Reflections on Recovery Month

September is soon coming to a close and with it draws near the end of National Recovery Month. Over the course of this month I have attended conferences, concerts, parties, rallies, and dances all in the effort to promote awareness of, and de-stigmatize, recovery from addiction.While experiencing all of this, I often found myself needing to take a step back and reflect on how far the recovery movement has come since I fist got sober, seven short years ago. To be honest, when I first got sober there was nothing that could really be described as a recovery movement. It was just a bunch of men and women trying to stay sober by helping others stay sober. Today, there are so many organizations at the city, state, and national levels that are advocating for recovery that it can sometimes be hard to keep track. They are united in a common cause of helping to mitigate the destruction caused by the horrible disease of addiction through the spreading of these four basic ideas.

1. Recovery, from any form of addiction, is possible.
2. No one should ever feel ashamed of his or her recovery.
3. Recovery comes in all shapes and size.
4. Recovery is fun!

Today, I am grateful to be a small part of that movement. Today, I am grateful for the fact that I can identify myself as a person in recovery and not feel any sort of shame or stigma attached to that. Today, I am grateful for my brothers and sisters in recovery. Today, I am grateful for the ability to enjoy life.

Joseph A Gorordo

Business Development Clinical Specialist

The Last Resort Recovery