Recovery: Freedom from Our Addictions

by Russell Brand

Step 3 means we ask for help. When I notice that I am agitated, fearful or confused, I no longer, as in the past, plough on. I pause. I have learned to better commune with my feelings. Mentally the inner dialogue is like this: ‘Wow. That is a really hurtful email. I hate the person who sent me that. I must be pretty worthless for someone to talk to me that way. I think I’ll send a response so loaded with invective and syntactic daggers this person will never bother me again.’ I read an email that disturbs me … I feel mobilized in my gut … my body responds first … then my thinking alters. This is a trivial example of the ordinary junction that previously would set in motion a chain of events that would lead to me needing to drink, or use or ‘act out’ – the kind of everyday challenge that I needed an addictive supplement to tackle. Now that I have made a decision not to live that life, I have to recommit to it every time I encounter an event that triggers my old way of thinking.