We’re not talking of the battery, but this will give you power none the less. Do as the AA does, the healing part of it, that is. In this time of fear and uncertainty  we might all benefit from peeking into the world of those who had to fight addiction for their personal freedom. This encompasses all addictions, but AA’s way of recovery and program is well established and well known so it was fitting for the title as an umbrella denoting addiction in general here.

When faced with difficulty, pain, panic and stress for any extended period of time it’s quite easy to try and find relief in something. When isolated, and our urges and faults not kept in check by a social structure you regularly intertwine ourself with, when left alone to think and rummage through our past actions, regrets, sunken dreams or failures it’s quite easy to get sucked in and addicted to the heightened drama of it all, especially when there is no real answer or end in sight. We sometimes enjoy the negative emotions only due to their intensity. Prolonged intense emotion is very energetically expensive and it will deplete you, maybe even sucking you into some old habits you’ve thought you’re done with like drinking, smoking, emotional eating… Visiting the past is all right, using the time you have now to put some things in order is good and productive, but not if you get stuck there. It’s a place to be visited and observed, analysed from afar and picked for lessons, not to be lived in. Why did we feel the need to say this today? Because we all have our own battles. So why the AA? Because they have some really good lessons to teach in general, because it works and is helpful.

When you feel worry has become too much of a habit and is punishing the positive emotional feedback out of existence you can adapt their path to yourself and learn that an honest evaluation of self is needed.  You can take the AA’s lesson in honesty and a deep sense that none are in this alone, even if it may seem like it when it gets hard. We can learn that hope is extremely powerful. Not empty positive thinking, which is delusional, but careful hope which sees and accepts the bad and sees the spaces for improvement. We can learn not to just talk about what we are going to do but to take viable action towards it. No matter how laughingly funny your small step may seem to a bystander, if this lean towards better is all you can handle now, do that. We can learn that courage and integrity are vital. There is nothing wrong in being afraid, do the right thing anyway and keep your word  – to yourself and others. Be willing enough to work on things and humble enough to accept help. This may be seriously hard for some of us. Love others. We all need support. Call someone you know is having a hard time now. Call someone and talk it through if you’re having a hard time. We can learn that things take serious work, discipline and perseverance, that there will be grinding and difficulty, but don’t break the discipline. It will get easier. Be aware and awake, notice what’s going on with you and others and address it. Holding on to truth no matter how mangled, uncomfortable or difficult will eventually bring clarity and freedom. When you find that place help others up, put your time and expertise in service of others. This is how you kick a destructive habit and put the experience of it to good use . You think that living in a perpetual state of panic and stress is not as bad as raging alcoholism, substance abuse, gambling, binge eating or any other form of addictive numbing. Just keep it up for a while and you’ll start to notice the fraying and crumbling of the structure that keeps you sane, stable, happy and balanced.

Stay healthy, get a project. Goals will keep you motivated and active. Clean out that damn closet you’ve been ignoring for years. You’ll feel better. There is no better time to do some self-maintenance than now. Take care of yourself, take care of others, be responsible, stay safe.