September is National Recovery Month!

Every September, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) leads the nation in celebrating Recovery Month, a time dedicated to promoting awareness and understanding of mental health and substance use disorders, celebrating those in recovery, and highlighting the effective treatments available. Recovery Month has been a vital part of SAMHSA’s efforts to combat the stigma associated with mental health and substance use disorders, and in 2024, the initiative continues with renewed energy and focus on the theme, "Hope, Healing, and Health."

The theme for Recovery Month 2024, "Hope, Healing, and Health," encapsulates the core elements of the recovery process. Hope is a critical factor in recovery, providing the motivation to continue moving forward despite challenges. Healing refers not only to the process of overcoming mental health and substance use disorders but also to the holistic approach to recovery that includes physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. Health, in this context, underscores the importance of maintaining overall wellness as a foundation for long-term recovery.

Check out the resources below or visit SAMHSA's Recovery Month 2024 page.

Use Social Media Frames and Stickers

By Nikki Russell

July 2, 2024

Harm reduction involves guiding individuals toward recovery and giving them a second chance at life. The United States' integrated recovery system claims responsibility for the healing process. The disease model suggests that addiction is a natural allergy, and having the condition for life means that people are encouraged to participate in a 12-step healing process, which offers a legitimate path to recovery. This involves regularly attending meetings, working through the 12 steps, and helping other individuals with alcoholism to keep their addiction in check. On the other hand, the harm reduction model takes a different approach to treating individuals struggling with addiction. Harm reduction is a public health model in which the goal may be abstinence. Still, there are smaller steps that one could take to approach the intersection of addiction and recovery. Embracing harm reduction enables peer support specialists to connect with their peers.

A peer support specialist creates an environment for the healing process. There are many valid perspectives on the healing journey. Religion leans on prayer, sacrament, exorcism, and anointing with oil to heal the mind, body, and spirit. Energy Healers transfer energy into the body as the vitality that accumulates negative energy, opening up blockages through the emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual outpour that can cause illness. The unblocking or healing of the energy system happens through different modalities such as acupuncture, Healing Touch, Reiki, and Therapeutic Touch. Peer Support Specialists rely on lived experience, creating mutuality that leads to trust. Modern perspectives require many new perspectives, like the recovery model, to support those suffering and recognize the great need to meet people where they are to achieve wellness.

Harm reduction aims to minimize negative social and physical consequences and provide hope to individuals. The disease model emphasizes abstinence as the primary component of a successful recovery program. A relapse is a significant obstacle in a recovery plan and often occurs with emotional, mental, and lifestyle factors or triggers. The inability to maintain abstinence can lead to feelings of hopelessness and activate harmful consequences. Harm reduction demonstrates that many individuals are living in an environment of adverse effects, functioning in survival mode without realizing it; this is where harm reduction excels; by allowing a person to enter less traumatic moments could help them gain clarity. If abstinence is a requirement for a large community of people, recovery may never reach them. The central harm reduction principles are to keep the client alive, sustain their health, and help them achieve their life goals. The main objective of harm reduction works because we see the peer and their needs as essential rather than fitting them into a societal box. Harm reduction combines a spiritual solution of accepting people where they are and a scientific evidence-based practice incorporating health into a recovery plan one day at a time.

Beginning the journey of the healing process in harm reduction is about accepting people where they are and recognizing not everybody fits into the disease model box. Recovery is a healing process of restoration to mind-body wholeness; recovery may not begin after or because of treatment but may be a part of the consistent recovery process; just as the Alcoholic goes to meetings for treatment, a daily reprieve, a pregnant woman may need to accept medically assisted treatment (MAT) for her long-term recovery to help manage cravings, withdrawal symptoms, and keep her baby healthy.

