More Than One Path: Embracing Recovery in All Forms

January is Substance Use Disorder Treatment Month, which offers us an opportunity to reflect on available treatment options and to embrace recovery in all of its forms. 

No two people have the same journey through life; our experiences, genetics, relationships, and environments shape us all in different ways, and we each walk along a path that is unique to us.  When it comes to recovery, we must expect the same diversity of experience. Every person navigating recovery has a different story, and every person deserves recovery support that works for them. As part of a collaborative storytelling project among our partners in the New River Valley, individuals shared their experiences with substance use, recovery, and the support systems that have worked for them. While not a comprehensive list, the lived experience sharing offers perspective of how each recovery journey is unique.

Peer services provide valuable support through recovery for some:

“I have the people at Rise Above, of course, I have [peer support]. They are actually my main support right now… people I can talk to, I can relate to, they've been through some of the situations I've been through, so they can reflect on the same things that I've gone through”

For others, 12-step recovery programs are helpful: 

“Alcoholics Anonymous was a good, solid group to go to, to like meet people that are struggling with the same substances and like be able to connect and get phone numbers and have somebody to connect with when you're struggling”

For some, Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) is the right fit:

“I do MAT, and I think it's a wonderful thing to have. It's not just a legal way of getting high, you know. I'm living proof that it helps, and I've been on it for probably 9 or 10 years”

Some folks find our recovery court system to be a beneficial path: 

“Recovery court has done so much to help me. I was homeless for a year and a half before I got into the program and I went- they sent me to New Life and I didn't have anywhere for them to discharge me to, so they got me into an Oxford house and I've been there ever since”

Regardless of the approach, recovery is about connection, support, and acceptance. Limiting recovery options reduces the likelihood that individuals will thrive. As we continue to work together to build a stronger recovery community, we must create an ecosystem with robust options that are as unique as each of us. 

To learn more about Substance Use Disorder Treatment Month, consider exploring this toolkit from SAMHSA or resources and information local to the New River Valley.