Telling your story can be a frightening prospect if you have trouble opening up to others, but it is a skill that everyone should have in their wheelhouse if they intend to stay in recovery for the long haul. Once I have my topics in order, I might write out some more extensive notes to sharpen my thinking or estimate how much time I'll need for a topic. These are all great topics to cover when you share. Telling your recovery story worksheet online. No "expert" can argue with what really happened to you and how it made you feel.
I don't discuss or critique any answers, but I validate them by saying something like "good answer" or "very interesting. " Recovery From Addiction is not for the Faint of Heart. Do you remember what your situation was like at its worst? Spend the majority of your speaking time telling your audience what has helped you. I'm still only claiming to be an expert on me. Do’s and Don’ts of Telling Your Story - Amethyst Recovery Center. You may even want to give your sobriety date when you very first begin telling your story, then recall it again when you get to it. If you feel good inside when you're done, you almost certainly were good. Was there a person or circumstance that helped you realize you needed to break free?
Otherwise, you may risk running too long. While you are entitled to your privacy when it comes to this highly personal process, there is power in opening up and telling your story. We can't know for certain how another person will respond—or even how the interaction might affect us emotionally. Don't be self-conscious about using cards. Side effects are a good reason, but there is almost always something else to try if your side effects are uncomfortable. EYE CONTACT helps break the barrier between you and the group. Have you learned anything new about yourself now that you're in the recovery process? Sometimes, I invite people to raise their hands with questions or comments while I'm speaking. Updated on May 14th, 2021. You might choose to include your previous attempt(s) at recovery under the banner of "what things were like, " and focus on why things are different this time around. How to write a recovery story. There is no need to keep it going once the tale is complete. In residential treatment?
DO Acknowledge Your Entire Support System. If you want to share all those details with another sober living resident, they may be better suited for a one-on-one conversation. This includes everything from the physical changes you have made to the emotional and spiritual growth you have experienced. This can help others to feel less alone in their experience. And sometimes this requires to most courage of all. 2] Nurser, K. P., Rushworth, I., Shakespeare, T., & Williams, D. (2018). People we love will die. Stopping (or reducing) using alcohol or other drug use takes guts and conviction. Telling your recovery story worksheet printable. After all, you are telling your story. JARGON hurts because it makes people feel ignorant and excluded.
My experience is that, after two talks, people know how good and powerful they are, and speaking is part of their recovery program. Everybody reacts to every medicine differently, I say. If you have relapsed, be honest about it. Telling Your Recovery Story. Practice shows you how powerful your message is, and that people like hearing it. This may not sound like the light at the end of the tunnel, but it is the closest that some will ever get.
That's why you brought a friend. The written comments are more important than the 5-point scales because people made a little effort to write them. You, the Chosen One. Every Recovery Story is Different. Part of your stage fright is probably fear that people will reject you or think you should make yourself well, lighten up, or try harder. But too often, speakers use visuals poorly. Make eye contact with the obviously friendly faces, moving your eyes from one friendly face to another. Most people, when they see a graph for the first time, need it explained. DON'T Sugarcoat Your Story. Speaking to a group is not easy for anyone, whether they have a mental illness or not. You aren't there simply to fill time. People will call you "courageous. Don't feel like you have to water down your story. Tell Your Climate Justice Story Training. A few things that help and hurt.
We have the power to change our story and write a new chapter. At a school, I'll dress casual, but like the teacher, not the students, because I'm not a kid and would look silly dressing like one. Stigma, ignorance, rejection, blaming the victim — are part of the recovery story. DO Emphasize Growth. Open by telling people how long you've been sober (something which will often be an inspiration in itself), and then consider the first stretch of your story as the lead-up to this moment.
Be sure to acknowledge your entire support system in your story. DO Share Your Story From a Place of Honesty and Vulnerability. Stronger relationships with family. If you deeply believe that 12-step programs were key to your success, then make sure your story reflects that. Forget about your hand gestures, posture, and tone of voice. But instead of a laundry list of complaints, you will be focusing the discussion on the ways in which recovery has made it easier for you to deal with these issues. A Three Part Workshop Training. What would you say to someone who is struggling with addiction? While we might apologize later for missing the party, our apology consists of words rather than actions or changed behavior. What helps you in your dark days? " Step 9: Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
Now that she is retired, and that, as she intended, others are continuing to share what she has learned, she continues to learn from those who have mental health issues and those who support them. This worksheet was inspired by positive psychology, but also has elements of narrative and art therapies. When people have to wait till the end to comment, there can be a very long silence. Drawing attention to how the slides are changing takes attention away from what the slides say. No one can argue with those. Throughout your post-addiction life, you will probably have many opportunities to share the insight you gained during your recovery journey. If you feel that you have experienced such a thing, you may consider this moment to constitute the beginning of this section.
Although it's a daunting task and downright scary for some people, sharing sober recovery stories with other residents in recovery is a powerful way to influence others and gain freedom from shame and secrecy. But it doesn't just detail your life in active addiction. That almost never happens. What matters is what you keep. For example, if we hurt people with our lying and we cannot make amends without further injuring them, we would make living amends by making a decision to behave and communicate with complete honesty. Coping skills have reduced the amount of medication I need to take, and that reduces side effects. Even if they were required to come, they listened politely. AND doing this with people we may not know, or even with the general public, who do not always understand addiction, can leave us feeling exposed and vulnerable. For instance, your friends and family may have staged an intervention. And those words ring hollow when we repeatedly break our promises. A successful movement requires strong relationships to unite our political power, create a common vision and sustain our movement for the long struggle ahead.
Anything more complicated than a newspaper headline should not be on a screen. If you have to stop speaking to read a card, or squint to make out what's written down, you've defeated the whole purpose of using cards. The structure of your story will be a bit different than that of most. Having credibility at work. I dress casual for consumer groups, but not like someone who hangs around the mental health center all the time, even though I used to do that. Yet there continues to be mainstream silence on these issues because of the negative stigma surrounding drug addiction. Be cautious not to get lost in the details. Your spiritual awakening is the moment not at which recovery began to click, but the moment at which you began to realize that certain promises could come true in your life if you did not return to addiction. How have you changed since you've gotten sober? Your sobriety date is the midpoint of your story, the point at which addiction became a recovery.