Steps on our Road to Recovery

Daily Steps On Our Road to Recovery for 28 June to 4 July 1999.

Published Last Week. A daily hint published each day since June 1996. This is past my third year anniversary since starting my web pages. Page Down for the next days that are added a day at a time. I have moved to http://www.recoverybydiscovery.com and this daily page is now here at https://www.recoverybydiscovery.com/daily.htm . I would appreciate any feedback, questions and suggestions that you have.

What I am mainly going through now is the DSM-III-R Desk Reference a "disorder" at a time and commenting on the spiritual and recovery aspects. The DSM is what the American Psychiatric Association uses to label symptoms to facilitate communication in their community. Unfortunately, the labeling from the DSM can shut down communication with those seeking temporary assistance and spread the stigmas of mental illness. The DSM can also bring some comfort by telling some that others have had the same experience. I am adding additional comfort by pointing to some ways to start getting out of the "disorders". I am not writing about cures. I am writing about how the cure process works over time. Instantaneous cures can be as traumatic as the original event that generated the disorder or illness. Instantaneous cures may not do us any good, when we get the same disorder back, since we have not changed the thought system that caused the disorder in the first place.

I am just going to give you a picture of what is left in the DSM-III for us to discuss. There is an Appendix A with three disorders that they thought needed more study before they coded them. Then there is Appendix B with decision trees to help give us our codes. Appendix C has an alphabetic listing of the "disorders". Appendix D has a numerical listing of the codes they use. And lastly they have an appendix with out a letter. That is a list of symptoms with all the name that they can call us. I found it significant that they did not just call this Appendix E. It seemed like they are avoiding the simplicity of just using symptoms. I am not going to avoid that here although this non appendix seems to have been left out of the DSM-IVR Desk Reference.

28 June 1999

What we are continuing this week is to go through the major symptoms

and all the labels we can qualify for from these major symptoms. The

symptoms are a lot simpler than the labels. That is what I am doing,

shifting the emphasis from labels, to symptoms. Labels do not cure,

they often do the opposite. Symptoms can lead to healing.

The next physical symptom is "physical complaint without organic pathology".

The associated labels were:

Adjustment disorder with physical complaints, Conversion or Late luteal phase dysphoric or Overanxious or Separation anxiety or Somatization or Somatoform pain or undifferentiated Somatoform disorder, and Hypochondriasis.

This is where the mind body question is in the front. We have physical

complaints, and yet no known organic cause. For me, it is hardly ever a question

of either or. It is usually, both and all. Mind and body. Physical complaint and

mind connection and body response. Just because the mental doctor can not find

a physical cause or the physical doctor can not find a mental cause does not

mean that both causes are not there. What I am going to assert, is that there

is a precedence. Spirit is over all. Mind, unconscious and conscious, modulates

spirit which, effects body. Mind is effected, by what is happening in the body,

which goes on to modulate spirit and effect our bodies.

In either case, we need to ultimately change our minds. Repent means to

change our minds. We need to change our minds about what is happening to

our bodies. We need to take responsibility for the results of our conscious

AND UNCONSCIOUS thinking. When we have a physical complaint, and

we all have them, to some degree, we need to just look at them as a result

of what is happening in our conscious and UNCONSCIOUS minds. All

the techniques written about here are about learning how to start the changing

our minds processes.

This, I have noted before, is a lifetime process. I expect to be changing

my mind and having my mind changed, until I leave this planet and afterwards.

I just like where my mind is now better than before, and I expect to like it

better as my mind continues to change.

29 June 1999

The next symptom is "hypersomnia". The associated labels are:

Adjustment with depressed mood or Bipolar depressed or Bipolar mixed or Hallucinogen mood or Hypersomnia or Late luteal phase dysphoric or PCP mood or Schizoaffective or Sleep-Wake schedule disorder, Alcohol withdrawal or Amphetamine or Cocaine or PCP or Sedative withdrawal or Hypnotic withdrawal or Anxiolytic withdrawal delirium, Delirium, Amphetamine or Cocaine withdrawal, Dysthymia, Major depression, Multi-infarct with delirium or depression dementia, Alzheimers with delirium or depression, Organic mood syndrome and Uncomplicated bereavement.

Hypersomnia is just sleeping too much or not being able to be awake

as much. The label Uncomplicated bereavement is a good clue to what

can be going on. We can be grieving. We can be grieving and not know

that we are grieving. Our unconscious can be grieving. Our recovery process

is a grieving process. Grieving is good as long as that is what we are doing

and not getting stuck in our process. Our intention needs to be to get through

it and to complete it.

30 June 1999

The next symptom is "insomnia". The associated labels are:

Adjustment with depressed mood or Bipolar depressed or Bipolar manic or Bipolar mixed or Generalized Anxiety or Hallucinogen mood or Insomnia or Late luteal phase dysphoric or PCP mood or Post-traumatic stress or Schizoaffective or Sleep-Wake schedule disorder, Alcohol withdrawal or Amphetamine Cocaine or PCP or Sedative withdrawal or Hypnotic withdrawal or Anxiolytic withdrawal delirium, Delirium, Amphetamine or Cocaine or Opioid or Uncomplicated sedative or Uncomplicated hypnotic or Uncomplicated anxiolytic withdrawal, Caffeine intoxication, Cyclothymia, Dysthymia, Major depression, Multi-infarct with delirium or Alzheimers or Alzheimers with depression dementia, Organic anxiety or mood syndrome, and Uncomplicated bereavement.

