Dealing With the Disease of Compulsive Debting

Thought for today:

Having a “disease” (“dis-ease”) implies a “lack of ease”.  It’s like an allergy, which left untreated, gets aggravated, and progressively worse.

Compulsive debtors have an allergy to credit cards, which often includes the aggravating addiction of overspending and/or chronic under earning.

To accept that we have such a problem takes us effort.  Who wants to admit that they have a disease?  Yet the benefits of surrendering to this idea, and dealing with our debt problem are  prosperity, love, gratitude and peace of mind – well worth the emotional cost to our ego!

A member shares:

“I was suffering intense anxiety when I came to DA.  Creditors were hounding me.  I was angry at them and at myself.

“I complained to my new group, and one person (who later became my sponsor) gave me a piece of priceless wisdom:  ‘Why not change your anxiety into curiosity?’ was the answer that kept me coming back to DA.

“I was to get curious and look into the program of DA with an open mind.  I was to forget any prejudice I had about this being a weakness on my part.  After all, I wouldn’t say that a person with diabetes was weak, simply because they were on insulin!  I would say they were treating their disease… And I could treat mine by using the Steps and Tools of the program.

“They told me that I first had to accept that I had a problem with debt – a progressive disease that could be arrested.  But I didn’t get this way overnight, and it would take time to get better, by following the program of recovery.”

Acceptance:

We learn a lot about ourselves when we accept this fact and attempt to change old behaviors.  We want to move from debting to solvency, so we let go of credit cards and live on a cash basis, and this brings us clarity about each transaction we make.

One process that can help us accept that we have this “disease” is to grieve, going through the “five stages of grief” (Kübler-Ross).  By going through the five emotional stages of denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance, we find new insights.

Ask:

Have I faced my denial and anger over the financial and emotional losses I have incurred?  Am I done running from the disease of compulsive debting, or have I accepted it?

Meditation for today:

We should make time to meditate on how far we have come in the journey toward our light.  There is no greater joy than grateful admiration for the life force that heals us.

Affirmation for today:

“I count my losses as the price of admission to a life of recovery beyond my wildest dreams!”

“I enjoy my time in this plane of existence, and I embrace the future.”

On Grief and Grieving: Finding the Meaning of Grief Through the Five Stages of Loss

How to Recover in Debtors Anonymous (Whether You’re in that Program or Not): A Primer

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* Read about the research of Kübler-Ross on Wikipedia: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kübler-Ross_model

 

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