Funny word, "recovery"

Funny word, "recovery"
O

outis

Registrant
According to "The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology" the word "recover" comes from Old French, "recouvrer" which comes from Latin, "recuperare." The dictionary says to see "recuperate." Reasonable so far.

The listing for "recuperate" says "from RE- + *cup (as in occupare, occupy)." Getting interesting now, and I'm a glutton for punishment, so on to "occupy." Oooh, this listing mentions "occupare, seize, from OC- + cap of capere, take, seize."

So, it seems to me that "recovery" is not covering something up again, but taking it again. Very dynamic notion. It won't just happen, and no one will give it to me. That doesn't mean no one will help me (you already have), but I have to take back my life myself.

Food for thought. Now I need to go digest. :)

Burp,

Joe
 
Joe

Thanks for sharing that it's really cool to think about. Or as you say, to digest.
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That doesn't mean no one will help me (you already have), but I have to take back my life myself.
Click to expand...
Thanks Joe thats a powerful thot for me right now
as I recently have been apparently rejected by a few people I thot were friends, including some longtime (tho pretty long distance) friends I finally told about my CSA.

This may yet change, it may not.

Meanwhile I'll get by with a little help from my friends here...

...and wherever else I can find them!

Thanks for being one (a friend) Joe!

Victor

PS: Joe I like the connecting of "recovery" with
"funny." Recovery, taking back our life, should be a fun & joyful thing. Sometimes I even believe it can be... :)
 
Victor,

Glad you liked it. I hope I can incorporate fun into recovery. I'm still thinking of things I want to "take back" or "seize again."

I signed up two or so months ago to lead an Al Anon Adult Child meeting tonight. I decided two weeks ago to lead on the topic of "sponsorship" probably just to punish myself. My wife dissuaded me, so I went with the "recovery" topic, using the same etymology I posted in this thread.

Still hit triggers. Had the SIA meeting this afternoon. (Sunday's my busy day, don't do a lot of meetings on school nights, but I pack it in on the weekends.) Close, real close now to finding my tears. Reading from "Leaping Upon the Mountain" is helping, too.

No particular reason for this post but to say those things. Hope everyone's doing ok. I'll check back ASAP. Gotta rest now.

Thanks,

Joe
 
Joe thanks for sharing that. "Leaping" is a great book I think. Those meetings can be real good for you; I'd like to go to more if they were available

I like what you and others shared in the other post too, about group therapy. It was helpful becuz I've been thinking about trying it myself.

Victor
 
What I want to "recover" or take back.

I led the AlAnon meeting on Sunday on this topic. Obviously there are issues that I don't talk about in those meetings. There are also things that SA survivors, "co-alcoholics," adult children of alcoholics, and other abuse (physical, emotional, etc) survivors want to seize again in common.

Some of the things I want, in no particular order:

my sanity - I hate double checking and triple checking everything that crosses my mind, especially anything somehow involving relationships, even casual relationships. One of the SIA "Promises" is that "we will intuitively know how to handle situations that used to baffle us." Yeah, bring it on, that's something I want for myself.

my self esteem - I don't want to have a false humility born of humiliation. I don't want an angry arrogance born of anger and hurt. I want to feel good about myself for who and what I really am, in myself and in my important relationships. But the ways I've treated, and mistreated, myself and others for so long keep me from getting that. I'm learning to recognize the wrong things, sometimes early enough to stop myself. Progress, not perfection, I suppose.

a sense of safety - This is a tough one. I guess another way to say it is I want to learn to trust. My wife thinks I exhibit the "victim mentality" described in Mic Hunter's book, "Abused Boys: The Neglected Victims of Sexual Abuse." I still don't see myself acting as a victim, or even thinking of myself that way. The part of the description that I can see fitting is the part about "seeing the world as unsafe, unpredictable, etc. (Paraphrasing, don't have the book handy; sorry.) Damn right I see the world that way. It strikes me as unbelievably naive for an adult to view the world in any other way. I guess from my wife's statements and the context of the description in the book that I'm missing something here, but I just don't see it yet.

a sense of when to stop typing - :D Not really joking, I do tend to go on and on and on...

Thanks,

Joe
 
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