Is is not interesting that both insomnia and hypersomnia are associated

with bereavement? With bereavement we want the person or thing not

to have left. We can either generate more energy to try to change what

happened or depress ourselves to indicate our upset. Hypersomnia is

from not enough energy at the time. Insomnia is from more energy than

we can handle at the time. They both are from some out of balance condition.

I know what it is to be awake for weeks. It can either be hell or a way out

of hell, it just depends on what your intentions are.

1 July 1999

Today's symptom is "bizarre delusions". I just mixed up what I did

yesterday with what I did the day before yesterday. I thought I had

partially written this column yesterday until I realized that it was the day

before yesterday. We all are deluded to some extent. When the extent

is too much we can be associated with the following labels:

Bipolar depressed, Bipolar mixed, Bipolar manic, Cannabis delusional, Hallucinogen delusional, Hallucinogen mood, Induced psychotic, PCP delusional, PCP mood, Schizoaffective, and Schizophreniform disorder, Brief reactive psychosis, Major depression, Multi-infarct with delusions or Multi-infarct with depression or Alzheimers or Alzheimers with depression dementia, Organic delusional or Organic mood syndrome, Schizophrenia and Undifferentiated Schizophrenia.

So many serious labels, is why many of us do not want to admit

that we see reality different, than others see reality. And yet, those

of us, that led the way in discovering spirit, would get such labels today.

Some of us are taking substances, trying to find spirit. Who is to really

judge accurately, that is discern what is?

We can be quick to judge, what is a delusion, and what is reality.

The only way I know, is to continue to wait to see what is, when the

dust clears. As we become more at peace, we can see better. Only

over time can we discover how to recover. Some of us are not at peace,

when we judge the "delusions" of others. Some of us are called doctors

when we so judge. When we do not judge someone with the symptoms

of schizophrenia and just be their friend they can sometimes get out of

their delusions. At least that is my experience.

2 July 1999

Today's symptom is "grandiosity". The associated labels

are:

Amphetamine or Cocaine intoxication, Bipolar mixed and manic or Hallucinogen mood or Narcissistic personality or PCP mood or Schizoaffective disorder, Cyclothymia, and Organic mood syndrome.

I do not know why they missed alcohol and other

drug intoxications. They certainly can reduce inhibitions

enough to tell us how special we are.

The problem with grandiose, is that it is true. The real

problem is in thinking that we are special. How can we

be special when everyone is special? Everyone is a child

of the lord most high within.

The word grandiose might be better understood when

written as "grand dios". Dios is God in Spanish where the

i is pronounced as an e. In other words, Grand God. As

JC said, we all are Gods. That makes us responsible, for

what we have created. Not special, since we are all Gods.

Remember how JC said he was a Son of Man, more than

He said He was a Son of God.

3 July 1999

Today's symptom is "feelings of hopelessness". We

can get some of the same labels as grandiose. The associated

labels were:

Adjustment with depressed mood or adjustment with mixed disturbance of emotions and conduct or Adjustment with mixed emotional features or Bipolar depressed or Bipolar mixed or Hallucinogen mood or Late luteal phase dysphoric, PCP mood or and Schizoaffective disorder, Cocaine or Uncomplicated alcohol withdrawal, Cyclothymia, Dysthmia, Hallucinogen hallucinosis, Major depression, Multi-infarct with depression or Alzheimers dementia, Opioid intoxication, Organic mood syndrome, and Uncomplicated bereavement.

Hope is a matter of how we are looking at things. We can

look at things like Pollyanna looked ,and find that most every

thing has hope and something positive. Every thing is either a

blessing ,or a blessing in disguise. I am suggesting that this is

what reality is.

Or, we can look look at things and find that most every thing

is a curse or a curse in disguise. There is some truth in this view.

We are seeing our curses, the past curses of mankind, come true

before our eyes. What we are usually missing ,is that these curses,

that we made by not knowing better, are being miraculously transformed

by God, into our present and later blessings.

4 July 1999

Independence day. There is a strange paradox about independence

and interdependence. When we are independent, we are also

interdependent. Not dependent, but interdependent. When we are

independent, we are in a one to one relationship with every one

and every thing, that is around us. That makes us interdependent.

That is a healthy condition. Being both independent and interdependent.

It is about being at a balance point. We are never really independent

or separated from God. But, when we return to God, dissolve our

separation, realize our interdependence and independence, we become

both, independent and interdependent.

Very Respectfully,

Michael Foster, MA

DiscoveryCoachemail

https://www.recoverybydiscovery.com/ or

http://i.am/rbd; Total-DC or 868-2532

or 868-6749

Very Respectfully,

Michael Foster, MA

Discovery Coach

https://www.recoverybydiscovery.com

DiscoveryCoachemail

"Learn HOW to recovery by discovering the blocks you need to remove and the actions you need to take and what you need to let go of as your blocks to your blessings."

From my book in process, The Spiritual Cookbook (Generic Recipes for a Better Life)

If you would like a free monthly newsletter with coach's hints on a single subject, click RBD's Free Monthly Newsletter Registration Form.

I started my daily page, because it is useful for me to look for some recovery tip or secret each day for my spiritual growth. we and I only need one secret to work on and let it work on me each day. They are secrets because they are usually the opposite of what the majority of society teaches. They must be secret because they are not commonly used. A friend of mine once said "Common Sense is not much in Common.". Now that I have grandchildren I am also writing for them. I would have really liked for my grandparents to have passed on what they learned.

I am including Sunday as it is my formal day of learning the lord most high's secrets. If you would like ask questions, or contribute some of your wisdom, or want to make some comments or want to vote for which day to put on my tip of the month page or tell your success stories, click Michael Foster, M. A.

at TOTAL-DC and http://www.recoverybydiscovery.com