D.A.FF.Y! Professional A.R.T.S. Anonymous




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Career ANOREXIA??

What Is CAREER ANOREXIA?

In a nutshell: Self-Hatred.

It usually starts with abandonment or betrayal.

The pain was so great that we made a fundamental, unconscious commitment:

Never combine ART

[which is: intimacy]

with MONEY [which, to us, was: terror].

To do so would resurrect the pain of the trauma, making us vulnerable to more trauma.

Our solution was: control.

Self-hatred often expresses itself as anger: at past abuse, betrayal and rejection. Anger toward the family-of-origin.

This rage is profoundly passive-aggressive.  To act would render the anger meaningless, making the betrayal, somehow acceptable.

COMMON ANOREXIC FEARS

We stand always on the edge of a beginning, afraid of making a commitment.

Fearful of pursuing our creativity as a means of earning a living, we remain amateurs.

The concept of supporting ourselves through our art seems overwhelming.

We fear that:

we won't sustain our success.

we'll fail and be humiliated.

We fear that:

we'll lose our privacy.

our increased visibility will make us targets.

We fear that:

we will stumble publicly.

we will compromise our art.

We fear that:

we'll lose our creative freshness.

people and events will begin to blur.

SPECIAL NOTE TO NEWCOMERS

Confronting career anorexia is hard to do alone.  It is important to find a support group, which you have just done.  The crucial early recovery work is to lay the foundation of a safe, nurturing community for this journey.

You will have to confront who you are, and what unresolved trauma and abuse still reside in your unconscious.

Overcoming career self-hatred

This program is designed to guide you toward that release.

For this to happen, you will need all the support you can muster.

Attending the meetings is important. Breaking isolation is essential. Help comes through an intentional, planned effort.

Be kind and gentle with yourself.

Be patient with yourself.

Be willing to love yourself.

Let's get started:

We welcome you!