Adopting a harm reduction mindset creates a healing atmosphere outside the box. When peer support specialists meet their peers halfway, they offer them a more holistic approach, reduce stigma, and help them initiate healing. Religion, energy healers, and Peer Support Specialists contribute to harm reduction by blending evidence-based practices and spirituality to create the best outcome. Bringing compassionate solutions to people allows them to take responsibility for their lives on their own terms. Considering peers is critical when determining if they need harm reduction versus the disease model of addiction. Recovery has many pathways that deserve a Peer Support Specialist's attention to achieve a broad spectrum of healing modalities that can help people achieve a long-term recovery on their terms.

For further research, check out these websites:

National Harm Reduction Coalition

Pregnancy and Substance Use: A Harm Reduction Toolkit - National Harm Reduction Coalition

By Nikki Russell, Recovery Programs Coordinator

June 12, 2024

Recovery is the story of my life. Textbook Psychology explains why my thoughts, behavior, senses, and emotions function without cause. That is, until you dive into the ocean of the heart, exploring love's complex and hidden world. Recovery helps me know that the only person I can truly change is me. Still, I can positively affect the world if I am willing to make that change. I have learned that recovery is vital in life and will positively influence the future.

I use recovery to achieve fulfillment. Abraham Maslow's insights on the hierarchy of needs suggest that when all primary conditions are intact, one can establish certain freedoms to gain happiness. Recovery proclaims that being kind, big-hearted, and living in the moment can produce life results that lead to gratitude. The foundation of my personal life is spirituality, which supports a life in recovery. The journey toward a fulfilled life can be trodden with potholes of temptations of instant happiness that can lead to suffering. When people do not consider their values of a well-lived life, high regard for self is lost, and kindness exploits a self-served goal. An outcome of recovery is in the depths of character, reflecting the fulfillment factor as multi-faceted with many qualities that appear as the person. One of the most profound character traits of a second chance at happiness is courage, a willingness to face fears that conditioned thought patterns convince a person are genuine. A person's need to belong is to gain self-acceptance by gauging if the culture they belong to is supportive. It takes courage to move against the conditioned thoughts that classically reintroduce themselves as triggers, promoting protection from love rather than fear. A positive life is not always a reflection of a well-lived life, which is instrumental in my recovery. Fulfillment comes when I am brave enough to face my truths and dare to change them. Recovery helps me navigate the rugged road from serving myself for survival to assisting others for fulfillment.

I use recovery to help bridge the gap between science and spirituality. My work as a Peer Support Specialist promotes connecting the science of addiction to the solution of recovery. Recovery makes great leaps toward merging two vital processes of spirituality and science. We cannot ignore an aspect of a balanced life by looking at only one dynamic in addiction and mental health, especially when people experience recovery. Spirituality brings hope by surrendering control and replacing fear with love. A Peer Support Specialist understands the depth of recovery's purpose in holistic health. There is proof that mindfulness practices, such as yoga, art, and walking in nature, reduce stress and help with past traumas that an individual's body cannot process without external guidance. The peer support specialist is a credible source that a peer can trust, allowing recovery principles to become habitual and beginning an internal process that helps heal. Recovery plays an important role here; the values of bravery, ethics, and trust are integral parts of a balanced life, giving me a sense of well-being. One of the struggles I encounter in recovery and the healing process is to thrive spiritually in a scientific world; recovery helps me answer this question and discover my core motivator in life: to know that science and spirituality are two sides of the same coin; I cannot have one without the other. Learning the lessons that life provides me with compassion and belief allows me to live what I preach. Although spirituality is not the cure-all and is more useful when balanced with science, the evidence of its stability in my professional and personal life is a powerful living reminder that bridging the gap between science and spirituality is a path worth pursuing.

