Hey HJ,

I don't know why I don't visit this thread regularly. Well, I suppose it's because, as you noted, it is an old thread and rarely visited these days. Arlene's recent reply to your recent post caught my eye and, for the first time in many months, I clicked on...and I'm so delighted that I did. Just to read your post, Randy, made this little side trip very much worth while.

As you say, SHAME is such a huge part of addiction. Even though many of us addicts claim that "addiction is a shame, though it's NOT shameful", most of us STILL feel, at least, those occasional twitches of deep, painful, regrettable shame. I know that I do---and, hell, I REJECT shame. But, nah, not completely, I know. And maybe shame does serve some kind of useful purpose, maybe it does, somehow, keep us from committing some kinds of despicable acts, depending on who, exactly, we are. Maybe this is true.

Yet, as the title of this Thread says, DON'T let shame ruin your life, DON'T allow your shame to keep you inside that dope haze...because, Lord knows, that dope haze will kill you.

So, well---I suppose like all of us, I have to work on my issues with shame. Yeah, I reject them, those that stand to kill me, but, truth be told, they are still there.

So thanks, Randy, for your post. It got me thinking...and that can't be a bad thing.

best,

sam

sam bailey