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.