Corking the Bottle

Dr. Phil talks to a woman nearly four years in sobriety who understands the need we have to be around others. It's short. https://www.drphil.com/videos/treatment-center-supervisor-discusses-challenge-of-serving-clients-during-covid-19-pandemic/

This woman is 10-months sober, living in a treatment facility, and trying to maintain her sobriety. Here is her brief interview with Dr. Phil. https://www.drphil.com/videos/isolation-especially-in-recovery-can-be-a-very-big-no-no-says-woman-who-is-10-months-sober/

Are you staying sober during the pandemic? Here is a Dr. Phil interview with a woman who started drinking every day to stay "comfortably numb." Have a look. It lasts less than five minutes. https://www.drphil.com/videos/woman-adhering-to-stay-at-home-orders-says-she-drinks-nearly-every-day-to-keep-her-mind-off/ t Here is the conclusion to the above. The woman confesses she is self-medicating. https://www.drphil.com/videos/mom-of-4-admits-to-drinking-daily-while-sheltering-at-home-with-kids/ I don't want to be like her. So far I am sober as a nun.

Rumination is an unhealthy response to stress. It's an inability to let go of something, which can lead to depression, which can lead to withdrawal from other people. For more, listen to Dr. Ramani Durvasula,  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4E2JzmIraw . She goes on to say that normal anxiety is a fear of something that is real. Being afraid of snarling dogs is not anxiety; it's a normal response. Likeways, being anxious during a pandemic is normal. Don't sweat it. Accept it, Ask God to help you control the feelings you can control and give you the serenity to accept those things you have absolutely no control over. Feeling in control can mean avoiding the temptation to self-medicate with alcohol. If you are anxious about getting sick, about your elderly parents getting sick, about the loss of a job, about a dried-up bank account, these feelings are normal. No one, including you, is to blame. A video by Dr. Tracey Marks ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtZaMdOy4K8 )

I need today to divert today from my usual theme of sobriety and seeking a higher power. Instead, I will share a passage from The Endless Practice , by Mark Nepo ( https://www.amazon.com/Mark-Nepo/e/B001JOVBDG?ref_=dbs_p_pbk_r00_abau_000000 ). I don't know what he was trying to say, but he hit a bullseye in today's battle against coronavirus. This is dedicated to doctors, nurses, paramedics, firefighters, and others who are on the front line battling covid-19. "That we go numb along the way is to be expected. Even the bravest among us who give their lives to care for others, go numb with fatigue when the heart can take in no more, when we need time to digest all we meet. Overloaded and overwhelmed, we start to pull back from the world, so we can internalize what the world keeps giving us. Perhaps the noblest private act is the unheralded effort to return: to open our hearts once they have closed, to open our souls once they have shied away, to soften our minds once

There's nothing wrong with being afraid. Face fear. Find love, says Elizabeth Gilbert. https://insighttimer.com/elizabeth_gilbert_writer/guided-meditations/facing-fear-with-a-compassionate-heart?fbclid=IwAR1wiZP4cJX-uyPbBavbNCqZbFWwsqCm8pBlAdTYGvLpWspKPA08y8ZOXsw&utm_campaign=app-share&utm_medium=GuidedMeditation&_branch_match_id=774680537262589907&utm_source=Email

Alcoholics Anonymous is a church, only freeer. "Freeer?" "More free" sounds better. Either way, I've come to see many similarities between A.A. and church congregations, but with important differences, too. In A.A., people come from different economic status, different races, different life stories, different backgrounds. Churches are like that too, but sadly some don't provide the diversity of A.A. Both are (or think they are) cordial and welcoming, and members attend for one reason: sobriety for one, worship for the other. Both preach helping others. Singleness of purpose (a Higher Power) glues both groups together. But A.A. and churches have some differences, for sure. A.A. has no structure, no hierarchical leadership, no paid positions. If A.A. were to tighten its ropes, it would lose the casual feel that cries, "Keep coming back." Churches have a way of complicating things. A.A. tells us to love God and people, act justly, lo

Which wolf do you feed? We are in control of how we feel. The right choice can come only after we stop drinking.

Whether you're a fan of Dr. Phil or not (I am, but he annoys me sometimes), he comes up with good stuff and hosts some knowledgeable experts. That's true as he helps viewers deal with coronavirus from his kitchen at home. Yesterday he interviewed psychiatrist Dr. Daniel Amen. (Never forget that name. Lemme hear you say "Amen!") He claims some anxiety is good for you because it leads you to take proper safety measures. The students on spring break flooded the beaches and ignored the corona threat by not distancing themselves from others. They weren't anxious about the illness. Then they carried covid-19 back north to their grandparents and others. So a little stress can protect us. However, chronic stress damages the hippocampus part of the brain, which controls memory and mood. Sleep -- 7 1/2 to 8 hours a night -- and exercise restore the hippocampal cells. So does proper nutrition. Amen mentioned onions, mushrooms, and garlic in particular. He adds that wri