Recovery is something done by the person with a substance use problem, not by a treatment practitioner. Treatment or engagement in mutual aid groups may facilitate recovery, but they do so by catalysing and supporting natural processes of recovery in the individual.
A second feature of recovery from a serious substance use problem is that it does not occur in isolation. The maxim ‘I alone can do it, but I can’t do it alone’ is particularly pertinent to recovery. Connection to other people is a key element facilitating recovery.
Treatment is generally the start of a recovery journey and is not needed by everyone. Although formal treatment may help some people, recovery occurs in the home and the person’s community, not in the clinic.
Recovery is a process that generally takes a long period of time and requires sustained effort. It is easy to stop using, but much harder to stay stopped. Recovery initiation and recovery maintenance are qualitatively different processes. Recovery is not a linear process. The person may make small gains followed by a major step forward. The person may falter, slide back, re-group and move forward again. Relapse is not a failure; it is part of the recovery process. It can be followed by a major move forward in the recovery journey.
Recovery is much more than just stopping use of drugs and alcohol. It is about repairing the damage caused by drug and alcohol-related problems, including problems which may have arisen as a result of poor treatment practices. It is about actively managing the person’s continued vulnerability to the problems that arose from drug and alcohol use (e.g. guilt, shame, social isolation). As addiction is generally a symptom of a deeper underlying problem, such as trauma, recovery is greatly facilitated by addressing such a problem.
Ultimately, recovery is about gaining and maintaining a healthy, productive, and meaningful life. It should be pointed out that not everyone who finds recovery gives up all drug and alcohol use.
Recovery is better predicted by someone’s assets and strengths, rather than their deficits and weaknesses. People can make progress by identifying and building on their personal assets and strengths. Successful interventions to facilitate recovery focus on helping individuals to build recovery strengths, more often referred to as ‘recovery capital’. Recovery capital is the quantity and quality of internal and external resources that one can bring to bear on the initiation and maintenance of recovery.
Recovery from addiction is holistic. It encompasses a person’s whole life, including mind, body, spirit, family, community, culture and wider society. Everyone’s recovery is different and deeply personal.
However, whilst there are a multitude of pathways to recovery, there are a number of key factors (e.g. hope, understanding, and gaining a sense of belonging) that facilitate recovery from serious substance use problems. The importance of these factors has been illustrated in the narratives of recovering people about their journeys into and out of addiction. Understanding how change occurs is key to facilitating recovery.
Addiction is about disconnection. Recovery is about connection. By understanding how change occurs, how people become connected, we can get beside them and augment the change process.
The photograph is from 2009 and shows Bill White, leading US recovery advocate, historian and researcher, and I at a special conference in London for UK recovery advocates organised by Action on Addiction and my grassroots initiative Wired In. Bill was the main speaker, with Tim Leighton and I being the other speakers.