I use recovery to incorporate myself into each life challenge to gain knowledge and expand my world. Perfection is not the point, but it is the process of learning. The values of motivation, which psychologists call intrinsic motivators, are internal and extrinsic, external to oneself, and guiding dreams. Extrinsic motivators, such as public recognition, can suffocate inherent motivators, like a desire for personal development. Giving language a musical context could be like learning from a creative viewpoint. Instead of looking at things as one-dimensional, we could see a number as a dance move, a word as color, and a movement as a shape. I learned to follow my heart and live from my heart space, creating an authentic life experience that validates what is essential in my life. Authenticity can be challenging; it is a dense process of clearing old programs. However, the struggle is worth the creative process of becoming a seeker of truth. In the past, I have felt that I enjoyed the mystery of life; I did not need to know how my brain functioned to be successful in living. Yet, learning can be childlike; innocence emerges from the depth of concern, and curiosity takes over and brings joy back into life (Bain, 2013). Instead of memorizing a Quote, I explore the world around me and discover how it relates to my life. Recovery has helped reframe my thought process to understand better who I am in this great, big world. Recovery allows me to consider, dig deeper into the truth, and proclaim my values compassionately.  Regarding my career, I will embrace every challenge as a dance to lead; sometimes, I may step on a toe, but I am grateful for the freedom to learn a new step.

I extensively utilize recovery principles, which apply to all areas of my life. They have given me a deep understanding, and I would not have experienced a change in perspective without them.

Reflecting on how recovery has informed my professional and personal life and how it will positively affect my future is insightful. Recovery influences my personal life by being kind, having good character, and having values to maintain a foundation of spirituality to live a fulfilling life. It allows me to build a bridge between science and spirituality to promote a balance in my peer support career. A kindred spirit provides an authentic learning experience that will affect change within me and create change in the world. My life is a living book telling a story of triumph that I care enough to explore through my recovery. As Krentzman proclaims, the wind must blow, a bird must sing, and I, a student of life, must learn.

Nikki Russell, Recovery Programs Coordinator

June 4, 2024

I used to believe I had no unique gifts or talents to offer the world. I lamented the belief that happiness could not be found in my work; it had to be uncovered in my hobbies. Work was to be something I trudged through to get a paycheck utterly separate from my authenticity. As I forged a path through the business world, I gained many external accolades from my professional environment that fulfilled a sense of accomplishment but did not replenish my heart.

I had a deep desire to promote human welfare. I understood the suffering in the world; the wounding I experienced made me sensitive to it. I put being a humanitarian on a bucket list and carried on with business as usual. It is interesting how the universe attempted to show me my purpose, bringing me people who needed support. When I look back, it is crystal clear that my work in this life is to be a bridge to hope. The mask I wore hid the pain of my childhood, yet the people who had soul resonance with my suffering saw right through the mask and showed up in droves. As I sought, trudged, and dug for my destined career path, I did not see what was in plain sight; my most genuine desire hid behind pain and a life I was constructing to appear satisfied.

The road less traveled always felt dangerous because it meant following my heart, which usually led to aloneness. I was a closet addict; my happiness facade was worth not going through the pain of rejection, and the people who showed up for support represented "the me" I was trying to suppress. My artificial life triggered the authentic girl inside that, yes, had much pain but desperately needed to heal. With each year that passed, it became more and more painful to live a counterfeit life. It manifested as the abandonment of everything I created in an attempt to avoid the pain of my past. Addiction, the major destructor of life, leaves in its trail nothing except a spec of oneself that, if willing, will be used to rebuild a life of authenticity.

That spec meant everything to me; it held a second chance at life. The opportunity to be brave and courageous and walk down the road less traveled. Hope is an exciting experience because it shines the light of a bright future but holds everything a person needs to heal to get there. It says, "If you're willing to face some pretty unappealing facts about yourself, then the truth will not be withheld." Hope is the seed of the authentic life, but it only comes with much work. The gut-wrenching process called recovery opened my heart and led me on my destined path. My traumatic childhood, the years spent running from it, and the destruction of the mask was for a great purpose. My life meant more than I could have imagined; my lived experience could provide hope to somebody who didn't know grace was possible. Grace is a natural flow with what life offers, good, bad, or ugly, and finding the strength to see, feel, and release it.

