Why the Turtle?

It sometimes comes as a shock to realize that other people have actually read your page. Such a shock was visited upon the addict this week when he changed his avatar to a turtle.

The overwhelming response from D-Monk's underwhelmed readers:

"Why the turtle?"




The turtle has become a symbol of recovery for the addict. This is due to one of the addict's most over-used and unhealthy coping tools -- isolation.

Keep in mind that this addict, like other addicts, labors under a false view of the world. The cycle of addiction is fed by the following beliefs:

1. I am a bad and worthless person.
2. Nobody who knows the truth about me can love me.
3. Nobody will care for me.
4. I must care for myself.

Upon reaching step 4, the addict usually takes care of his needs (stress, guilt, anxiety) by acting out through his addiction. The consequences of acting out are that the addict feels shame.

Hence, the cycle begins again:

1. I am a bad and worthless person ....

Acting out is one response to this terrible set of false beliefs. Another response (and one that can be combined with acting out) is to isolate. The addict uses isolation all the time.




The addict's tendancy to isolation has been described by some who care for him as "turtling" (i.e., when faced with adversity, sadness, emotional contact, etc., the addict will withdraw).
Rather than argue, this addict goes into his shell.
Rather than solve a problem, this addict retreats from the world.

In short,
when the going gets tough,
the addict "turtles."

So given that the addict has a natural tendancy to act like a turtle, he has taken an increased interest in the turtle as a symbol in recovery. If the addict emulates a turtle in unhealthy ways, what are some healthy ways of being turtle-like?




Already people are sharing positive turtle traits with the addict!

Turtles are deliberate. Slow and steady. The turtle is a symbol of earth. Turtles are rooted to the earth and connected to earth power.

The turtle is a unique creature. Turtles live on water and on land. Turtles are slow, but revered.

And so the addict (at least for now) is choosing to embrace the turtle as a recovery totem. I will do my best to learn the positive ways of the turtle and to forgo the act of isolation which has dominated my turtle past.



BE THE TURTLE!