I am not my past!

This is a wonderful two-part audio about Recovery from Shame. The speaker, Mark V. talks about Fear being the result of Shame and Resentment and it is all about an “ego thing”.

The definition of ‘ego’ is a person’s sense of self-esteem or self-importance. Self-esteem refers to the way that people evaluate themselves in regards to self-worth. Along sufferer of low self-esteem may also experience periods of grandiosity where they feel that they are better than everyone else. On the other hand, they can use grandiosity as a defense mechanism to hide their feelings of vulnerability and low self-worth.

Early in life, I experienced low self-esteem issues. I was afraid, shy and introverted. Later, I found the solution to become the opposite of this was alcohol. In recovery, fear of what people thought and shame about the way I had treated people while in addiction, almost hindered my process to freedom. I had to remember who I was – a recovering alcoholic – and embrace this as part of me. All people make mistakes and mistakes are made so that you can learn from them. I had to remind myself of this any time I felt I was not worthy, I was a failure; I was not important; I was unlovable; I didn’t deserve to be happy; I was a bad person; I was phony; and defective because I was an alcoholic.

We are taught that to be successful in sobriety, surrender the secrets, let go of your past shame and guilt and most importantly, ask for forgiveness and forgive yourself. Find out who your true self is, your spirit, and how you can be closer to God. Only when you stop living in the past can you see the present.  I am still a work-in-progress and sometimes find myself spiraling, but I manage to recognize the danger signs and catch and pull myself out.  Thank you Mark V for your great workshop audio.

Listen to SA Workshop – Recovery from Shame by Mark V. and more self-improvement audio programs on Audiojoy — download free on iOS or Android.

 

Content Review by Kristie Emery