I write this blog for the first annual Substance Use Disorder Treatment Month (Treatment Month). SAMHSA recently announced that January 2025 would be the launch of Treatment Month. According to SAMHSA “this serves to support: people contemplating or seeking help for substance use, practitioners treating or considering treating substance use disorder, friends, family and loved ones of people with substance use conditions; by raising awareness of treatment. SAMHSA seeks to: eliminate stigma surrounding treatment, including medications used to treat substance use disorders, encourage those on their treatment and recovery journey, and promote best practices such as screening, intervention, and treatment of substance use disorders by health care professionals.

January 3rd was JRR Tolkien’s birthday. He wrote many books but the ones that I am the most familiar with are The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Although Tolkien died before I was born, I knew his name by Kindergarten. My father began reading The Hobbit to me at night before bed when I was 5. He went on to read me The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. The main character in the Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, went on a great adventure with a group of dwarves and a wizard to fight a dragon and came across a magic ring that made him disappear. Tolkien’s characters were always finding themselves in trouble, whether it was with trolls or spiders or other enemies. My favorite part is when they escape in wine barrels and tossed into the river to float downstream to a nearby town. My dad actually read all the books twice to me over many years. He loved the books and knew every character and even sang the songs that were written throughout. Since it took us so long to read through each book and then begin again, I couldn’t tell if he knew the tune of the songs or made them up, creating different versions each time he sang them. I loved the stories too, but mostly I loved spending time with my dad.

Reflecting on mental health accomplishments can be an empowering and enlightening exercise. It not only allows you to see how far you’ve come but also provides motivation for continued growth. Here’s a guide to help you recognize and celebrate your mental health milestones over the last year and set a positive tone for the future.

The United States has the highest incarceration and recidivism rates in the world. Our criminal legal system often causes more harm than good. Yet, we continue to believe this is the best way to address crime in our country. Why do we do this? As a society we have never been shown any other way, so we don’t realize that there are other options aside from punitive measures, such as incarceration. Restorative Justice is just one of the many ways that we can work to better implement justice and to get rid of the inequities that exist within our criminal legal system. Restorative Justice is an Indigenous principal of holding people accountable for a harm they have caused by promoting healing and restoration for the entire community as a whole. When a harm is caused, there are more people affected than just the victim and the offender. Friends, family, neighbors, innocent bystanders, coworkers and whole communities may be affected by the harm caused.

We all know that the Holiday season can be one of the hardest and most vulnerable times for people in recovery. It may remind us of our pasts and how different our lives are today. I believe this is also a great opportunity to take the time to be grateful for the changes we have made and how different our lives are today. Holidays may hold negative experiences for some or remind us of better times. We may not be able to spend the Holidays with the people we yearn to spend them with and in some cases may have to spend them with people we don’t want to spend them with today. As people in recovery we have learned different ways of coping in different situations and  will share some of my tips and secrets for Holiday recovery.

The end of Daylight Saving Time (DST) brings noticeable changes in the environment that can have significant effects on mental health. This seasonal shift, especially the transition to earlier sunsets, can disrupt circadian rhythms, impact mood, and contribute to disorders like seasonal affective disorder (SAD).

In recognition of Train Your Brain Day on October 13th, I would like to share one of my secrets that I keep in my toolbox and have incorporated them into my Wellness Recovery Action Plan as something that I must do on a daily basis. This is not something that I have made up or can claim any credit for, but merely a tool that was shown to me early in my recovery that I have continued to do for years.

Mental health has long been an overlooked aspect of overall health. However, with growing awareness, advocacy, and research, the conversation around mental health is evolving. One of the major milestones in this ongoing movement is World Mental Health Day, observed annually on October 10th. This day serves as a platform for advocacy, awareness, and mobilization efforts to promote mental health and to provide mental health support.

Today, I invite you to join me on a journey. The map I was given at birth was filled with detours, unexpected stops, fast-paced highways, and scenic routes, accompanied by plenty of bumps and flat tires. Through adaptation and countless obstacles, I navigated a less-traveled road—a highway leading to self-awareness and recovery. I want to pause a moment to express my heartfelt gratitude to each of you here today reading this. I know you have faced your own battles, and your presence signifies that you’ve found hope after being hurt and discovered the courage to keep showing up for yourselves. Thank you for allowing me the space to be vulnerable and share my story.