National Recovery Month: We’re on This Journey Together

I can’t believe National Recovery Month 2016 is already coming to an end, but what a wonderful journey it’s been. Individuals from around the nation have shared so many impactful stories. These people come from all walks of life and have been touched by addiction in a myriad of different ways.

What have we learned about addiction recovery over these last four weeks?

Defining Recovery and the Value of Support

We found out that the term “recovery” means something different to each and every one of us. For some, recovery simply means greeting each day without being shackled to drugs or alcohol. For others, it means being a trustworthy friend and family member or mending fences broken by the weight of addiction.

We also learned what it’s really like loving someone who struggles with addiction. With so much focus placed on the person who’s struggling with chemical dependency, their friends and loved ones often feel lost in the shuffle. We found out how a solid support system can make or break someone’s recovery and how much it means to them to know they are unconditionally loved.

There was one overwhelming message that people in recovery wanted to convey to those who supported them through the darkest times of their lives, “Thank You for Never Giving Up!”

Check out a few of these heartfelt messages we gathered at Recovery Brands, through our site, Recovery.org, in the video below:

Getting and Staying Clean

We heard from people who recently completed rehab and received some powerful insight into the hard work that’s required to stay clean once home. Leaving the safety and structure of treatment is an exciting and scary time, but with the right support systems in place and the will to change your life for the better, it can be done.

We also received some unique insight from Candace Plattor, M.A., R.C.C, addictions therapist, award-winning author and expert writer for Pro Corner on Recovery.org:

“I believe that it really does take a village. We are still at a place in our recovery communities where the bulk of the attention and available treatment goes to those with addiction. I am never against people receiving help and support – but we still don’t have anywhere near enough resources available to assist and support the people who love them – and they desperately struggle right alongside those who struggle with addiction, often not having any clue about what to do.

For every one person with an addiction there are generally about 10-20 people who are negatively affected by that person’s addiction. We need to be offering a lot more help to the loved ones than we’ve been doing.

We need to be working with families as a whole, not just with those who are addicted if we want to stop addiction in its tracks.”

We’d love to hear more about what you learned during National Recovery Month 2016! Share your story with us by using #RBRecoveryMonth on social media or leaving a comment below!