I have a term for people who love addicted people. I call them Second Hand Addicts because truthfully, although they do not actually take the drug, they are just as sick as the addicted person. And sometimes they don’t even know what their problem is.

In addition, I would go so far as to say that we addicts and codependents, only know two ways of living and the entire sphere of our existence lives in these ‘polar opposite’ ways of being. To clarify, Addicts and Second Hand Addicts either attack or defend, control or be controlled, manipulate or be manipulated, step-on or be stepped on. In short they are either the action- usually aggressive- or the reaction. Now this same phenomenon can be said to exist in all people to some extent, but with an addict (alcoholic) or codependent, action/reaction is about the only way we live. And I lump myself in both of these groups as a former codependent who has experienced the struggle with food addiction.

Now many of you therapists and 12-step attenders will balk when I say former codependent. You are well aware that codependency does not go away, and is a life-long problem. And I was aware of the very same thing until I took a course called The Landmark Forum.

‘How could this be?’ I can hear your perplexed voices- especially those of you in the recovery field, who are fighting the endless battle against codependency in both the Addict and Second-Hand Addict alike.

It is because The Landmark Forum and all Landmark courses deal with our past, and putting our past in the past so that it no longer runs us. As a general rule, we Addicts/Second-Hand Addicts are fraught with dis-empowering pasts and it was in these dis-empowering pasts that we created our ‘kill or be killed’, action/ reaction ways of being. Now recovery specialists have fought long and hard to help people deal with their pasts so that they could move forward . We all know the past runs us. But these pesky pasts keep popping up their heads- and mucking up the works of recovery. So you could hardly believe that a course or education could complete a past so fully that it looked as if it had never happened.

I can only tell you from my experience what it is like. This year I struggled greatly with finances. I tried to add another job but did not get an interview for a whole year. Then in a landmark Course I put the past in the past. That week I had three interviews and I now have several possibilities for a job to choose from.

Now the past that was in my way was a complete blind-spot to me and I could not see it- even in years of therapy- until I sat in that course at Landmark Education.

And that is what the Landmark Forum does for people. It turns on a long burnt-out light bulb.

So do the Landmark Forum, whoever you are. And if you deal with addicts and codependents, and they are healthy enough of mind, have them do it to. You can visit my blog for the website. Then let me know that you did it and how it went. Or better yet, email me and I will personally register you for the course. It would really make my day to have you get something so meaningful for your life.