H.A.L.T. is a very important concept in recovery. Many of us have been conditioned to ignore our own needs and keep going, like athletes, ignoring them. The concept of HALT teaches us to become aware of what our bodies are telling us... when we are Hungry, when we are Angry, when we are Lonely, and when we are Tired. These conditions can affect our abilities to function well, and in ignoring them till we hit the wall, we have sometimes used alcohol instead of food, alcohol to medicate our anger, alcohol as our companion, alcohol till we pass out when we get overtired.
okay... so,, say I have some important work ahead of me and I tackle it, and at the end of the day I'm tired but I'm not done yet... what do I do?
say, for example, I have a job that I don't like very well, but it pays the rent and supports the family. My boss is very difficult and sometimes downright unreasonable. He was especially difficult today and was really offensive and I am at the end of the day and very angry. What to do?
okay, nother example,, my kids are grown and have left the nest,, my spouse is away on business for a month... I am very lonely... what to do? or, I'm getting elderly and a lot of my friends and relatives have died already, and the young generation is too busy for me, and I am lonely. or I'm in my 20's and am in college and am surrounded by a lot of people, but I don't feel connected.. lonely in a crowd. What to do?
Now, here I am, been busy all week, only a couple of things in the fridge, and I'm already tired, and skipped lunch and now I am feeling a bit sick,,, headache , fatigued,,, I don't want to cook anything complicated,,, shall I just grab something quick and slug it down?
amanda
__________________
do your best and God does the rest, a step at a time
I think the bottom line here is that we really do need to learn how to balance and take care of ourselves. Sometimes we think we are taking care of ourselves when we put our instinctual desires first,,, but that is not really taking care of our selves in the wisest ways.
yeah,,, HALT means stop, balance,,, take care of that real need. Don't just not drink.. get proper nutrition, enough rest, manage the anger/frustration in healthy and constructive ways, and establish some supportive relationships.
love in recovery,
amanda
__________________
do your best and God does the rest, a step at a time
Reading your post from last night. Something I noticed with myself after a few years in recovery, and my body started to heal and normalize---I would find myself anxious, or just not quite with it, fuzzy, yknow? And if I looked at the calendar.....more often than not, my moon time was near (sorry guys), and this has continued into reaching and going thru my change. I have evenings ( rarely days, just evenings, like someone with Sundowners) that will just play he** with me. I'll look back at the day, and realize that perhaps there was something I didn't deal with the way I should, or that I sort of ignored? to deal with at a later time. Or, and this is a big one, I didn't drink enough water. I won't go into a lecture on nutritional health here, but hydration is a real biggee for me at this age. I tend to live on sodas, and have to pull myself up by the shorts to drink enough water to keep body chemicals from condensing. The way our bodies and minds and spirits (ok, spirits, bodies and minds) are connected is always a source of amazement to me. And at a certain age, I am more aware of it now than ever. Good, deep rest, healthy food, lots of water, and reaching out....imperative.
Today? I've decided that today, even tho it is lovely out, is a self indulgent day. We need that on occassion. So I've picked a few of my favorite movies, and after chores am going to take a long hot shower, curl up in my chair, and let my mind have a vacation staring at the tube. I spend too too much time in my head sometimes, especially out here in the woods where the nearest town is like, forty miles away. So I give myself a brain break. Tomorrow, I'll be ready to give it another go. But today, I brain break, eat/cook the very simplist of things, and the mini-vacation will work wonders for me. And then there's the phone if that doesn't cut it.
If you'd like to get into this more, drop me a line, I'll send you my email addy, and we can take this off list? It'll get better. Cut yourself some slack. Some days/nights are just going to be uncomfy, and we find the best way to ride them out. Find what works for you best. It may be a foo foo book, it may be a certain movie, or even certain music. With me, it's Harry Potter (go ahead and laugh), or I put on Debussey very very loudly.....Wren
__________________
Funny, isn't it, how friends and a Power greater than ourselves can neutralize nightmares?
No advice or suggestions - just letting know that I hear and empathize with the feelings and emotions you're expressing. Seems like others are too. sometimes the best thing we can do is listen. Mike in Boston (sheilasdad)
Thank you all so very much. Brain break,,, yeppers. Part of it is also winter cabin fever.... sooo glad to have it in the 60's today and get out.
Part of it is, honestly,, this medical stuff.. this doctor is an unusual young man,,, his father is a doctor too,,, a good one who is very spiritual. That this guy really cares about me,,, is .... well,, I'm not used to that. I know that God is doing something between this doctor and me,,, not romantic,, but kind of healing and challenging both of us to grow.
I got growing pains. Can't just stay comfortable with where I was at any more. Not comfortable going back to my old schtick,,, not comfortable going forward into the unknown.... but given the choice of the two.. it's better to go forward,,, thanks for the support in trying to do that. onward , ho!
hey,,, if I said I love you all, would you believe me?
love in recovery,
amanda
__________________
do your best and God does the rest, a step at a time
