“…we covered low self-esteem by hiding behind phony images that we hoped would fool people. The masks have to go.”
Basic Text, p. 33
❖
Over-sensitivity, insecurity, and lack of identity are often associated with active addiction. Many of us carry these with us into recovery; our fears of inadequacy, rejection, and lack of direction do not disappear overnight. Many of us have images, false personalities we have constructed either to protect ourselves or please others. Some of us use masks because we’re not sure who we really are. Sometimes we think that these images, built to protect us while using, might also protect us in recovery.
We use false fronts to hide our true personality, to disguise our lack of self-esteem. These masks hide us from others and also from our own true selves. By living a lie, we are saying that we cannot live with the truth about ourselves. The more we hide our real selves, the more we damage our self-esteem.
One of the miracles of recovery is the recognition of ourselves, complete with assets and liabilities. Self esteem begins with this recognition. Despite our fear of becoming vulnerable, we need to be willing to let go of our disguises. We need to be free of our masks and free to trust ourselves.
❖
Just for Today: I will let go of my masks and allow my self esteem to grow.
I needed this. My name is Hakeem. I’ve gone by “Keemo” my whole life. I hate that person. I want to love my true self. I’m detoxing right now for the thousandth time. I’m in a dark room in a rehab, crying, struggling, wanting to be a strong man. But I’m not.
Hakeem … sounds like despite the pain and the tears; you can reframe this as ‘the gift of desperation’ … this article below is excellent in helping us understand how the hopelessness of doing it our way can lead us to the hope of the ‘we’ of AA and the design for living it offers us.
https://gugogs.org/2026/07/18/hope-hopeless-the-gift-of-step-one-take-the-12-blog-july-2025-by-rick-w/
You may also resonate with this reality that recovery offers us the chance to move from being a “pain killer into a pain healer” as we learn to respond differently to our pain. This article helps us with this change
https://gugogs.org/2024/06/22/reframing-pain-from-consolations-by-david-whyte/