"We often cannot avoid triggers, but we can change the way we deal with them." BRB p. 253

"They really know how to push my buttons!" How often have we said this to ourselves or heard others say it? The buttons are the repressed memories or resentments we have stored in that place in our mind and body that we never want to visit.

So when someone says or does something that awakens those memories, the battle begins. It's as if these old memories and resentments are poised at the gate, waiting to get out, waiting for us to finally deal with them, and reminding us that until we do, they will always be there.

Unlike most other recovery programs, ACA encourages us to resurrect those memories and resentments and put them on the table in a safe and loving environment. In doing so, the miracle happens. They begin to lose their power, and little by little we find that we can, in fact, deal with them without feeling as helpless as we did when the events actually occurred.

ACA is the safe place that allows this to happen. Our fellow travelers have also been that scared five-year-old, and they know how we feel.

On this day I know that taking away the power of old memories will also take away the power of the triggers.