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FEBRUARY 20

CONCERN

RELATIONSHIPS

“The ability to give back is a gift that recovery provides. When you get out of yourself, it helps you to see your problems in the proper perspective and context.”

Pain Recovery: How to Find Balance and Reduce Suffering from Chronic Pain

Am I making a habit of demonstrating concern or caring for others when I am at a recovery group meeting, or am I always making everything about me? Am I sharing to talk about my own pain to get attention, or to help others find a solution?

I can start showing concern for others from the very beginning of my recovery. If I’m not picking up the telephone because I don’t want to talk to anyone, why don’t I make it a habit to pick up the phone to listen? Soon, I can make it a habit to call others to see how they are doing. I ask others how they are progressing in their pain recovery program. At first I may do this to create an opening so I can talk about myself. But soon, I find myself genuinely showing others the concern that I want people to show for me. I listen, not providing advice or direction, but just to lend an ear that others can talk to. I know the isolation that comes from chronic pain and active addiction. I know the loneliness of early recovery. I can show concern for others on that same path by extending myself to others who are in the process of recovery as well.

I make a habit of demonstrating concern for the welfare of others. Part of my daily routine is to get out of myself and show, by my actions, I care for another who is recovering from chronic pain and addiction.