Recovery Made Me... STRONGER / HAPPIER / CALMER FUNNIER / / SHARPER / AND AN ALL-AROUND MORE AWESOME PERSON
People in recovery will tell you
that addiction isn’t just about neurochemical dependency, or intoxicating substances, or thrillseeking behaviours. Addiction is also connected to control, security and self-worth – all of which have taken a massive beating during the pandemic.
When US Men’s Health polled 1111 people through SurveyMonkey, 75 per cent of respondents said they are close to someone struggling with addiction and 40 per cent reported an increase in cravings for addictive substances or behaviours. In Australia, a survey from the Drug and Alcohol Foundation found 12 per cent of people began consuming alcohol on a daily basis when COVID-19 began last year. One reason: they didn’t have other people around to keep them feeling connected, grounded and upbeat, says Dr Ken Duckworth, chief medical officer for the US National Alliance on Mental Illness.
The fraying of connectivity can trigger addictive behaviours – alcohol, painkillers, drugs, porn, gambling – and relapse for those in recovery. There’s also still a stigma attached to addiction, which means people often suffer in isolation. Psychiatrist Dr Ximena Sanchez-Samper says that to fight the stigma, it helps to reframe addiction as an illness: “If you think about patients that have cancer and have been able to beat their cancer, what do they call themselves? Survivors.”
The men profiled here all pushed through the stigma to get help. And beyond managing their addictions – sometimes after a few attempts – they found something else. They discovered that sobriety wasn’t an end but rather a means to a stronger, happier, healthier
