Staying Connected for Long-Term Recovery
“I’ve met the most amazing, intelligent, hilarious, fun people that I ever could’ve met by getting sober, and finding community with recovery.”
“Honestly [Sophia Recovery Centre] has opened me up a lot. I continue to do meditation here. Me and my coworkers keep ourselves on track about being healthy. We do check-ins to make sure we’re OK. Honestly, hearing a lot of other people’s stories can be hard too. We make sure we have a huge debrief together [after group meetings].”
“Addiction is super isolating. The addict brain wants you to think that you’re alone, separate, different. When I met these people at Sophia, it was the paradigm shift: I can find connection.”
“I started coming here pretty regularly, doing the women’s groups and meeting other addicts in here. Basically, just connecting with other women. When you’re in a space with people that have the same morals, values, and goals, it makes it so much easier to push away that shame and remind yourself that you’re not a bad person. You’re not alone. You did something wrong, but you didn’t wake up in the morning one day and say, “I’m gonna be an addict.”
“Connection is the opposite of addiction. When I walked into Sophia I saw a group of women who were suffering just like I was, and they were open, honest and willing to do whatever they needed to get clean. That gave me motivation so that I can maintain my recovery. Every time one of those women shared their story of addiction and recovery, it reminded me of where I was and [where I] didn’t wanna be.”
“It gave me options that I could add into my recovery: my knowledge of what is available in the community. It’s scientifically based, not abstinence-based or fear-based. They feel more like a family. When you get into those spaces, people want to help you. They want to give what they have.”
“As an addict, we know hard. We do hard every day. Getting and finding ways to get more of our drug of choice – we will do anything, go to the end of the earth for it. Sophia Recovery allows you to stop that rat race: it allows you to have a little bit of hope, and light at the end of the tunnel.”
“We all had stories. We all knew what pain felt like, and trauma. We kind of had a commitment to each other to share our stuff. We knew that it was confidential, and it was safe. it just kind of made the whole experience much more workable… By the grace of God I can overcome and help other people overcome. Having that support and connection has been huge.”
“My first time at Sophia was a very quick visit. I was actually on my way to Portage, a rehab for youth. My stepmom asked all the women that she knew that were part of Sophia to write me a little letter just explaining their story, what happened, what addiction took from them and then what recovery had given them. My stepmom brought me in to introduce me to Sisters Arleen and Marybeth and a few ladies that were there. As I was leaving, I think it was Sister Mary Beth – one of the Sisters handed me all these envelopes. I didn’t know what they were until I got back in the car and I started reading them.”
“When I got [to SRC] and got into Alcoholics Anonymous, people wanted me there and would invite me there. We didn’t have family events, we didn’t eat supper as a family, all that kind of stuff. So it felt so nice for people to see me, and not be judged, and actually be embraced.”
“There’s a double-edged sword in that if I stay home alone, I can continue with my bad habit because there’s no transparency. I don’t have to be transparent. I don’t have to justify anything. But when I make a commitment to another person to say, all right, I will read this, or I will do the fourth step, or I will come back and meet with you another time – knowing I’m going to come back another time, am I going to tell her the truth, and say well I’m still drinking? Or no – I’m going to stop.”
“I thought maybe I could take the worst thing that happened to me and turn that into a strength. Weirdly, publishing my story [of addiction] changed everything. It made me feel connected with other people, and less alone. I found other women who were going through the same thing. I used writing as therapy. Honestly some days that was my whole focus.”
“Sometimes you can go places and talk about things that somebody has experienced, and they don’t show any humanity about it. They’re just kind of robotic about it. They don’t give you their perspective: how much it might’ve hurt them, or how much it hurt knowing what they were doing but couldn’t change it. Then they can have this other human who’s sitting there going, “listen I totally get it.” It’s because of that human connection that you build with the person that you work with that it makes [recovery] so much better.”
“My sponsor, Jan, a woman with long-term sobriety and a deep understanding of the steps as a way of life, walked with me for a number of years. My shame, embarrassment and self-loathing lifted the more I attended meetings, worked the steps in the company of a god of my understanding that was far removed from that of my childhood and in some ways showed up in my understanding of religious life. I experienced a freedom and a joy that I could not have imagined.”
“Addiction attacks body, mind and spirit. Each day I pray my first three steps in the presence of a higher power I choose to call God. I am deeply grateful for the women and men whose journeys helped me see the grace of recovery every day.”