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need to read a meditation or inspirational book. Are we worried about a physical problem? Maybe we need to go to a
doctor. Are the kids going wild? Maybe we need to figure out a family plan for discipline. Are people stomping on our
rights? Set some boundaries. Are our stomachs churning with emotions? Deal with our feelings. Maybe we need to
detach, slow down, make an amend, do an intervention, initiate a relationship, or file for divorce. It's up to us. What do
we think we need to do?

Besides giving ourselves what we need, we begin to ask people for what we need and want from them because this is
part of taking care of ourselves and being a responsible human being.

Giving ourselves what we need means we become, as the Reverend Phil L. Hansen suggests, our personal counselor,
confidante, spiritual advisor, partner, best friend, and caretaker in this exciting, new venture we have undertakenliving
our own lives. The Reverend Hansen is nationally active in the addiction field. We base all our decisions on reality, and
we make them in our best interests. We take into account our responsibilities to other people, because that is what
responsible people do. But we also know we count. We try to eliminate "shoulds" from our decisions and learn to trust
ourselves. If we listen to ourselves and our Higher Power, we will not be misled. Giving ourselves what we need and
learning to live self-directed lives requires faith. We need enough faith to get on with our lives, and we need to do at
least a little something each day to begin moving forward.

As we learn how to care for and meet our own needs, we forgive ourselves when we make mistakes and we congratulate
ourselves when we do well. We also get comfortable doing some things poorly and some things with mediocrity, for that
is part of life too. We learn to laugh at ourselves and our humanity, but we don't laugh when we need to cry. We take
ourselves seriously but not too seriously.

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Ultimately, we may even discover this astounding truth: Few situations in life are ever improved by not taking care of
ourselves and not giving ourselves what we need. In fact, we may learn most situations are improved when we take care
of ourselves and tend to our needs.

I am learning to identify how to take care of myself. I know many people who have either learned or are learning to do
this too. I believe all codependents can.

Activity

1. As you go through the days ahead, stop and ask yourself what you need to do to take care of yourself. Do it as often as
   you need to, but do it at least once daily. If you are going through a crisis, you may need to do it every hour. Then give
   yourself what you need.


2. What do you need from the people around you? At an appropriate time, sit down with them and discuss what you need
   from them.

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11

Have a Love Affair With Yourself

This above all:
to thine own self be true,
and it must follow, as the night the day,
thou canst not then be false to any man.
William Shakespeare

''Love thy neighbor as thyself.'' The problem with many codependents is we do just that. What's worse, many of us