Addiction, Recovery, Meaning & Identity [2 Films, 5’02”]
Tim emphasises that addiction can be very damaging—it damages relationships, self-esteem, and social capital. There is some sort of legacy when you come out of addiction that needs to be mended. A very big hole where addiction used to be. In a way, recovery is about filling that hole. Some people may fill that hole by being part of a community. The culture of recovery is highly social, and this sociality of recovery is what really interests him.
[At the same time, Tim points out that Granfield and Cloud have shown that many people overcome drug addiction without accessing treatment or attending peer support groups].
For many people, addiction attenuates their life meaning. Tim quotes someone who he interviewed: ‘When I was fully addicted, in the peak of my addiction, all meaning had reduced to drugs and money. Those were the only things that mattered in my life.’ Recovery restores meaning. Most people get meaning from relationships, from being able to give and receive, to have fun with other people, and share experiences with others. These are all the things that the Recovery Movement offers.
One way you can get meaning is to join a group of people who believe in something very strongly, and have rules and norms around that belief system. That way appeals to a lot of people.
However, Tim emphasises that the Recovery Movement can’t be like that. It has to encapsulate people with a wide range of different views, people who are changing their mind about things, people who develop their philosophies, people who identify with some people, but also have solidarity with other people who are not like them. That type of range is very important, otherwise people get left out.