I think thats a perfect way to put it. Thanks wti. To me it means that our flawed thinking has a detrimental effect on our health. I spent so long with my thoughts being automatically negative, the doom and gloom and worry was my first response to everything really. Living in fear a lot of the time, waiting for the next crisis. Being obsessed with another person meant i didnt take care of myself. Low self esteem meant i dint want to take care of myself anyway. All this takes its toll, my whole body reflected the way i was living. Walking with my shoulders down, eyes down, poor posture. Stomach issues, thyroid issues, muscular issues all linked to stress and anxiety. I think alcoholism takes its toll on the health and wellbeing of the whole family. I habe read somewhere that the life expectancy of alcoholics is much lower than average but it would be good to know the life expectancy of family members. I would think it would be lower too. Thats why alanon can save our life, its saved my life in terms of the quality of my life but also my health has improved because i look after myself because im worth it now.x

Great topic. I see it as I had a thinking problem, my brain would never shut off. I would wonder about what other people thought, I would think about how to plan ahead to stop my A from drinking and doing other things, I couldn't shut off my brain and relax. The brain needs to have relax time and so does your nervous system other wise you walk around very stressed and it pays a toll on your health. So as I worked my program and learned to let go of other people and their stuff, I have been able to relax and not try to think ahead. I now know what other people think of me is truly none of my business and in truth they aren't usually walking around judging me like I would think anyway. My stress is much lower and I love relax time clearing my head. Sending you love and support!

For me, I was working myself to death, trying to pick up all the stuff my wife was letting fall, just to keep a roof over our heads and food on the table and the house in some sort of livable condition, or so I thought. I thought that if I just worked harder and made her life easier, she would feel like she had the time to get help. When I finally gave myself permission to slow down and work with MY budget, I realized just how overwhelmed and exhausted I really was. And, thanks to Alanon, I have been able to keep myself on this path and make better decisions about what has to be done now and what can wait until later.