There are, of course, different kinds of addicts.
As many different kinds as there are individual persons.
Treating us all with a blanket philosophy or a 'one-size-
fits-all' notion of assistance is doomed to fail.
Among the significant differences; not all addicts are
egotists. There's a vast disconnect between being
oblivious to others and thinking of one's self in positive
terms. The two are not the same.
Yes, many addicts have a superiority complex, are out for
themselves, suffer from grandiosity, are inconsiderate.
But just as many are shameful, demure, hypersensitive,
and self-loathing. Unlike the famous AA catch-phrase,
they don't necessarily coincide in the same host.
For those of us lacking self-confidence, there is need
to embrace and remind ourselves of our positive
traits and our abilities every day.
For those who have too long listened to the negative
voices of others (whether stranger or intimate other,)
there is a need to erase the influence of outside forces.
The moralizing and opining of those who wish you to
contour to their needs, their parameters, cannot serve
an individual. Each and every one of us has to determine
for ourselves what will work.
A broken system of subservience and castigation will
only reinforce the negative aspects of our self-medicating,
and continually make us weak and dependent.
The alternative is to discover one's strength, one's beauty,
one's capability in a way that will free you forever.
Just like every other choice of an addictive personality,
'what kind of recovery you desire' is an important one.
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