September marks the 30th anniversary of National Recovery Month, sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to increase awareness and understanding of mental and substance abuse disorders and celebrate the people who recover.
The 2019 theme is: Join the Voices for Recovery: Together We Are Stronger.
Addiction is an exceptionally complex issue, but there are some common threads to any recovery. According to SAMHSA, the four major dimensions that support recovery include health, home, purpose, and community.
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This means making healthy choices, having a stable and safe place to live, conducting meaningful daily activities and being able to participate in society, and having relationships and social networks that provide support, friendship, love, and hope.
Hope is the foundation of recovery, which is a process that varies by individual and inevitably involves setbacks. Because of that, resilience is another key component, not only for those in recovery but for their friends and families as well.
SAMHSA’s National Help Line is 1-800-662-HELP (4357) and the Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-TALK (8255).