"Strengthening recovery community is a critical element in the revival of American community. Recovering people become engaged citizens which benefits all society. As Bill White, Pat Taylor and Carol McDaid note in there 2010 paper Recovery and Citizenship, we become involved in volunteerism, with our own families and reconnect with meaningful activities as citizens. Citizenship is central to the recovery identity."
2020’s Top Ten Posts #3 – Recovery Community: This can be our finest hour – let’s show the world what the recovery community is all about!
[first posted March 18, 2020] And just like that, overnight all of our worlds have changed. I already miss things that I did without a second thought less than two weeks ago before COVID-19 took hold. I am sure I am not alone in that. All of us are reeling from unprecedented change and disorienting … Continue reading 2020’s Top Ten Posts #3 – Recovery Community: This can be our finest hour – let’s show the world what the recovery community is all about!
2020’s Top Ten Posts #4 – Can We Please Stop Saying Recovery is Possible?
Imagine this scenario. You get the terrible diagnoses of cancer, like addiction, it is terminal if left on its dreadful course unimpeded. You are in the depths of despair, facing everything this terrible diagnosis means for your life. The treating professional turns to you and says “recovery is possible. It is POSSIBLE you might survive … Continue reading 2020’s Top Ten Posts #4 – Can We Please Stop Saying Recovery is Possible?
Addiction Professionals in the Pandemic – Michael Harney
Who are you? My name is Michael Joseph Harney, Jr. I was born in Newport News, Virginia at Riverside Hospital. I grew up in the city called Hampton, Virginia. When people ask me where I’m from I say “Hampton, Newport News” and they can’t figure out which one I’m from, but that was the peninsula. … Continue reading Addiction Professionals in the Pandemic – Michael Harney
2020’s Top Ten Posts #5 – Gold standard addiction treatment
Addiction to alcohol or other drugs is not always easy to recover from. However, there are many pathways to recovery, including through treatment. One group of patients does far better than most other groups. In fact, their results are so impressive that many commentators have urged us to learn from what’s different about their treatment … Continue reading 2020’s Top Ten Posts #5 – Gold standard addiction treatment
Pathologizing & pity in the media
Keith Humphreys nails an elusive and important truth: https://twitter.com/KeithNHumphreys/status/1343614159997431808
2020’s Top Ten Posts #6 – Walking the talk of recovery advocacy
Thinking about what it means to advocate publicly for recovery. To me, this means showing that recovery is not only possible for persons with substance use conditions, but that given the proper care and support, recovery is the probable outcome for persons with a substance use disorder. As a person in long term recovery, I … Continue reading 2020’s Top Ten Posts #6 – Walking the talk of recovery advocacy
Cannabis as an “adjunctive treatment” for MAT patients?
Those harm reduction initiatives are great. I would say ‘keep doing that’. But also give people the opportunity to get well because that mantra of ‘keep them alive, keep them alive’ isn’t good enough. As a person in long-term recovery, I see it as a lack of ambition. It’s disrespectful to assume I am not … Continue reading Cannabis as an “adjunctive treatment” for MAT patients?
2020’s Top Ten Posts #7: Investing in Community Recovery Capital – it is beyond time to do the right thing
There is a famous quote - “Americans Will Always Do the Right Thing — After Exhausting All the Alternatives” often credited to Winston Churchill. I have been thinking about the quote as it relates to the narrative around deaths of despair and the erosion of social connections, hope and purpose. These deaths are often … Continue reading 2020’s Top Ten Posts #7: Investing in Community Recovery Capital – it is beyond time to do the right thing
“Recovery”: let’s do the math
In this essay I make two claims. My two claims will take the form of slightly changed versions of two borrowed sentences. (I will present the original versions of the two borrowed sentences later in the essay). I simply took the borrowed sentences and changed a few key words. In my changed version of each … Continue reading “Recovery”: let’s do the math
