well, since the DSM says these symptoms are because of anxiety this must

be part of GAD. :)) Anxiety is just low level of fear and fear is from a difference

between what we perceive we have and what we think we want. That difference

may be conscious and or unconscious.

So when we have low level fear and our mind goes blank or we have difficulty

concentrating we have no cause for surprise. Fear can produce cold in any part of

our body, why not our mind. The opposite of blank is too much information and

then we can not concentrate.

What to do? Interestingly I found that it was simple to get through fear by just

going through my fear symptoms with spirit. Easy to write and quite a challenge to

do.

I foster Discovery and Recovery and the Life of Your Dreams,

Michael Foster, M. A.

Mental Health Coach

"Learn HOW to recovery by discovering the blocks you need to remove and the actions you need to take and what you need to let go of as your blocks to your blessings."

From my book in process, The Spiritual Cookbook (Generic Recipes for a Better Life)

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I started my daily page, because it is useful for me to look for some recovery tip or secret each day for my spiritual growth. we and I only need one secret to work on and let it work on me each day. They are secrets because they are usually the opposite of what the majority of society teaches. They must be secret because they are not commonly used. A friend of mine once said "Common Sense is not much in Common.". Now that I have grandchildren I am also writing for them. I would have really liked for my grandparents to have passed on what they learned.

I am including Sunday as it is my formal day of learning the lord most high's secrets. If you would like ask questions, or contribute some of your wisdom, or want to make some comments or want to vote for which day to put on my tip of the month page or tell your success stories, click Michael Foster, M. A.