I
did not know. People other than those I
knew as an addict, peers in the mental health system, began to associate with
me and began talking about becoming cured or recovered from their mental
distress, their illness, even I wondered if there was a “cure” for the illness
I suffered from, besides addiction and drunkeness. As time progressed I learned ther were
internal and external forces to be recokoned with. Resilience and hope, words I never used,
besides empowerment and something I lacked, which was responsibility and
self-direction were words I never thought of until I thought of reaching out
for help , yet as I grew, I learned I could educate myself about my symptoms
and learn to cope and manage these symptoms of my illness. I could with this new knowledge, mold my self
with self-discipline and know what empathy meant in this society.
Recovery
means changing direction, your attitude and what you believe in from what I
have learned about others and myself as well.
It doesn’t mean having a reliance on medicine, pills or self-medicating
your self on illicit drugs or alcohol, it means to search and explore your
personal self, exercise and meditate and find a balance between yourself and
those who care to help you as well as loved ones.
Focusing
on building a new world for yourslef is a step in recovery, from the woes of
distress which had become common to you to knowing that recovery makes you a
new person, one who is unique with an ability to understand your rights and who
knows the choices and self direction of your life.
Written
by Donald S.
