I’ve been writing these weekly posts for almost 5 years & it’s hard to believe it’s been that long!
I wanted to share with you all today how it all got started…
I’d been working in hospital treatment programs for over 20 years at that time. My dream was always to catch people BEFORE they got to a hospital & teach them the same “tools”.
Just as we have tools to take care of the physical problems in life, we also need tools for taking care of the emotional problems in life.
I call these “LifeTOOLS”.
Have you ever taken a knife & used it as a screwdriver? How did it work?
Not too well, right?!
At some point we must come back with a real screwdriver & fix it again! This is a good example of grabbing for a quick fix, which is usually a temporary solution.
I believe the same thing happens when we’re faced with emotional problems. Many times, we just grab at something quickly to help us deal with the situation.
I call these “Survival Tools”,
And just like the knife, the solution is very temporary. Most often, these Survival Tools become the BIGGER problem in our life.
I was 14 years old when I overheard a conversation & figured out my dad was dying from cancer. I started stealing alcohol from my parents, even taking it to school…
Alcohol became my Survival Tool.
Luckily, I got involved in basketball and that replaced drinking. Basketball became the LifeTOOL replacing my Survival Tool of drinking.
However, when I stopped playing basketball, I found myself once again picking up another Survival Tool – FOOD.
Then my higher power put me to work where I had no choice but to get healthy!
I started working as a Recreation Therapist on a Dual Diagnosis unit at Hampton Behavioral Health. There I started learning sooooo many healthy LifeTOOLS!
Most importantly, I started USING those new LifeTOOLS!
My mission is simple: Live what I teach and teach what I live!
I hope these weekly posts are providing you with many new LifeTOOLS so you too may be able to replace some old Survival Tools!
PS – It was also at Hampton Hospital where I was finally diagnosed with depression and started my recovery journey after suffering for nearly two years!
~ To Living Well TODAY! ~
via Esperanza – Hope To Cope
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