Replacement Habits

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Replacement Habits

“Habit is a man's sole comfort. We dislike doing without even unpleasant things to which we have become accustomed.” ~Goethe

I am a recovering alcoholic and have been sober for nearly 30 years from drugs and alcohol, but addiction persists in other ways. Today, I received an email from someone who mentioned a problem that I have relating to addiction (and I imagine many others do, too) - that is when I manage to gain control over one type of food or habit, I replace it with another one. It's quite frustrating to me and I often wonder when this chain of events will end. I was in another 12-step program at one point and we used the concept of circles: inner circle behavior was that to avoid; middle circle behavior was questionable, and outer circle behavior was acceptable.

I have been meaning to make a circles chart for the food I can and cannot eat. I did this once early in my emotional recovery for the emotions and behaviors. My therapist at the time showed me how to do it, even before I got in the 12-step program. Foods are neither bad nor good, but are those that I can or cannot eat with normal control. One example is peanut butter. I do not buy it because every time I do, I eat it straight from the jar. Baby carrots are an example of a food I can buy. I have never binged on baby carrots.

I will make doing my circles an assignment to complete before I write my next Lessons from Life - the go one inside each other. It will give me clarity as to where my safety and danger zones are. It is one thing to know in my mind what they are; it’s another to see them before me in black and white.

Michelle Rose