With recovery came an examination of life experiences instead of investments in beliefs. I had developed a belief about myself and how I felt I needed to function in the world to be accepted. Knowing myself came with authenticity and the development of strength, resiliency, and courage to live without needing to fit in. I have discovered that I was not created to mold or conform to the masses. I was made to model recovery and compassion even in the face of those who deny me their approval. This understanding does not mean that all of a sudden, my life is problem-free; in fact, the opposite is true. The world has not changed, but my inner experience has. Becoming a Certified Peer Support Specialist validates my recovery experience and allows me the freedom to live a life that aligns with my soul, yet it does not always match up with the belief system of the world. Today, I am honored to face my fears, trembling and shaking, to validate an inner voice alive and well with something to add to life's dialogue.

My experience working as a Peer Support Specialist has evolved me into my authentic self. It has challenged the unhealed parts of me and demanded growth. Peer Support is about learning to stand in your power during the storms of emotions arising from past memories. Peer Support is a mirror that reflects your most tremendous human potential. It allows you to find yourself beyond the wounding, symptoms, and masks. We learn skills that we perform professionally, like DAP notes, recovery planning, and system regulations. Still, our actual value lies in our lived experience. It cannot be taught in exchange for a degree, systemized for protocol, or used as a treatment for mental health. It is not thought-based or a concept to be published. It cannot be traded for money, healing, or wisdom because it is experiential. It is so good that it cannot be measured, weighed, or theorized. It is the last of its kind, and professional systems and education cannot reproduce the awe-inspiring, gut-wrenching, and spirit-stretching that the experience of a Peer Supporter must deliver.

The expected job growth in the addiction field is anticipated to grow by 18% from 2022-2032 (Best Colleges, 2024). The addiction recovery field has evolved to include Peer-based services and recovery-oriented systems of care that extend the continuum of care and allow people to establish long-term sobriety. A Peer Support Specialist in Montana exists under the Behavioral Health umbrella, enhancing traditional treatment models with evidence-based practices. The road less traveled on the Peer Support Specialist path provides the magic that treatments, interventions, and medications cannot provide. Remember how vital you are to the recovery movement.

Choosing a career as a Certified Behavioral Health Peer Support Specialist is more than just a valid choice-it's a deeply impactful one. This role uniquely harnesses the power of lived experience to foster recovery, dismantle stigma, and cultivate more vital, more empathetic communities. As a CBHPSS, you play a pivotal role in society, offering a meaningful and fulfilling career path for those committed to aiding others on their recovery journey. By embarking on this career, you become an indispensable part of the community, bolstering its resilience and strength (This paragraph generated by Chat GPT, 2024).

by Lea Wetzel, Drop-in Center Coordinator

August 8, 2023

I think this story really starts with my own background, and into my own childhood. I am the 6th generation healing from boarding schools in my family, so both my parents were affected and were in those schools growing up. There was a lot of traumas instilled in parenting growing up for all those generations before me, that were taken from their homes and put into boarding schools.

My mom grew up on a ranch in Blackfeet territory, and my dad grew up in that area, but right outside of Cut Bank on a farm. My mom was the oldest of 5 sisters and was treated like a boy on that ranch. She was abused and had to play the motherly role for her siblings by the time she was 12, because our grandma left the girls and my grandpa. So, she was always protective and strict in parenting us, and we didn’t go without, but we learned to work together and do what we were told.

My dad was the youngest boy out of 7 siblings and knew how it was to struggle. He always did what he could to listen and give us what he couldn’t have, but he also endured and seen a lot in his lifetime. It really continued to affect his mental health as he got older.

I grew up between Helena and Great Falls, after my parents split, when I was around 3, and my brother was 9. I got the gift of seeing two very different parenting skills. My mom hovered and made sure I did what I was supposed to, and when I didn’t, there were consequences. My dad was very trusting and comforting, but very enabling.

