Thanks for the post! You can read more from Bill Urell at Addiction Recovery Basics.
I think getting honest about recovery can actually be called Step 0 in recovery. Before we tackle anything else, is absolutely necessary to get completely honest. Why? So we can accurately define our problem. Dishonesty often becomes a way of life for most people engaged in addictive behavior. We lie to ourselves and others about our behaviors our feelings and our use. We construct what is almost a fantasy land of lies and self deception to enable and permit us to continue to use.
Even in active addiction recovery, it is tough to break those old habits of self deception and lying. Dishonesty can often become woven into the very fabric of our lives. Not only do we fear being found out in our deceptions, but there is a great deal of fear associated with actually telling the truth. The Catch-22 here is that you cannot enter a meaningful recovery while practicing lies and self deception.
The first person you have to start telling the truth with is yourself. The kind of truth where you go into the bathroom close the door behind you look yourself right in the eyes in the mirror and ask some questions. Am I really ready to commit to this? Have I suffered enough? When you get some honest answers to questions such as those, you can truly enter into addiction recovery with a good foundation in place.
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of my alcoholism that I still have trouble deciding if some memories of my past are real or not. I do know that I fabricated much in an effort to justify my drinking to others and myself, and often wanted so badly to believe it true that I often convinced myself (especially when you consider the foggy mind of an alcoholic near rock bottom).
Honesty is the foundation of any recovery program and a necessary requirement when you arrive at “ground zero”.