Sherry Gaba LCSW, Psychotherapist, Life & Recovery Coach is featured Celebrity Rehab on VH1. Sherry is the author of  The Law of Sobriety which uses the law of attraction to recover from any addiction. Please download your Free EBooks from Sherry™s Enrich Your Life Series. Contact Sherry at sherry@sgabatherapy.com for webinars, teleseminars, coaching packages and speaking engagements. Listen to Sherry on A Moment of Change with Sherry Gaba on CBS.

If you are a person who struggles with addictive behavior you know that your own biggest enemy is looking at you every time you stand in front of a mirror. This applies to those who are shopping addicts as well as to those who are drug addicts or alcoholics

People who have addictions to any type of substance or behavior are their own biggest problem because they cannot let go of the negative stigma that the addiction has created internally. Being able to let go of those negative thoughts about yourself will free you from their restraints and allow you to thrive, grow and change into the person you want to be.
There are four questions that you need to ask yourself to find out if your own negative thoughts are creating a quagmire for you to get out of before you can start to change. They are:

• Can I list my positive traits as easily as I can list all the faults that I have?
• Am I a good person who has made some bad choices or a bad person who only has one choice in how I react?
• Do I honestly see the options I have in making decision in my life or do I seem to be a one-way track over which I have no control?
• Can I list the positive attributes I want to have and why they are important to my own personal growth and positive change?

If you had to stop and think about these answers, or couldn’t answer at all, then negativity has definitely invaded your internal sense of self. This internal perspective about your lack of positivity is projected into the world around you, bringing in negative energy, interactions and experiences.
My book “The Law of Sobriety” talks about the often-rugged mental path that needs to be taken in order to get over the mountains of negative thoughts we have developed about ourselves through an addiction. Working with an addiction therapist or counselor is critical in being able to clearly see the path to a better, healthier self.

Working with people of all walks of life and with all types of challenges I have found that getting over this hurdle of negative self-thoughts often brings about amazing results. The world