What is “recovery”?
Recovery is…..more than sobriety.
Recovery is…..more than wiser choices.
Recovery is…..more than mental wellness.
Recovery is…..more than healthier relationships.
Recovery is…..more than better activities.
So, we ask again, what is “recovery”?
Of course, recovery includes all of these positive things. But, recovery is something even deeper and wider. As I have had the immense privilege to gather stories from our clients in their recovery here at The Willow Center, there is one definition that has been repeated to me over and over again by them:
Recovery is…..HOPE.
Many folks who develop substance use disorders have experienced some kind of pain in their life that initially triggered the addictive coping mechanisms and took away their hope. Whether the substance use was to cope with a broken relationship, to cope with stress, to cope with a past trauma, or even to cope with the feeling of “not being good enough as I am” — substance use became the escape from the pain.
For many, addiction turns out to feel less like an escape and more like a dark trap, even an inevitable death sentence – serving this or that substance until it kills you. Thankfully, this horrible feeling is not true. We are here to say, emphatically and loudly, ADDICTION IS NOT THE END OF THE STORY! Recovery is and always will be POSSIBLE.
The month of September, marked as Recovery Awareness Month each year in the United States, is a month of total celebration! We celebrate the multitude of people, human beings just like us, that are healing from substance use and mental health challenges: stories that are long-standing, stories that are ongoing, and stories that are just barely beginning. We advocate for the reduction of shame and stigma that society so often attempts to shroud the recovery community with. We create opportunities for more and more people to start their recovery journey, and to share about how far they have come.
Today, we honor all of our friends and family who are fighting this fight together, and we remember all of our friends and family we’ve sadly lost along the way. Today, we express our gratitude for all of the allies in recovery, like sponsors, mentors, coaches, counselors, group hosts, and therapists. Today, we share our joy and pride in being a part of this amazing, global and local recovery community.
Today, we have HOPE.
–written by Chase Cotten, Community Director
