BEING DEFENSIVE -
"Because we could not accept ourselves, we expected to be rejected by others. We would not allow anyone to get close to us for fear that if they really knew us, they would also hate us. To protect ourselves from vulnerability, we would reject others before they had a chance to reject us." (NA IP# 19, Self-Acceptance)
SELF-CARE BEGINS IN THE HEART -
"Changing such self-defeating attitudes is essential to recovery ... ." "We are seeking genuine change, not denial. And the first step in changing our attitudes is becoming aware of them, a process that rarely happens overnight." (How Al Anon Works, p. 77)
"I define comfort
as self-acceptance.
When we finally learn
that self-care begins and
ends with ourselves, we
no longer demand sus-
tenance and happi-
ness from others."
- Jennifer Louden, U.S spiritual author
*HP - Higher Power - is any power greater than oneself. Like Nature, the Cosmos, or even the legal system.