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With September being National Recovery Month, it is a time to educate people on the fact that addiction treatment is available, and living a healthy and rewarding life in recovery is possible. This national observance is also a time to praise the gains made by those in recovery for substance abuse and/or mental disorders. National Recovery Month encourages and celebrates those managing illnesses and “spreads the positive message that behavioral health is essential to overall health, prevention works, treatment is effective, and people can and do recover.”

Spearheaded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA.gov), National Recovery Month is now in its 24th year.

Volunteering in recovery can be a great way to heal yourself while helping others. Volunteering reduces loneliness and enables someone to hone social or work skills in a low-stress environment. It builds confidence and makes someone feel like a valued member of a community. Many enjoy the structure and schedule that volunteering in recovery provides as they build their new life. And it offers the opportunity for someone in recovery to meet new people, who often times share in the same passion, interests or beliefs that drove them to volunteering at the same place.

Addiction Treatment Magazine recently ran an interesting article about recognizing the five stages of grief in addiction recovery. Yes, paying close attention to your actions is important in addiction recovery. But checking in with your feelings and emotions is also just as important. Sometimes, we think that if we ignore our feelings they will simply go away. But the truth is, submerged or dismissed feelings can reappear, sometimes in more harmful ways.