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Talking about recovery can be a challenging thing to do. Discussing one’s journey to sobriety can be stressful, especially if someone doesn’t know how others may respond to hearing about addiction recovery. As a result, some alumni simply tend to avoid the topic altogether. While this is certainly an option available, there may still be situations where someone wants or needs to address the matter. Knowing how to approach the topic of addiction can help each person not just explain the transformations they have made in their lives but also help begin to deconstruct the stigma that unfortunately surrounds words like “addiction” and “recovery.”
Beginning with the Science
Recovery is a topic that has many negative connotations. While unfortunate, addiction and mental health disorders are plagued by the notion that they are a moral failing or that someone simply “should have known better.” However, the reality of many cases is not so simple. Addressing addiction first means breaking through the idea that it can be overcome by willpower alone. Putting addiction in scientific terms can legitimize the problem as the disease that it is, rather than a personal failing. Addiction involves hijacking the brain’s rewards systems and dopamine receptors. Not only is the brain telling the body that it needs a particular substance, but it is also developing a tolerance while still expecting the same effects, causing someone to use more to achieve the same results.
One can better illustrate addiction by looking at Maslow’s pyramid. As someone uses alcohol socially, they may attribute their social success or developing friend circles to its use. However, as someone becomes accustomed to using alcohol in a social situation, it may begin to seep into other parts of someone’s life. By believing it to be a necessity on a social level, someone can become psychologically reliant on its use before they have realized that it is a problem. Alcohol use can then become a part of someone’s daily routine, setting itself into feelings of safety, and ultimately may ingratiate itself amidst one’s basic needs, convincing the brain that it is just as essential as food, water, and air.
Individualizing Recovery
Another hurdle in deconstructing the need for recovery as a “moral failing” is the notion that people intend to become addicted and that each person has a different threshold for what their bodies and minds are capable of processing. Addiction has a genetic component that makes specific people more susceptible to developing certain issues, whether related to a particular substance or mental health disorder.
Individualizing one’s story with recovery also adds a needed personal element. Those in recovery can have unfair labels placed on them, and their reasons for recovery can become their identity. Talking about one’s journey can showcase how there are genuine people behind these notions. While someone may not be comfortable talking about all of the specifics behind their recovery, conversations can still be transformative if done on an individualized, personal level. Leading discussions with skills that someone has mastered through recovery or accomplishments they have made, someone can frame recovery as a pathway to success. Recovery is wholly a transformational experience intended to help those who undergo the process emerge as self-sufficient pursuers of their life goals, with coping strategies and life skills. Leading with these accomplishments continues to break down the notion that a person is only defined by their reason for recovery and instead creates the idea of recovery as a bridge.
Explaining what recovery is and why it is essential to someone who may have never undergone the process can be a massive undertaking. There are several stigmas to address, and there can be uncertainties on how much someone is willing to listen. However, recovery is still about one’s journey, and discussing the topic is always up to those who have gone through recovery themselves. For alumni looking to deepen relationships, touching on the subject may be necessary. A scientific approach, backed by positive results before addressing any specific struggles, can add the context needed to ensure the dialogue is fair and genuine going forward.
Talking about recovery can be challenging to do, and it may even bring up its own volatile emotions in the process. Discussing the science behind addiction and individualized, positive recovery outcomes can help you in easing into conversations surrounding addiction and recovery. If you or a loved one are struggling with your continued sobriety, or are looking to expand your toolkit in recovery, START UP RECOVERY can help you today. Your stay with us can be personalized to fit your strengths while you continue to establish your own identity, all in a luxurious atmosphere of fellowship and community. Personalized approaches to your concerns, backed by a robust daily schedule to instill necessary coping strategies, life skills, and accountability, can help you learn to tackle your everyday life. Talking about your recovery is an integral part of the process, and the comfort provided by our professionals, mentors, and peers can help you articulate your journey. For more information on the various ways in which we can help you, call us today at (310) 773-3809.