The Problem Was Me: How to End Negative Self-Talk and Take Your Life to a New Level

involved.

Acknowledgments

I am grateful to and proud of my wife and children for their willingness and courage in allowing this book to come to fruition. Their faith that this book could help others was a vital source of strength for me. A special thanks to Tony, who has always been there to cheer me on, especially when I felt this book would never become a reality. Tony, along with Robert and Joe, supplied me with the support I needed to keep going, especially when my warden was telling me I would never be able to follow this through. Thanks to everyone in my support system who have journeyed along with me as we have silenced our wardens’ commands together. These people have always been an important part of my life, and they are important contributors to this book.

Preface

By Abraham J. Twerski, M.D.

When I was in psychiatric training and assigned to report on Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountain, I was deeply impressed by Mann’s insights. I recall asking my professor if Thomas Mann was a physician. His response, Don’t be silly. No doctor could be that sensitive.

There is truth to the professor’s statement. Scientific medical training so saturates the left brain that the right brain, the part that receives and develops feelings, is overwhelmed. The occupational hazard of being a physician is that we may lose some measure of sensitivity. Tom Gagliano is neither a psychiatrist nor a psychologist, but he is a sensitive human being who holds valuable psychological insights gained from life experiences rather than from books and lectures. Tom’s words are laden with emotion.

In one of my earlier books, Addictive Thinking, I described the unique thought processes of an addict. These same processes occur in non-addicts but are exaggerated in addicts. Tom Gagliano speaks from the vantage point of a recovering addict, but everyone can identify with the emotions he describes. He points out the destructive impact that early experiences can have on a person’s life, but if you are aware of these early obstacles then you can take proper steps to free yourself from their stranglehold. The Problem Was Me is not only a self-help book, but a valuable textbook for mental health professionals.

Introduction

By Thomas Gagliano

Not until I stopped denying my own past and began sharing my wounds, did I allow myself to be loved by other people.

You do not have to be addicted to drugs or alcohol to benefit from this book. This book can help you with whatever distraction you are using to avoid whatever it is you should be doing. Before the rapid proliferation of computers, video games, satellite TV, and cell phones, we had fewer choices for acting out our compulsions. Now with the explosive growth of digital devices, we can gamble, shop, play video games, and view pornography with a click of a mouse or by pressing a button on a remote.

While I am not a licensed therapist, I have gained great insight through my own process of healing from the destructive behaviors in my life. In addition, I have coached many people who have been crippled by their own internal demons. Having faced my own demons, I know how it feels to be overwhelmed, hopeless, and completely paralyzed with fear.

With the help of Twelve Step programs, group sessions, organized retreats, workshops, and sponsors, I discovered the way to a better life and how to help others find their own paths. It was not until I opened myself to change that I began to transform from the person who once isolated himself from others to a man who has become rich with the wonders of life and the love of family and friends. I found peace and my own spirituality.

Healing is an ongoing process of self-determination and self-discipline. While the rewards are not always immediate, beautiful gifts await if you are patient and can take direction. As I healed internally, a need emerged to share how I did it with others. I began to help people from all walks of life, including rabbis, priests, doctors, plumbers, housewives, computer technicians, CEOs, therapists, sales people, and engineers. Because we could identify with each other’s struggles, the people I coached opened a part of their lives to me that had been off limits to others and even to themselves. As I helped them face their biggest fears, I was encouraged to face my own shortcomings and the obstacles I needed to overcome in shaking off my personal demons. Not until I stopped denying my own past and began sharing my wounds did I allow myself to be loved by other people.

Some of the people I have helped have shared my philosophies with their therapists. After sharing my insight with some of the professionals I met with, they began to adopt my methods in treating their own patients. This book is filled with nuggets of wisdom that are invaluable and affirming. It explores the underlying reasons why we behave the way we do. The book is designed to be a reference tool. You could turn to any chapter and find helpful information on ways to deal with life on life’s terms.

The encouragement from the people who allowed me to help them has inspired me to write this book. The Problem Was Me contains the tools gained from my personal struggle with compulsions and applies a methodology as exemplified by Abraham Twerski. Through the experiences, insights, and the wisdom I have gained in my journey in life, combined with Dr. Twerski’s professional wisdom, this book can help those with destructive behaviors as well as supply others with a blueprint to give their children the love denied to many of them. So many people feel they were denied of loving behaviors from their parents. This book will also bring an understanding to family and friends who seek to prevent themselves or their loved ones from continuing on a path of self-destruction.

The common problems we face are from unhealed childhood wounds that have remained buried and have haunted us. Only when we permit the window into our past to be opened, exposing the core of our adult difficulties, can we begin the healing process. Today, I am aware of how deeply I was imprisoned by childhood wounds and how negative voices from the past disturb me today.

Throughout The Problem Was Me, I refer to the warden, an imaginary person with a bat, who sat on my shoulder. Whenever someone made me feel defective, he would come out swinging. The warden instilled in me a peculiar definition of intimacy. Intimacy meant pain, and should be avoided. The warden was trying to protect me from getting too close to anyone. This imaginary guy on my shoulder has been with me a long time, as far back as I can remember. His motive for using the bat was to take a swing at me if I ever got the idea that I deserved to be happy or if I stumbled and made a mistake. He permitted me no margin for error.

The warden becomes the little voice inside our heads that won’t go away. The little voice keeps us imprisoned by reminding us of the intrusive messages we received in childhood over and over again. Childhood wounds are reopened, isolating us from others. In many ways, we play roles in our lives that can bring harmful consequences to others and to ourselves. We wear masks to hide who we really are. The little voice makes us feel ashamed and unworthy. We become self-centered causing us to feel that we have the right to something regardless of the harm it causes others. We call this destructive entitlement.