They both were amazing, and did the best with what they had, but I had one person in my life that gave me consistency, and that was my stepdad. My mom remarried when I was 7 years old. He was a teacher and coach in this community for over 50 years, and treated me and all my family, as if we were blood.

What he was one day, was what he was the next, and when he said he would do something, he did it, and he did it with integrity.

So, when I became a parent, I was 23 when I had my girl, and later 24, when I had my son. I was still in active addiction when I got pregnant, but soon after finding out I was pregnant, went to my first treatment center, for the good of my baby.

Sobriety never lasted, and recovery wasn’t something I can say I was a part of, until the last 6 years of my life.

I didn’t have many skills in the areas of boundaries, coping, emotional regularity, and self-care. I am sure if I had some of these, maybe, I would have had a better shot, but I still didn’t know how to live without my addictions and toxic mental health, front and center.

I learned the hard way, and my love for my kids showed me, that maybe I was not the best fit for them, when I couldn’t take care of myself. After not being consistent in my kids’ life, 8 years more of active addiction went by, and it was going into 17 years all together of being within the criminal justice system, I learned a lot, and took a lot of courses, classes, and groups. I had 7 treatment centers under my belt, and a couple mental health overnight stays as well. None of which gave me the hands-on support and empowered atmosphere I needed, until I was in a re-entry program that was trauma-informed and had a sense of a harm reduction model.

Something changed this last go, and I know it sounds cliché, but that is the best way I can describe it, without letting it take over this whole article.

I was able to get my kids back, and I did it in a family shelter, where I had help transitioning from no kids, to grown up kids, almost teenagers at the time.
I have learned through my growth and healing; they need the same support themselves. We all came back together to my first apartment that I rented, when I was getting ready to graduate treatment court.

It has been rocky, amazing, and full of gifts, being able to get a second chance as a parent. All those memories of my childhood come rushing to me, and I literally have to fight the characteristics I don’t want to be, because they come almost second nature. It’s practice not perfection, but I have learned that everyone needs a tribe to keep them afloat, and by sharing that with my kids, they have a better chance at being supported.

As a single mom of two teenagers, and doing all the things to keep myself healthy, mind, body, and soul, I need to make sure these two other beings are in a good place, as well. Sometimes that looks different day to day, but listening and giving them my unconditional love, and making sure I spend individual time with them, and time together, all been key elements to our lives flowing a lot better.

They each have very different personalities, and by listening and empowering them in their wants and passion, we can have positive outcomes. But, also, they are teenagers, and I have learned to really put a shield on, because some things can be very painful. They may not purposely disrespect or disregard rules, or our home, but they are at an age that they think they know it all, and parents don’t.

That’s okay, because no matter what the obstacle is in life, the more I take care of myself, and am in a good mindset, the better I can make choices that are helpful for all of us.

One of those skills I have started learning is, I go to a parenting group, with other parents that have kids with mental health issues, or even co-occurring. It helps me to not feel so alone. I also go to my own groups for support. The kids each talk to someone outside of the home, and I do my best to keep them busy. Summers can be hard because they have so much time on their hands.

Giving a space for vulnerability, even when some of the conversations are hard to hear. I think taking accountability for not being there for the time I wasn’t is very important and giving them the space to grow and be who they are meant to be, is super important as well.

Giving them space and myself, space is vital, be able to trust one another is super important.

Acknowledging that they are their own individual, and respecting that they are who they are, but find that balance of empowering them, boundaries, accountability, and support, is a balance I think every parent wants to strive for, but it can be hard, and that is okay. We have our lives, and they have theirs, I don’t push them to be like me, but being an example of a strong person for them, does start to rub off, in multiple ways.

Being a parent in recovery, is a gift, it’s a strength, and it can be hard. Having supportive systems and people in place is vital. Being the energy, we want to see in our kids, can be a great concept, but the reality is, I am a parent that makes mistakes. I think learning to work though things together, and allowing our kids to have a voice and choice in some areas of our lives is important.

