I had a wonderful day today... I am adhering to my taper plan, walked 3 3/4 miles, had lunch with my walking friend, and actually killed some weeds in my yard. I feel so much better at a low dose of oxy's vs more. My thinking seems so much clearer.
Smoky: What does "iirc" mean? Also, from what I remember from Albert Ellis, he encourages us to look at our beliefs, and to challenge the beliefs we have that are not serving us well. I think whether or not we are an addict, it is good to see if we are on auto-pilot, i.e. are my beliefs just handed down to me from my parents, or are they truly well thought out?
To chime in a bit to some of the other posts, I find the mental part of tapering off now to be worse than the physical part. I sometimes feel lethargic, and like I don't care about anything. I know that it takes time, and also, that I have to do the work. That means I can't sit at home wishing. I actually have to do something.. like walk, call a friend, do some gardening if I want to feel better and less depressed. If we can't figure out what it is we like to do, one mental exercise is to imagine ourselves when we were 5 or 6 years old. What we liked to do then. oftentimes is a genuine interest. It is before teachers and TV commercials brainwashed us and we begin to lose our authentic selves.
I don't know if I shared this before, so apologize if I am being redundant, but right before joining BL I was watching Intervention... a lot. I wanted to find out how to score H and not look stupid doing it. I was so fed up with the tolerance I had developed to my prescribed oxy's, and how much I was paying to go every month just to get that prescription. I now think I was being crazy. I do not want to do H now or ever, OMG, how many horrid stories have I read about the strength of that addiction? I am glad to have that idea shut down.
CH: I sure hope you start feeling better here soon... it is quiet when you are sick. Sending healing energy your way.