Crosstalk Kills

Slim Gravy’s hands with NA bracelet and NA handbook.

I want to share how appreciative I am to be part of a vital, therapeutic sub-culture, where I freely examine myself, out loud, often daily, with others who understand what ails me, and who always thank me for sharing—without crosstalk, which kills cognitive processing!

The art of listening is waning in our over-stimulated, fast-paced, attention-deficit, first-world culture. It is a peaceful treasure to be able to attend meetings of like-minded folks, sharing our Recovery process in a safe, anonymous setting, where we speak and listen interruption-free. It sure helps me examine myself on a deeper, more rigorously honest level, what I might not see if I was just thinking about it in my own dysfunctional head.

It dawned on me recently that our cathartic sharing in Narcotics Anonymous is emboldened by the freedom to not be cut off as we cognitively process verbally at our own pace what needs to be internalized, and without the often-disruptive intrusion of crosstalk.

One Twelve-Step group has defined crosstalk as, “…giving advice to others who have already shared, speaking directly to another person rather than to the group and questioning or interrupting the person speaking at the time.”

Members in Narcotics Anonymous meetings are encouraged to avoid “crosstalk,” which means members share their own experiences instead of having other members respond to what they are saying, other than to thank them for sharing. However, individuals are encouraged to have conversations before or after meetings.

Many of us, in our attention-deficit, sound-bite world, are easily distracted when interrupted while making foundational statements necessary to our main point, which we often never get to. This is where Crosstalk kills the cognitive thread! I am thankful for Recovery!

—Slim Gravy

We encourage comments and sharing.