It’s been 11 years since I overcame opioid addiction. Last year, I went through the process of becoming an addiction recovery coach in the hopes of helping others who struggle.
When speaking with an individual leading the training I needed, I was asked how long I’d been free from addiction. Was I in recovery? Since I wasn’t really familiar with that terminology, I replied that no, I’d been recovered for 10 years now.
She replied, “Oh honey, there’s no such thing.”
Since I hate confrontation and didn’t want to argue, I just said, “Oh, OK,” and then moved on. But to be honest, all her statement did was confuse me. Why couldn’t I say I was recovered?
I haven’t had a problem with opioids in over 10 years and am fully committed to never having a problem again. Furthermore, I have no cravings or desire to take opioids, just a strong aversion to the drugs and all the problems they create.
So while I’ve gone along with the terminology that runs rampant in the addiction world, I can’t say that I agree with it. I think that yes, you 100% can be “recovered,” not just “in recovery.”
That terminology is just another way to stigmatize those who once misused drugs and other substances In my opinion.
So say that 20 years down the road something drastic happens and I began taking opioids again. While the scenario is very unlikely, let’s just imagine it does for the sake of the argument.
Am I a failure? I was recovered for over 30 years at that point, but since I messed up again, was it wrong or incorrect for me to say I had recovered?
I don’t think so. I’m not going to go around saying I’m in recovery for the next 20 years on the off chance something happens and my addiction returns. That’s what the addiction community wants me to say. True, but to me, that implies that my former addiction still has a hold on me.
And it doesn’t.
If I still had cravings and a hard time staying away from opioids, then sure, maybe I’d be fine with saying I’m in recovery. But when that’s all in the past, why act like it’s still a problem?
It was just part of my life. Now I’m in a new part and I refuse to let my past determine my future.
Addiction is a complex thing. No one person’s experience is exactly like another, and we shouldn’t try to fit everyone into neat little boxes.
Let people grow. Let them change. Don’t force people to identify themselves by a mistake they made in the past and use terminology that doesn’t allow them to grow. Maybe to some people, being told they’re in recovery for the rest of their life isn’t a big deal.
But to people like me, it implies an inability to get away from my addiction. It tells me that I’m predisposed to becoming addicted to substances, and I’ll have to fight for the rest of my life to stay clean. It diminishes the fight it took for me to get to where I am today.
So no, I’m not “in recovery.” I’m well and truly recovered from my addiction to opioids, and I’m never going back.
Photo Credit: fizkes / iStock via Getty Images Plus
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