Topic: emotional issues

This ‘cheat sheet’ is a quick reminder about some very basic principles of relating to a person who happens to be in crisis.

Everybody gets hungry, angry, etc.—it’s normal. Can’t avoid that, can you? That’s life.

Treatment generally includes identifying high risk situations and making a plan for dealing with them. Benny knew his sales meetings were high-risk; he just wasn’t willing to give them up without a trial. Three slips later, he acknowledged reality.

If you notice any of these signs, it’s a good idea to make an appointment right away, talk to your group leader before/after a group session, or bring them up in your support or step group.

Anxiety isn’t just unpleasant. It’s a prime contributor to poor decision-making. The more anxious you feel, the more likely you are to act on impulse, without weighing or even considering the consequences.

Suffering victim and destructive asshole, all wound up in the same person. That’s the “alcoholic/addictive” personality. But who is the “real person” underneath the disease?

It’s as if the addict is so accustomed to just acting on impulse that he/she has lost touch with the source of the impulse — ordinarily a negative emotional state such as anxiety, anger, sadness, etc.

Medication may help, and we shouldn’t automatically rule it out because it’s “taking pills.” Some pills are okay, if we take them under supervision and according to directions.