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The FHE Health team is committed to providing accurate information that adheres to the highest standards of writing. This is part of our ongoing commitment to ensure FHE Health is trusted as a leader in mental health and addiction care. When speaking at an AA meeting, there’s no need for embellishment. Exaggerating or lying doesn’t help anyone — you or the others in the room. When you tell an honest account of your experience, you’re sharing your truth and being vulnerable. Your genuine experiences may also resonate with others in the room, who may connect with you afterward to discuss similar situations they’ve been through.
Sharing stories is a way to connect with people and inspire others who may be struggling with behavioral health conditions. When you share your recovery journey and how your recovery has impacted those around you, you show people they are not alone.
But there are still a lot of people out there stuck in this dark place. If you share your story in recovery, you may just give them the hope they need to start getting out of there and finally get sober. At this point, you’ve successfully overcome your addiction and have dedicated your life to helping others do the same. However, just because treatment worked for you doesn’t mean you should assume the same for others.
Telling others will help you to fully realize your progress and accomplishments for yourself. Another important tip is to be honest and upfront about your experience with addiction and recovery – within your defined comfort zone. For instance, if you were reluctant to get treatment at first, be open about that. Talk about the hardships you endured, your experience with relapsing and the sacrifices you had to make in order to get sober. Talk about your family’s history with addiction and the people, places or things that fueled your substance abuse. Being honest about your experience with addiction shows your clients that they aren’t alone in their struggle and that you are living proof that treatment can turn someone’s life around.
I can still quote things I heard during my first year sober because they helped save my life. Whether they know it or not, I know people who have relapsed who shared something sharing your story in recovery before or after their relapse that helped me stay sober that day. We live in a world where feelings, mental illness and other troubles are misconceived or looked down upon.
A person may be feeling anxious about entering into treatment and knowing what to expect for the road ahead, but your story can bring them peace. They will be reminded that they are not alone and can make it through recovery to find a happy life in sobriety. You can become a mentor for that person, sharing advice, coping techniques, and more with the individual so they can get through recovery too.
In today’s world, social media is a powerful tool to offset the sensational and demeaning mass media portrayals of people caught in addiction’s downward spiral. By sharing your story, you share the possibilities of a better life and the empowerment accompanying recovery. Recovery in mental health is not always well understood. We do our best to explain it in the Life After Diagnosis section of this website. Some people diagnosed with a serious mental health condition, such as schizophrenia, fully recover in the medical sense of the term.
It may feel as if we are being insensitive to other people. Or it may feel as if we will hurt someone’s feelings or progress if they see us succeed. We’re naturally drawn to people who share similar experiences, particularly difficult ones. That’s why support groups are so impactful when it comes to grieving, coping and recovering. People who have been diagnosed with cancer find solace and support in the presence of other cancer sufferers. The same is true for mothers who have lost children or people who have loved ones in prison.
