Anyone with a conscience will know what they've done and if they've hurt someone. Being in denial doesn’t get anyone off the hook – it merely intensifies the problem even more.
Ignoring something doesn't make it go away
Just because we choose to ignore what we've done, doesn't mean what we've done didn't happen. We use denial to ignore and deceive others, and for us to ignore what’s potentially coming back. Denial is us refusing to accept that someone else is speaking the truth, or us accepting what we have done. Instead, we may choose to block out what we've done.
About Denial
Denial is a way for us to avoid acknowledging our weaknesses. 'Denialism' is when we choose to deny reality, as a way to avoid uncomfortable truths, but this is not something we can avoid in the long-term. Instead, we should reconcile our words and put our actions right, because any wrongdoing with the wrong intent, will eventually catch up with us. No one is exempt from karma.
Yes, I am all too aware of what I have done and I'm not proud of the person I used to be. I used to have a photographic memory at one time so there are many things that I can't forget even as much as I wish I could.
This was exactly why I started drinking and smoking pot at 12 years old, so I could forget what my childhood was like. There were also parts of myself that I wasn't very proud of, but it wasn't like I had the option of really talking to anyone about what was happening.
I'm sure that I would have been told that I had every right to be angry and they would have helped me to deal with those feelings. I have spent a lifetime trying to change my ways which finally seems to be succeeding, now that I'm can talk about those feelings.
Hats off to you Randy. Just because your life was one way doesn't mean it has to stay that way. People change and you have.
You have come a long way. You should be proud of how far you've come. The fact that you own up to how you used to be is be commended. Most people choose to ignore how they were and when confronted will deny all knowledge.
I remember a school friend whose father used to watch children over the road after school and when I told her, she said she didn't know what her father did. I remember thinking how sad it was that she wouldn't own up to what her father did for a living.
It is important that whatever we have done, we own our issues and for everything we hand out, we own up to those mistakes too. I love that you're open and honest. I am pleased your life is turning around for the better too.