I hope that everyone is well and keeping safe in what I will term the “new normal”. I have found that over the last few months that my world has been turned upside down. The old ways of doing things have to be radically different in this era of “social distancing”. Being introspective, as I can be at times, I realize that this same thing happened when I decided to get clean and begin my recovery journey. Not using was an abnormal state for me. I had anxiety, trepidation and fear about this new way of life. Yet, my old ways of coping with life on life’s terms had to be radically different because my life depended on it. I had to somehow get comfortable with the uncomfortable.
The same is ringing true in my response to COVID-19. I am readjusting my life, in spite of my addiction to certainty. I want things to go back to normal, but as the days go by I am coming to terms with the fact that things will never be the same. I went to bed one evening and I woke up and all the rules had changed. I’m felt and, on some days, still feel the anxiety, trepidation and fear brought about by this radical change, but my life depends on my ability to change my attitudes, ideas, and behaviors in the midst of this pandemic. I especially had to change my ideas, attitudes and behaviors in light of my personal recovery.
There are many pathways to recovery, but what has worked for me is the 12-step pathway. This isn’t an endorsement, it is just what has kept me clean. I attended meeting, I worked steps and I have a group of individuals that encircled and supported me. With the coming of COVID-19 there has been a paradigm shift in my personal program. It interrupted the normal course of my recovery program and process. COVID-19 necessitated that I rethink some things that I did to support my recovery in light of new priorities and new concerns.
To support each other’s recovery in this time of radical transition, I thought this might be a good time to engage in a conversation about what recovery looks like for you in light of COVID-19 and in the era of “Social Distancing”.
My email address is carl.hunter@recoverypeople.org.