What is Recovery?
I am in recovery. I am a recovering alcoholic/addict.
What is recovery? I had a stroke, I recovered. I’ve been abused, I have forgiven my abusers and so, I am recovered. If I’ve lost something I seek to recover it. Once found, it is recovered.
What has been covered can be recovered. A hundred times if need be.
Recovery to me is a journey. A way out. I go to many 12 step meetings to help me stay sane and sober and very often I hear people identify themselves as “in recovery” or as a “recovering alcoholic” and it always reminds me about progress not perfection. Recovery is a journey not a destination and it can be our saving grace. So much of our trauma gets re-triggered time and time again. We can easily be reminded of a painful event that we had forgiven/forgotten/recovered from but a door can be opened to bring us right back to the shame or the hurt or the feeling of helplessness and that could easily bring us to our knees and bring us to a point of despair and hopelessness, causing us to relapse or get ideas of hurting ourselves. We can face many temptations and very often submit to those temptations and be broken by our addictions but if we remember the tools of recovery, we can stand up, wipe our selves off and trudge again.
I think people who start a journey of redemption, healing, trauma work, awareness, forgiveness and accountability are the strongest and most courageous among us. We aren’t called Recovery Warriors for nothing.
-Brandy Ledford
Published February 1, 2021