Recovery, whether from an addiction or a mental illness, doesn’t happen overnight, and the path to recovery can be a truly challenging journey. Keeping in mind that the struggle is part of the process — and remembering that taking it one day at a time is the best way to achieve your goals — can help you on your journey to feeling your best and living your best life.

On the path to recovery, being patient with yourself is key. Recovery comes in stages:

  • First comes the decision to make a change. This decision may be due to suffering relationships, the loss of a job, the absence of financial security or the feeling that your life has spun out of control.
  • Next comes diagnosis of the problem, whether it be addiction, substance abuse or a mental illness. This early stage will help alleviate some symptoms with diagnosis and the start of treatment, but there will be tough days, and your support system will become vital to getting you through the difficult days.
  • During the next stage, you may find that your condition is becoming more manageable with effective treatment and your own knowledge of how to move forward in a healthy way.
Remember that like any journey in life, recovery is not always easy. Resilience is not only key to someone in recovery, but to the loved ones in their lives as well. There will be setbacks, ups and downs and trying times. The listening ear of someone with compassion, empathy and a lack of judgment can help restore hope. Knowing they are not alone in their fight to feel happy and healthy goes a long way. Recovering from addiction and/or mental illness includes not only getting better, but achieving a full and satisfying life.We all have to work together to help prevent substance use disorder, support those who are still struggling, and help people in recovery find the resources they need to live full and healthy lives.

Keep going, and remember that even the smallest steps forward are progress.Recovery is a courageous journey filled with strength, resilience, and hope. For more information and resources for addiction and recovery services available, visit https://facesandvoicesofrecovery.org/ or https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/recovery.

Recovery is a Journey