Parenting can either make or break us, and it is up to us to do that no matter what, we need to be the example and person our kids need. We also can welcome a space for growth and learning in this area of our recovery as well.

by Nikki Russell, Recovery Coach

June 20, 2023

Image by Savannah Russell

"I relapsed," her voice trembling for fear of judgment from me. My gut twists and my shoulders get tight as I say, "I love you; there is nothing you could ever do to make me stop loving you," I tell her the words I wish I had heard in my addiction. Did she listen to me? Can she hear me through the guilt she harbors? I feel an emotion come up and out through my eyes; my breath is taken at the realization that I have found clarity. For the first time, I understand radical acceptance as an offering of the ability to hold a safe space. Two people who require somebody to bear witness to their pain with a willingness to feel it together. All the pain I felt from my past, and all the healing work I had done in recovery was for this moment, the moment I learned to respect my past as an instrument for healing. So many dots connected and unanswered questions answered, and at that moment, I thought I would never wonder, "Why me?" again.

Radical acceptance comes in moments of clarity, where denial transforms into connection. The test of my commitment to radical acceptance shows up when I try to fix, control, ruminate about the past, predict the future, or avoid pain.

When I began meditating years ago, I experienced acceptance as a way to freedom from addiction. I knew how to utilize it in my own life, but because it is a process that happens within, I did not know how to offer it as a life skill until the day my peer relapsed. I found myself desperate to affirm her worth; the ancient feeling that arose in me reminded me of what we both needed to hear. Radical acceptance is the choice to meet whatever is happening and let go of the idea that I need to be more than what I currently am to be valued. Radical acceptance acknowledges the past, embraces the current consequences, and dares to dream of the future and begin again.

by Lea Wetzel, Drop-in Center Coordinator

May 2, 2023

When I think of radical acceptance, I think of when my only brother passed away. I was in Montana’s Women’s Prison and didn’t have a chance to go to his services. It hurt, and I was sober for the first time since I was a teenager. I was sober, but I wouldn’t say I was in recovery, because I was still living in a way that had many, many character defects.

When I think about the multiple situations in life, where there was no choice but to have radical acceptance, I really can see the reasoning behind the trauma responses, and multiple trauma bonds I continued to have with others.  One thing I can say about myself back then, I had a lot of survival reactions, and I learned to use substances to numb the years of pain, and that was one of my many defense mechanisms back then.

My growth and healing journey was stunted because I was unable to accept, heal, or work through anything. It wasn’t until I had nobody to enable me, save me, and make excuses for my actions, that I was finally able to accept that these situations happen in life.

Radical acceptance was the choice I took, to accept the fact that my brother was gone, and that it didn’t matter if I was there to “save” him, or not. The fact was, I was right where I needed to be to start to slowly accept life on life’s terms and move into one of my first stages of growth.

This process in my life wasn’t gentle, it wasn’t perfect, and it certainly wasn’t pretty. I would take one step forward, to turn around to take a few more back. But I continued, and learned through my own recovery lens, that my brother passed when Creator was ready to take him home to the big lodge in the sky.

Being able to utilize radical acceptance as a tool that I have learned to incorporate into my life has been helpful in my healing journey. It helps me through, especially in areas that I have no control over. It’s like they say, “It is what it is,” and sometimes that’s the best frame of mind for me, in certain situations. I can better accept it and realize that I have no control in the situation, whatever it is, and that it’s time for me to continue to work on myself, because that is what I do have control over.

Here are some great examples of ways to utilize radical acceptance, in a Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) format. These are some examples I found, in researching radical acceptance. I hope they are as helpful for you as they have been for me.

