Positive Interference

So much in the life of an addict never changes: feelings of loneliness, anxiety, shame, desparation, anger, rage, etc. This is just the stuff of life. Healthy or not, a person will always have to deal with both welcome and unwelcome emotions.

But the addict has hopes for recovery. The ability to experience this range of wanted and unwanted emotions, accept their presence, and deal with them honestly ... all without resorting to acting out.

The addict is pleased to report a recent period of sobriety. The purpose for making such a report is not to be self-congrautlatory (although the addict can always use some affirmations), rather the purpose for sharing this news is to also share what has been working for the addict (in the hopes that others may also be helped).

The key to recent sobriety: Positive Interference.

So what is positive interference? Well ... it's really just a term the addict made up. But it does represent a new recovery strategy for me.

You may have heard of the "Three Circles." In recovery language, these are terms that identify three types of behavior: (i) middle circle behavior - that behavior which constitutes a break in sobriety ("acting out"); (ii) inner circle behavior - behavior which is not acting out, but which often leads to acting out; and (iii) outer circle behavior - positive actions which can be used in recovery to fill the time that used to be taken up by acting out.

The addict is turning to outer circle behavior while at work. The addict's biggest stumbling blocks are periods of unstructured time at the office when the addict is experiencing anger, boredom, or loneliness. These are the times when the addict is mosty likely to act out.

In addition to being an addict, D-Monk also has A.D.D. So although there are many things that should be filling these times (i.e., unfinished projects, customer reach outs, etc.), the addict tends to fill these times with negative behavior.

Now the addict has chosen to run Positive Interference. The addict is giving himself permission to engage in outer-circle behaviors during work time that are not work related. Although the best thing to do during these times would be to get about the business of business, substituting positive behaviors for acting out behaviors is a huge benefit in terms of recovery. By giving himself permission to engage in these behaviors, the addict has provided a means of filling stressful, unstructured time without acting out.

For the itme being, this has been a positive development for the addict.

Positive Interference: The Addict is grateful for thee!