Greetings,

I’ve been thinking…

Here lately I have been thinking about this thing that we call recovery.  What does it really mean?  And, who gets to decide?  What are the different types of recovery?  

All of these questions unanswered leave confusion and difficulty when it comes to understanding addiction recovery and what we mean when we say at SpiritWorks that we focus on “addiction recovery and wellness”.

It has become necessary to explain repeatedly what it is that we do, and how it differs from_________________, you fill in the blank.

Unlike other disease and illness, there is no accepted definition of recovery.  So, how does one know if they have it, or for that matter if they don’t.  Some argue that we never recover from alcoholism or drug addiction.  Others believe we do, and the vast majority simply does not know.  I will make completely clear what my belief is, WE DO RECOVER!

I believe it is imperative that some type of definition needs to be developed.  Otherwise, we will continue to be misunderstood by ourselves, each other, and certainly by the larger society, to include insurance companies and policy makers.  Issues of stigma and discrimination amongst others and us will continue to be prevalent and people seeking recovery will not get the help that they need.

We are working from a framework that says WE DO RECOVER.  The questions we pose regularly in our “Survey” allow us to get at what others think.  Please do your part and participate in the discussion in some way.  Lives depend upon it, maybe even yours!

Until next time,

Peace, Jan