Corking the Bottle

The covid-19 scare is accompanied by our old nemesis, stress. I used to deal with stress by drinking. And then drinking some more. That didn't work very well for me (Understatement!). If it works for you I'm thinking that you wouldn't be reading this blog. I recently finished Sacred Rest by Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith. Searching the internet for more pearls of wisdom I came across an entire clam bed. Today I want to take you to her 10 steps for dealing with stress: In our desperation to cope with stress, we often turn to unhealthy quick fixes, whether it’s binge eating, drinking or smoking.  However, there are healthy ways to lower stress levels and most of them don’t require much time, money or expertise.  Chronic stress has been linked to a variety of lifestyle diseases, including heart disease and diabetes, which is why it cannot be ignored. 1. Meditation If you can look past some of the pseudoscientific mumbo jumbo surrounding meditation, you’ll be pleasantly sur...

I was baptised and raised in a Presbyterian church, and continued to attend when I moved away to Idaho and Washington. I don't go anymore. I find the similarities between church and A.A. to be curious. Going to church and going to A.A. bring people with similar beliefs together with mostly the same goal in mind: To serve and to help others and to find God. There's a fellowship in both, even though attendees come from differing backgrounds. (When I was growing up, our congregation was professional and white, and that includes the college students who walked from nearby. My perception is that churches are more diverse, as A.A. is, these days.) The big difference I see is that A.A. doesn't tell you what you have to believe in. Churches insist the bible is the word of God, despite various interpretations of scripture. Believe as they do, or your next stop is hell. A.A. says believe in whatever works for you. I like that. I have formed solid beliefs about our spiritual se...

Most of what I read these days is an effort to learn more about myself, about others, and about my higher power I call God. In Sacred Rest ( https://www.faithwords.com/titles/dr-saundra-dalton-smith/sacred-rest/9781478921660/ ) Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith tells about a patient she once treated. The woman had cut her wrists. "Large brown eyes were not looking at me; they were looking into me.... 'Do you sometimes feel invisible too?' ... I had never cut my wrist, but I was the same as her. I too was medicating my loneliness. Not through cuts and self-mutilation, but through my own vices. While she resorted to a blade, my weapon of choice left little evidence of a problem. While she sought relief in watching the blood running down her arms, I sought relief in hiding behind a mask of perceived normalcy." Many who cut their wrists are seeking to end their numbness. Some do it for attention. I chose to hide loneliness and sadness by drinking them away, rather than ...