Those of us who live in one day at a time recovery have an understanding of each other. We understand the underlying need to feel safe in a world that we could not comprehend. We understand that we had lost contact with our families and our friends, because of our disorders, and we grew easily frustrated as we could no longer function at the same level as our peers. Also we understand the loneliness of falling deeper and deeper in the despair of our addictions, feeling lost and unwanted. Isolation became our prison and we lost touch with reality. We bottomed out. And we bottomed out. And we bottomed out. If we were lucky we found the gift of desperation. We reached out. We found help in hospitals and rehab centers. Many of us discovered we needed medication to be healthy. Some of us joined support groups. Also many of us began to learn to take life one day at a time. We began to meet people who understood the aloneness, and who furthermore had discovered the gift of desperation. Another gift was even though our families and friends could not understand our fall, or our new found recovery, they were grateful. When others realized the change in us, they wanted to know how they could help their loved ones who were bottoming out. Many of us became advocates and tried to reach out to those living with mental health disorders and addiction. We do so because we know the pain of feeling alone. Also we know recovery’s joy. We know we don’t have all the answers. Those of us who have, or had professional help, know the benefits it has. Also many of us recommend peer support. There is no perfect recovery but it gets better. We understand.
