National Recovery Month Special: Why Recovery is Not Abstinence
With this month’s theme being recovery — and not just in the IGNTD space, but nationally — I thought it would be the perfect time to continue the conversation about recovery and what it means to recover.
The official government definition of recovery reads, “A process of change through which individuals improve their health and wellness, live a self-directed life, and strive to reach their full potential.” And what I think is so critically important with this definition is that it does not mention abstinence at all. For a lot of people, recovery tends to be synonymous with abstinence and 100% sobriety, when it really should be the process of simply improving your life.
It is really incredibly powerful what can happen when someone enters recovery, so this week, I’m going to talk about three ways that I see recovery as being very different from this stereotypical ‘abstinence definition’ many people assign to it. I hope you’ll join me in increasing awareness around the stigma of mental health and substance use!
IGNTD Recovery Month Promotions:
Week of September 2: IGNTD Hero “Nohab” Reset Program Scholarship Application (bit.ly/IGNTDScholarship)
This week we launched a scholarship application with a deadline of September 30th. That’s right - we are giving away 10 scholarships to our “Nohab” Reset Program that gives you full-year access to the course that will help you discover your path to true success, identify your subconscious barriers, and reset your subconscious scripts. With this program, you also get our Complete Support Package that includes our happy hour live video chats with Dr. Jaffe and other recovery coaches, a call with your own private Accountability Coach, two-week email support and motivation, and one-month private group membership and support. PLUS additional expert sessions to master your beliefs with Bruce Lipton & Shaman Durek.
Week of September 9: 21-Day Challenge Lifetime Access for $97!
Week of September 16: IGNTD Hero Nohab Reset Program for only $147 (50% off)
Week of September 23: Are You Really an Alcoholic? Workshop on sale for $10
Topics Discussed:
[:40] About the National Recovery Month.
[2:54] My stance on recovery.
[3:18] A recent experience I had on a recovery podcast who did not share my same stance with.
[5:23] SAMHSA’s official definition of recovery.
[7:05] What I’m going to be covering today: the three areas in our life that recovery center around (physical, mental, and emotional).
[8:11] Starting with the physical aspect of recovery, I speak about what my health was like physically during peak addiction and how it has changed in recovery.
[12:11] A story of a woman I saw when I first had my old treatment center and how she changed, physically, in recovery.
[13:55] The mental shifts people experience in recovery and my own personal experience with how my mind and perspective changed.
[17:12] The mental improvement someone in our IGNTD Recovery program made.
[18:50] The emotional aspect of recovery and what I experienced in my own journey.
[21:07] An example of the emotional aspect of recovery from a client I worked with.
[23:09] Summarizing my key points about the three aspects of recovery.
[24:09] What to look forward to in the IGNTD world — including discounted workshops and a giveaway!
[25:45] Screenshot this episode, tag me, and be sure to tag anybody you know who’s struggling!
Mentioned in this Episode:
IGNTD Recovery (Register and join the free workshop!)
TheAbstinenceMyth.com (Pay for shipping and I will send you the book for free!)
Picture from my Instagram from when I was in my 20s, peak addiction
Have You Filled a Bucket Today?, by Carol McCloud and David Messing
IGNTD Episode: “Getting Personal: A Conversation with my Sister”
Find out more about IGNTD:
Subscribe to the Podcast
iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify
Reach Out to Me!
@DrAdiJaffe on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook —
or email me at Info@IGNTD.com