Nature of Recovery, Part 2 [5 films, 9’06”]
We continue looking at various aspects relating to the nature of recovery, as described by four of our initial interviewees.
David McCartney summarises the profound changes that occurred during his time in a residential rehab, emphasising the importance of infusions of hope and having that person who is just that bit further along in their recovery.
Wendy Dossett reached out to mutual aid in the early stages of her recovery. She gradually established her recovery and her mental improved incrementally. She says: ‘I’ve felt pretty desperate at times, pretty depressed, but I haven’t actually attempted suicide. And that tells me a lot about what alcohol was doing to me, and where potentially it could take me if I were to pick it up again.’
Marcus Fair, founder of Eternal Media, emphasises that he was a very busy addict. When someone like him gets into recovery, they are thinking, ‘How I am going to fill those 24 hours? If you can’t remember what you used to do, or you were a kid when you got onto drugs, and you have no outside interests… now what?’
James Deakin focuses on the same theme: addiction takes up everything in a person’s life, so when you remove that, ‘there’s this massive void that is left behind…. You have to fill that.’ He talks about the broad range of activities that North Wales Recovery Communities (NWRC) offers in which to engage their members. [Community members are certainly filling a void and having fun in the photograph above!]
Finally, David emotionally describes the dramatic changes in his feelings and thoughts during his journey to recovery from addiction. It was the most profound experience of his life.