“Many survivors remember their abuse once they get sober, quit drugs, or stop eating compulsively. These and other addictions can numb your feelings and block recollection of the abuse, but once you stop, the memories often surface. Anna Stevens, who was abused by her mother, explains:
At the point I decided to put down drinking, I had to start feeling. The connection to the abuse was almost immediate. And I’ve watched other people come to AA and do the same thing. They have just enough time to get through the initial shakes, and you watch them start to go through the memories. And you know what’s coming, but they don’t.” (The Courage to Heal)
I think the addictions are to prevent you from feeling and remembering.
ReplyDeleteFor me, it wasn't an addiction, but dissociation that kept me numb. By leaving every time something was difficult or emotionally intense, I never had to deal with my past, or my present for that matter.
ReplyDeleteIt was very scary to seek help for my dissociative disorder. I suppose it was not unlike someone seeking help for drug addiction or alcoholism. I always felt that the "switch" was somthing that happened to me, that I had no control over, but I'm finding more and more that as I become willing to face my issues I dissociate less and less frequently.
Thank you. I remember I created a complete new idendity for myself. Time came where it didnt work anymore. When it comes ot my Ex, he stopped drinking and now he is numbing himself in not remmebering, not feeling. That made him so abusive towardss me. Numbing, suppressing means you suppress the good as well as the ugly. Hugs to you.
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