The warden’s voice inside our head repeats that we do not deserve to be happy. His voice leads us to sabotage happiness when it comes our way. He is so powerful that even though he imprisons us to destructive roles in our lives, we listen to him.

What roles in your life did your warden command you to play?

1. Caretaking Role— Taking care of the world can be tiring, yet the warden will not allow you to let go of taking care of others.

2. Victim Role— The warden’s voice exempts you from taking responsibility in your life. All your problems are caused by your spouse, employer, children, parents, or others.

3. Transparent Role— The warden warns against sharing feelings; no one wants to hear how you feel.

4. Defiant Role— The warden creates a voice that directs you to disagree with everyone, especially those of authority.

5. Compliant Role— The warden creates a voice that directs you to agree with everyone. How they feel about you matters more than you feel about yourself.

6. Angry Role— The warden forbids against admitting to mistakes, so you use your anger to always prove you are right. How you hurt others reflects your inner pain.

7. Underachieving Role— The warden warns that failing is so painful that it is not worth even trying.

8. Controlling Role— The warden warns us that any process we cannot control will not end positively; therefore, everyone must act and think the way we want them to.

The warden keeps us emotionally shackled and orders us to keep our doors locked, so no one can enter. This book provides the key to unlocking the locked door and allowing happiness into our lives.

There are three essential strategies to healing that will free us from the chains of our childhood wounds. These include awareness, action, and maintenance. First, we must become aware of what is broken inside so we know what to fix. Second, positive actions allow us to see our true responsibility in each situation and help to stop the voice inside of us from directing our behavior in negative ways. We discover that if we do what we always did, then we’ll get what we always got. As we start to act in healthier ways, the distorted view we have of others and ourselves begins to melt away. Eventually, through positive actions, our perceptions and dynamics change, bringing more peace into our lives. Third, maintaining positive actions in an environment where there is group support will stop the destructive inner voice from coming back to take charge of our behavior again.

If you do not have awareness, you cannot take action.

If you cannot take action, there is nothing to maintain.

One of my most rewarding feelings is the gratitude I receive from a spouse or family member of someone I have coached. Once the healing begins, the love returns to their marriage and is passed down to their children. This miracle, which is reflected in my own marriage, fills me with overwhelming joy.

Sometimes we act in ways that do not always make sense as we hurt ourselves and others. We feel compelled to listen to the destructive inner voice in our heads. Making sense of our actions is like figuring out a jigsaw puzzle. This book will allow you to put the puzzle pieces together. If you are still unsure if this book could help you, take a few minutes to ask yourself the following questions.

• Do you tend to focus on the shortcomings of others to avoid looking at yourself?

• Do you say yes to people because saying no is too painful?

• Do you feel like you are carrying the burden of the world on your shoulders and are powerless to let it go?

• Do you feel victimized by people or circumstances in your life?

• Do you have problems trusting any process that you are not in control of?

• When you make a mistake, do you feel shame so strong it overwhelms you?

• Do you take the time to celebrate the victories (successes) in your life, or do you beat yourself up over your failures?

• Do you feel comfortable being intimate, or do you avoid intimacy?

• Are you most comfortable being isolated from others even though you realize that avoiding social contact keeps you locked in depression and self-pity?

• When you get angry, do you terrify the people around you, or do you suppress, ignore, or stuff anger?

• Do you feel invisible in your relationships?

• In social settings, do you feel either superior or inferior to others, rather than feeling like you belong?

• Do you always have to be right, even if you push people away?

• Do you have destructive behaviors that hurt you or others, but still feel entitled to continue your addictive behavior?

• Do you give away your power to others by letting them determine how you feel about yourself?

• Do you make up stories in your mind about the way others feel about you, but don’t have the courage to tell them how you feel?

• Are there tasks you must do, but are paralyzed to start?

• Do you want help, but aren’t able to take that first step and don’t know why?

If you answered yes to any of the questions, this book is for you. Each of us can benefit from a better understanding of how childhood wounds mold the person we are today. Some addicts who have been sober for a long time may continue to lead tormented, angry lives. This book will explore why and how to make positive changes. The intention of this book is not to bash our caregivers or parents. Rather, it is to understand the effects of these messages given to us in childhood that impact our lives at this moment. Today I can fail at times, but it does not mean I am a failure. I can make mistakes, but it does not mean I am a mistake. The words expressed throughout this book are from my heart. It is my fervent wish to bring hope to those imprisoned by a wounded past.

Chapter One: Damaged Goods

Something had to be wrong with me or my parents wouldn’t act the way they did.

As a child in a family filled with dysfunction, my belief system told me that I was the cause of the insanity within my home. When my needs were not satisfied as a child, rather than acknowledging that something might be wrong with my parents, I believed that something must be wrong with me. My father was often away from home while I was growing up. My mother was always trying to locate him. As the oldest child, I became a caretaker for my mother. One night she threatened suicide. She told me to find my father or she was going to carry out her threat. She held a long, sharp knife used by my father to cut meat. She pointed the sharp end at her stomach, threatening to stab herself if I did not phone my father immediately and get him home. I was about ten years old. The first phone call I made was to my grandmother. She told me where I could find my father. My hands trembled as I dialed the number. When I heard his voice I started to sob, pleading with him to come quickly.

When my father arrived home, I noticed that even he was scared that my mother was about to do something crazy. I kept my eyes glued to the knife in my mother’s hands, saying to myself, Please put the knife