Recovery Happens in Community, Not in Isolation

What does it mean when people say they are in recovery? How do you define it? We may have our own ideas of what it is or what it looks like. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHA), recovery is “a process of change through which individuals improve their health and wellness, live a self-directed life, and strive to reach their full potential.”

Some may ask, “How does recovery fix my addictive eating?” Well, I’m glad you asked. Recovery is a process of change, which affects the mind, body, and spirit. It is a way of living and working the 12 Steps as well as other recovery tools that enable a person to abstain from addictive eating. Being in community is a big part of that recovery process. We need others for support, acceptance, and accountability.

We draw strength from others who share our struggles with food. When we listen to people who share their experience, strength, and hope in addiction meetings, we are encouraged to stay on our own recovery path. Life has its ups and downs whether we are in recovery or not.  So, having a community makes a huge difference in helping us persevere through difficult times.

Tools of Recovery

For addictive eaters, the recovery tools include: Attending 12-Step meetings, abstaining from flour and sugar, having a sponsor for accountability, spending time with God, work the 12-Steps of recovery, calling fellow addictive eaters for support and to give support, and more. Working a recovery program is simple, but it is not easy. I say that because some days, we may not feel like doing them. Every day, we have to make the decision to either be intentional about our recovery or not.

Isolation

When the recovery process is not a priority, we lose focus. Eventually, we begin lying to ourselves by saying, “I can do this recovery stuff on my own. After all, I know what to do. I’ll continue to use the recovery tools to help me stay on track.”  Somehow, that seems rational, right? We should be able to eat right on our own, but… Yea, I don’t know about you, but I can’t do it on my own. Been there, done that.

There may be times when we take our will back from God and just do life the way we want to and eat the way we want to. It becomes a slippery slope very quickly. We soon revert back to the same eating habits that got us in trouble before recovery. We may also think about dieting again when we know that dieting doesn’t work for us!

Many people have tried to do recovery alone and have walked away from the process.  However, those same people, including myself, came to the realization that we simply cannot do it alone. We need a community for support, encouragement, acceptance, accountability, and perseverance.

Connection

There is an undeniable connection that fellow addictive eaters have. We understand and can relate to each other’s struggle. Knowing that we are not alone and can reach out to a fellow sufferer helps us in our recovery. We don’t have to travel this journey alone.

Recovery thrives in community, never in isolation.

Cynthia