Journey

I have come to believe recovery is a journey of self-discovery. For my path of recovery, that includes God, and the VA medical centers and hospitals. Your path might be the same, but it likely isn’t. If it isn’t the same that's okay. After all, we are different people, with different experiences. Different people with different values. I have also come to believe that recovery is not a straight line. Recovery is more like a rollercoaster, with high points, low points, slow points and fast points. Today's story is about how to live life, on life's terms. It is much harder then it sounds, at least for me it is. Maybe you heard of this before it comes from the Action Commitment Therapy (ACT) model of recovery.

When I first heard about ACT, I thought it was going to be rather sketchy, but I was challenged by my recovery coach (therapist) to give it a fair try. So I did just that. I am glad I didn’t quit. What's even better, ACT is consistent with my religious beliefs. On a basic level, it is all about living in the moment. Being in the now is what makes ACT very difficult. Life comes at us at 100 miles per hour at times. And to not get distracted by the many distractions is not easy. So how do you live in the now?

Fair warning, this can get uncomfortable because first step is to identify what your values are. A value is just something that you care about. One example may be, getting to work on time. If that is important to you, then it would be a value. Other examples could be spirituality, or education, or politics. Those could all be values.

Then after you identify a few values, make your choices consistent with those values. Going back to our first example, of being at work on time. The behaviors this would encourage might be showering, getting dressed and having enough driving time to overcome anticipated obstacles so that you are not late.

If you have read any of my other stories you know that I suffer from depression. There are times when I don’t have the motivation or energy to get out of bed. Even if it is just to get a glass of water. This really bothers me, I don’t like feeling like I’m wasting time. My value in this situation is to live a purposeful life. But when I have no motivation or low energy to do anything, how can I break the cycle of depression? That cycle being: do nothing, feel bad because you have done nothing, then feel more depressed (repeat). So I came up with a task that I can do almost every day, to feel some kind of purpose. Every day I set a basic goal to check the mail. I have days when this is a near impossible task. So I have to use a few other tools that I’ll talk about in later stories, like positive self-talk. I might have to remind myself that I have the physical capability to get up and check the mail. Because with ACT the point isn’t world domination, the point is to start making positive progress.

In closing; recently I was watching The Walking Dead, (<3 that show) when Gabriel Stokes the preacher said, “We're on the right path, even if we're on the wrong road.” I think this is what recovery is all about, that's what ACT is. Action Commitment Therapy is about accepting the current situation for what it is, and not making it worse by comprising your values. I think what it means is if you are on the wrong road, but still going the right direction you are still okay.

Thank you for reading, you rock!

Oh I picked up a couple sponsors so here check these out if you want.

My fellow writers, are you looking for stock photos for your stories? Check out Light Stock it has affordable plans and royalty free photos. https://www.lightstock.com/?share=31e97d4eb5e555692bd1f1a0fa21

Or do you like saving money? Consider Zoom Benefits, This has paid for it’s self with just the savings I get with my cell phone. Check it out http://my.trkreferral.co/?ref=1233134