For most of us who have practiced addiction, we have lived in a very fearful and unstable world as children, and because of this, we developed a deep fear of life and of being vulnerable to harm or rejection by others. We believed ourselves to be naturally defenseless so we developed our own defenses like never expressing our true emotions, being what we think everyone will accept, codependently meeting needs, and of course secret addictions.

One of the things God will help you to do as part of your recovery is to learn to express your emotions naturally. This means all emotions good and bad. You may feel very uncomfortable with this especially at first because all your old fears and rejection warnings will go off and you will want to run back to your protected state. But something inside you will force its way out where you will have to become real and genuine no matter what.

"To thine own self be true" is something we must all learn to do because God made each of us a unique person, and emotions are part of who we are. When we bottle up our feelings and emotions, they will just come flooding out when we practice an addiction. It is ok to express our true self and we must become secure in who we are in order to accept ourselves. Self-rejection is a major contributor to addiction, and no matter where you go, there you are.

There is always going to be someone that does not share the same preference as you, or who will reject something you may say or do because everyone is different. We must become God pleasers and stop being fearful man pleasers. When you become the real you, you will start developing more healthy relationships, and you will be able to relax and actually enjoy something instead of worrying about what everyone else thinks and does. I would invite you today, to allow the Lord to begin to help you to become the real you He has created you to be.