Muted greetings!

Help! It's the New Year!!!!

Just wanted to wish all Dave's readers peace of mind and contentment in 2012 ... and always.

As a rule I try to avoid huge swings of emotions. I try and keep things balanced and not get too affected or excited by anything. This is why I chose the words 'peace of mind and contentment' over perhaps more effusive and expressive words.

As a recovering AA & Acoa I simply find life alot more manageable this way. It doesn't mean I don't get happy or excited, I do, but at a level that doesn't throw me off balance and create the lows after the highs. The lows usually bring with them a terrible sense of dis-ease.

Some have critisized me for this approach - others are desireous of it. I am not afraid of happiness or excitement, I simply choose to do what works for me. It helps me better deal with life. It also seems to keep expectations in healthy check.

Not long ago I was reading up a little on 'Smart Recovery' and came across the term 'catastrophizing'. It was suggested that we use less 'dramatic' words to describe our emotions which in turn helps us to panic less. I have found this extremely helpful. It really seems to lessen the emotional impact of everyday events. (I'm not talking here about life's most severest events, but the habit I had fallen into of using very dramatic language for fairly undramatic non- lifethreatening everyday happenings).

This suggestion from Smart Recovery has helped enormously with my 'disaster movie mind'.

Though I found sobriety and my HP in AA, I keep my mind open to, what I find, helpful suggestions from each and every source out there. I do not believe that AA is the only way to sobriety. To do so I feel would smack of arrogance.

I believe there are many paths to sobriety. AA was simply the one that worked for me.

S.