Recovering from addiction takes a lot of personal commitment, yet is fundamentally a social process, says addiction recovery specialist David Best.
Communities can also benefit from the positive connections the recovery process creates.
Photo: Wikicommons
A successful long-term recovery from addiction demands moving away from the social networks which have supported the addiction and making new connections with positive groups that support recovery, Best says.
People in recovery are twice as likely to be active in their own communities. And just as drug use can spread through social networks, so can recovery.
While the biological and genetic aspects of addiction are indisputable, the impact of these on the addictive path has been significantly overstated. Our biology needn’t be our destiny.
“The vast majority of people who recover do it through developing ‘a sense of connection, a sense of hope, a positive sense of identity, something meaningful to do with their days and a sense of empowerment’.”
David Best is appearing at the addictions conference Cutting Edge 2016.
David Best Photo: recoveryanswers.org
