Playmates and playgrounds

Recovery (and indeed life) is about choices.

Choices about the actions we take every day. Actions to be healthy, actions to be wise, to be mindful, to be cautious.

One of the critical choices we have to make is the people we are with and the places (or situations) we place ourselves in. We are not passive in this. These places and people do not fall out of the sky upon us, we walk into these situations and we can just as easily walk out of them.

A major risk factor in relapse literature is the people and situations we interact with. They do not intentionally wish to sabotage us, but other people who are not healthy, who engage in behaviors who push us in directions that cause us to relapse, or who are from unhealthy places in our past- represent unsafe circles that we must interact with with extreme caution.

Similarly, food is everywhere and there are places where food is consumed in ways we can not deal as well with. I have come to accept that at times in my life, I am not as strong and the voices are louder. There are times when I have to walk away from these situations where food is around me and literally hurting me. And that's ok. Because feeling safe and feeling good inside is ultimately my most important goal.

It IS ok to make happiness and sanity and well being the most important thing in your life... it is OK to make it all about you.