by Jim Hajny, Executive Director
November 11, 2025
Recovery (mental health, substance use, trauma recovery) is hard. It’s hard to start, it’s hard to maintain. The first year I found to be the most difficult. Life circumstances happen to everyone, major life challenges or circumstances in the first year of recovery can derail even the most committed. In the first year I found myself lost, confused and on shaky ground. Most people do. If you are reading this in your first year of recovery, I am with you. We, are with you. Fellow travelers on the road of recovery. You are not alone. I know I felt alone in the first year. I lost my friends, which of course were lost in their own issues. Later I would realize they were not really friends who cared. But that comes with hindsight. At the time it was difficult. I once relapsed on my way to a recovery meeting. I was driving to the meeting reach a traffic light and my brain told me my friends were waiting for me. Turn left here! So, I did. My “friends” welcomed me home and I drank all night long. When I woke up I was in a locked behavioral health unit. Not one of my “friends” contacted me. They couldn't have cared less. I made a choice, and the outcome was not positive. That was an important lesson I had to learn. Each day, I have a choice to make. I choose recovery each day. I have been making that choice each day for more than 30 years. In your first year of recovery you also have a choice. Recovery…or something less positive.
Another lesson I learned, again this is from hindsight was to slow down. Recovery does not happen overnight. In my first year I wanted everything all at once to “get better.” I wanted to be better. I wanted it all at once. In reality it took me years, making one positive choice after another. I found that reinforcing positive choices helped in that first year. When I achieved a goal or a sobriety date or showed up for all my scheduled counseling appointments, I would reward myself with something small. I also spent a lot of time on my own, getting to know Jim. Who am I? Who do I want to be? Where was I going in my live in the next 5 years? The time alone allowed be to explore my inner thoughts and feelings. The third lesson I learned in that first year was how to build a recovery toolbox. These are people, places and things that can help me on my recovery journey. When I was sick, I didn’t have healthy tools. Only unhealthy ones. Such as self-harm and alcohol. During the first year of my recovery, I replaced those with counseling, peer support groups, journaling and a dedication to educating myself on recovery. What is possible and how to do it. I needed to educate myself on mental health issues. What was my diagnosis. What are the signs and symptoms. I read biographies and autobiographies about famous people who were in recovery. This helped me to create a vision for a healthy life. Without those stories I couldn’t envision my own life in a healthy way. They helped me to see what was possible. I thought, “If they could do it, so could I.”
If you are starting or have recently started your recovery journey keep going. Get connected to others in recovery, build your recovery toolbox, make positive choices and life will improve. We each have our own pathway to recovery. This is what worked for me. What is working for you? What hasn’t worked for you? Move away from those things and make positive changes for a better life. It’s waiting for you, in recovery.
