How to Find Your Antidote

We all have had someone toxic or a situation that left us poisoned in our lives. It could be a toxic friend, a bad boyfriend/girlfriend, an addiction, a job that was not good for us but we stayed for the security. In order to get the poison out of our system, we have to find the anti-dote. Finding the anti-dote isn't as quick and easy as the poison has penetrated our system. We have to work at it. We have to take the right steps to make sure that the poison is completely out of our system.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Patience
• Determination
• A great support system
• Self-Worth

1. Recognize that you HAVE been poisoned. Just like any addiction or problem, we have to recognize that there is a poison in our system.
2. Find the SOURCE of the poison. One of my favorite shows is House and on there, they go through the symptoms of patient to find what is the root of the problem. They can apply treatment for some of the symptoms but as long as the root of the problem hasn't been found, it will keep coming back. If you are identifying a current problem as your poison and think that getting rid of it is going make your problems go away, think again. Say that you are in an abusive relationship but you don't recognize your boyfriend as the poison. Instead, you blame stress from his job, your job, family problems, money problems, etc to excuse his behavior. All those problems could be resolved TOMORROW but he will still continue to be your poison.
3. Acknowledge that you had some input in the poison entering your system. This is the hardest thing for people to do sometimes. Take the blame that belongs to them. If I stay in an abusive relationship...then the fact that the poison has been in my system longer than necessary is partially my fault. I have to admit that I should've taken action sooner. That I shouldn't have talked myself into staying. That I should not have made excuses for the behavior. Take the blame but do NOT blame yourself for something that is not your fault. There is a huge difference.
4. Flush your system. Take the time to figure out what your anti-dote is and go after it. For me, it was stepping away from the toxic people in my life and focus on me. I focused on my writing. My past is filled with poison. There are different anti-dotes for all the poison that has entered my life but I've recognized the root of it all. By doing that, by identifying the root of the problem without being afraid...by facing your demons, you can finally flush the poison OUT of your system. Before letting the anti-dote take care of you, you have to make sure the poison is OUT.
5. Apply the anti-dote.
   
   How long will this process take? Sometimes a week..sometimes years...The most important thing is to make sure that you take the steps to insure that you are moving forward in finding the anti-dote. Step 1 is the hardest one of all. So take it. Encourage your friends to take it.