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Twelve Step Recovery  Workshop                  P.O. Box  26145 Baltimore, MD 21210                       410-880-2439         

Dealing with Anger - Pam's story 

I came into the program seven years ago because my life was being seriously damaged by my problem with anger. I was constantly screaming at my husband, who is a wonderful man, which upset both him and our nine-year old daughter. I was in danger of losing my job and was eventually fired. I was miserable, and yet nothing I did to try to control my outbursts worked.

I tried therapy, self-help books, behavior modification techniques, but the angry words still just seemed to spill out of my mouth no matter how hard I tried to be reasonable. Finally, a doctor recommended the Twelve Step Recovery Workshop to me. I cried tears of relief on the way to my first meeting at the thought that there might be help for my problem.

At first I was put off by the fact that no one at the meeting at that time had the same problem that I had with anger. There were overeaters, co-dependents, relationship addicts--but no one like me. But as I listened to what each person said, I realized that their personality traits and their problems sounded a lot like mine. I decided to come back, and have continued to do so. The turning point for me was choosing a sponsor and working the Twelve Steps under her guidance.

After several months, I began to experience relief from my symptoms. My husband gratefully noticed the changes in me. Whenever I got discouraged, he encouraged me to continue with meetings and working the steps. My life today is totally different. I no longer rage at my husband, which is not to say that I never get angry with him--I just handle it better. We have an extraordinarily happy family life that I have to attribute to this program.

My relationships with others and with co-workers have also improved. Best of all is the unexpected bonus I get from the program--a spiritual life and a daily relationship with God. In my case that does not mean belonging to a religion. To say that working the Twelve Steps has transformed my life would be an understatement. I am very, very happy.

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