Words, Phrases & Concepts of Recovery

A Attitude of Gratitude is here for those who have some unanswered questions. We are a group of people who have gratitude for new life and we want to show it by helping others, just like those who have helped us. We desire no compensation as we have already been given a priceless reward; a genuine sense of purpose and meaning. We desire only to offer what has been given us relief to those who seek a solution for their own suffering and we give this unconditionally.

Let’s begin by saying that to proclaim that every person who makes it into a recovery program for addiction experiences the same thing would be a mistake. Each and every individual is unique and so is their situation. Even the concept of recovery will mean different things to different people. But there does tend to be some similarities in how people progress through recovery. For this reason, it is appropriate to talk about phases of recovery.

• The first 3 Steps are where you will recover hope.
• In Steps 4 through 9 you will discover faith.
• Steps 10, 11 and 12 is where you learn to trust.

Now let’s get a little more specific; here are the most common experiences that individuals will tend to go through as they begin (regardless of that individual’s affliction):

• Acknowledging that they have a problem followed by the willingness to change.
• Investigating solutions and getting into action.
• Developing new coping mechanisms and new attitudes towards life.

Do you see how in the begin it is a process of recovering hope? This is vital because otherwise overcoming a dependency would be pointless. There has to be a “why” for anything meaningful and sustainable to happen. What that is will always be personal and always include a better way of living.

Recovery is all about personal growth and change. It involves developing a new way of living that will produce a level of happiness and peace that was never previously experienced by the individual. It’s rediscovering a sense of self. Some also call this find your voice. This is finding a meaning to life and actualizing it. Ultimately it is seeing a purpose for the efforts in life. It really does make sense to view recovery as a process of maturing. It’s about growing spiritually, emotionally and intellectually.

To begin, the person in recovery sense of self can no longer be tied up with who they were when they once struggled. They are not addicts; they are people worthy of all that life offers. And the tortured soul needs to know that. This healthy sense of self comes from supportive relationships. This also includes having the basic needs of survival met like a roof over their head and food on the table. Much like removing what was altering their mood previously provides clarity, having these basic needs met allows for a person to really look at what’s happened, review their current situation and make some choices that will affect their future. Eventually this results in empowerment. The individual is now confident of their ability to deal with life. The process is a series of surrenders that provide a gentle awakening to Truth.

Now if during all this a 12 Step group is involved, there will be some words and phrases said that they have not heard before. That can complicate the process or worse. Not understanding something leads to frustration for anyone but especially for a person who has experienced falling short of personal ideals- misinterpretation can result in giving up. That is why we have complied a list of words and phrases often found in the recovery community.