Isolation

Yesterday we met for the first time with our new women’s group for AA. There were only four of us, but it was a very good meeting. We discussed isolation.

Isolation is a very big issue in mental illness and alcoholism. People, especially women, tend to stick to themselves. They stay home.

While they are at home, they start to imagine all sorts of things: people talking about them; how bad of a person they are; or how no one likes them.

In reality, most of the time, no one is talking about them – unless they are dancing on the table in a blackout. They are not a bad person – They may need help if they beat their kids or spouse. And there are probably plenty of people who will like them if they give themselves a chance to get out among the people.

The problem that happens is that things become a self-fulfilling prophecy when we say bad things about ourselves. We say them enough and we start acting that way and start believing the things we hear.

To stop that we need to say positive affirmations to ourselves – daily – every time we can think of it. Things like “I am a likable person who is pleasant to be around.” “I am an intelligent person.”

One program in self-improvement I have mentioned before is “Tools to Life”. It takes 15 min a day for 90 days. It is free. You can find it at www.toolstolife.com. Try it. It will change your life. It has really improved mine. Only do it if you are serious about self-improvement though. It is not for playing around.

Back to isolation. I used to isolate a lot. I never went anywhere. Now, I join clubs and organizations. I am very active in my community. I have bad days rarely and will stay home and have a reading day. But now, I am involved with life. I am in the midst of activity.

You can be that way too. Step by step. It is not easy at first, but it is well worth it. Take that step today towards life. You will be glad you did.