Rigorously honest. What does it mean to you? What situations

So the common thread/motivation in the lies if we work the steps on them is ego and fear.
Ego has to be smashed
Fear is lack of faith

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Truth bomb :bomb:

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Mine would have to be the realization that I started drinking so young I noticed I don't know how to deal with my stress. I've never had to feel my feelings - I always numbed. Now I need to find a way to learn to handle stress in my 30 year old body with my 13 year old capacity to handle stress and feelings...

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That’s a huge honest realization!!! I was about 15 when I found sobriety. The 12 steps of recovery have been the answer for me to deal with life…. Half way healthy :joy::joy:

45 when I got sober though :joy:

I mean this might be too honest to post ? But I’m going to anyway. I started drinking because I worked in restaurants for years and I have trouble shutting my brain off after work at night. I continued to drink more and more because I realized I didn’t have to feel my feelings and I could pretend everything was ok. But I’ve felt “not good enough” for years and years. The older I got, the more I felt like I didn’t deserve to live, which is when I started reallyyyyyyy over doing it. Knowing that I was trying to completely sabotage my life has been a really hard thing for me to admit.

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I don’t find that too honest at all I used all of the reasons above and more to give me reasons to drink. Near the end for me “It’s Tuesday was good enough” :joy:

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:raised_hands:t4::fire:

I am honest all the time even when I don't need to be. I see people try to bw rigorously honest but continue to tell the white lies that lubricate our society. I can't do both. Don't ask me if the pants make you look fat unless you're ready to hear that it's not the pants....

:joy::joy: I’ve been caught in the “fat trap” too many times. I’ll dodge that one​:joy:

Once I became honest with myself about alcohol (the first step) and surrendered my will to fight it, the honesty ball started rolling.

There have been times where it has been difficult. I see the honesty towards others as akin to the “unless it will hurt them or others” of step 9. I find a way of maintaining honesty without the brutality I used to weaponize.

In relationships, I’ve found great relief in having the difficult conversations as issues arise instead of procrastinating and allowing the dread to fester over into other areas of my life.

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I only realized this after I got sober and was working through stuff in therapy. I thought I drank and continued to because it was fun and became an alcoholic because I had a few too many too regularly. Truth is that when I was young I was scared and anxiety ridden. I care constantly about what people thought of me. I was an immigrant and my family had little money in a predominantly white and wealthy school district. I lied a lot about things I had or didn't have. Add 9/11 to the mix and being a muslim made me feel like even more of an outcast. Sure, I drank and got high because it was fun, but it also made ALL of that anxiety go away and made me the feelings of less than or different go away.

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I think it’s simple. I was powerlesss when it came to drinking alcohol. That was too much. I folded. I had to really believe that I was powerless to surrender, and make the changes.

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Yes it's true, if I want Sobriety I have to be honest with myself first, and it just seems to make things clear when it comes to doing the next right thing...I also learn that self evaluation without pulling any punches or sugar coating my behavior helps me to keep it real with myself and others quelling any unrealistic expectations...Phew!:blush:

Yeah! No one goes out for like a drink or two they basically drink as much as possible.

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As much as possible as often as possible for myself :-1: but there is freedom to be had

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Exactly, there is freedom to be had. Love that.

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