Here are the 10 steps to practicing Radical Acceptance according to DBT’s founder, Marsha Linehan:

1. Observe that you are questioning or fighting reality (“it shouldn’t be this way”)
2. Remind yourself that the unpleasant reality is just as it is and cannot be changed (“this is what happened”)
3. Remind yourself that there are causes for the reality (“this is how things happened”)
4. Practice accepting with your whole self (mind, body, spirit) - Use accepting self-talk, relaxation techniques, mindfulness and/or imagery.
5. List all of the behaviors you would engage in if you did accept the facts and then engage in those behaviors as if you have already accepted the facts.
6. Imagine, in your mind’s eye, believing what you do not want to accept and rehearse in your mind what you would do if you accepted what seems unacceptable.
7. Attend to body sensations as you think about what you need to accept.
8. Allow disappointment, sadness, or grief to arise within you.
9. Acknowledge that life can be worth living even when there is pain.
10. Do pros and cons if you find yourself resisting practicing acceptance.

In allowing myself to implement some of these examples in my life, I have found peace within areas that I have struggled with accepting.

Utilizing radical acceptance can be a gift, that we in recovery can have and use when we see fit. Allowing ourselves to accept what is, and that we have no control, is okay. We don’t need to feel helpless, or any other negative reaction, we can continue to heal and work within our lives, to find answers.

Maybe these specific examples are not what is helpful for you. I suggest to keep searching, and discovering what works for you, because there is a life of peace and tranquility out there for everyone, in their own time.

Sometimes those hard and uncomfortable feelings are what we need to lean into. With the right support, we can heal. I have shared before, that it takes a “Tribe” to keep one individual up. It takes me a sponsor, three mentors (all for different leadership skills), a counselor, peer support, Elder (spiritual), and multiple peers and support.

Sometimes it may take trying multiple avenues of support, or even multiple counselors to find the one that works best for you. It’s worth the work, because we are all worth having a life with some space, of peace of mind

by Nikki Russel, Recovery Coach

December 20, 2022

Spirituality is gritty. I spent many years trying to find God, sitting in meditation for hours a day attempting to make her something separate of myself that would give me a golden ticket into heaven. Attempting to be good enough to achieve unlimited access to worth, making up for lost time in meditation and prayer, life could be good if I said the right words and did the right actions. When I realized that my life is a prayer, my behaviors are a result of co-creation with a spirit so great that it can embody all my shame and past mistakes and turn them into nuggets of inspiration for myself and others to heal. When I trust life to provide what I need to thrive, I am willing to get my hands dirty and do the work necessary to heal. Today spirituality is my whole life, not a separate action that grants me a permission for acceptance. Spirituality is the essence of forgiveness, where there once was pain, there is now love. I walk through the pain to find God; she is always living at the bottom of my emotions and when I seek spirituality there, I am redeemed from a life of addiction.

The great spirit, creator, God, Lord, or whatever name you choose to call your higher power is a reminder that spirituality is personal and powerful. Life has been trying to catch my attention, tapping me on the shoulder begging me to live my purpose in each moment, not minding, what I call her or how I do it. My life has been perfectly imperfect, and spirituality reminds me that I am worthy of recovery.

by Nikki Russel, Recovery Coach

September 20, 2022

Recovery allows me to reframe the artwork that is my life. My addiction took that piece of artwork and buried it in the basement of my soul. Through the years, I piled boxes of trauma over the top of it, it gathered dust and lost all its value.

When I began the healing work of recovery, I slowly began to clear out the trauma revealing the exquisite artwork that is my life. I took the artwork and began to reframe it with thoughts that matched the life I wanted to live. It now has a prominent a place in my heart, and it hung for everybody to see. The same artwork but with the frame of recovery now holds immense value.

Recovery is taking ownership of my internal reality. It is creating a new narrative about how much I love versus how I look. My thoughts create my life, it can help me bring forth the God-given gifts that are meant to guide us down our purpose path or we can let the trauma story hide the artwork believing it is unworthy of display. Recovery gives me the creativity, clarity and strength to pull out my artwork put a gold frame around and present it for the world to see.
What story are you telling about your limitations? My story creates the perception of my reality and builds the foundation of my recovery that becomes the artwork I express to the world. Today I take responsibility for my recovery because it is the best piece of artwork, I could give myself and the world.