Essay #2
Emmy Desire
The City College of New York
English 21002
Professor Kay Bell
The community I observed are people who struggle with addiction. I did this through a program called SMART Recovery. SMART Recovery is a self-management and recovery training program. They are a global community with mutual support groups that help to resolve addictions regarding drugs, alcohol, or to activities such as gambling or over-eating, etc. They are a self-empowering addiction recovery group. This nonprofit group has been interacting since 1994. The reason why I chose this community is because people who deal with addictions are often overlooked, misunderstood, and neglected. I wanted to bring light to this situation and learn more about it.
The thing that makes them a community is that they all share the common goal of working to fix their addiction. What brings them together is the motivation to help improve their mental and physical health. They are all committed to improving their lifestyle while being there to support one another. Some people who are a part of this community are not suffering from addiction but are there to support their family or friends. What brings them together is their journey to recovery.
Some issues that this community faces is dealing with their trauma without resulting to their addiction, they have trouble rebuilding and connecting with people, they have trouble dealing with relapse. They also have trouble transitioning out of rehab and into their homes. Another issue that occurs for people who struggle with addiction is that they are more likely to deal with depression or other mental illnesses. The people seeking therapy participate in these activities that are administered by their support group leader. To communicate well within this community, you need patience and an open mind. Their method and program is all about obtaining patience and trying your best to change your unhelpful behavioral patterns.
The terms that are often used within the group are “abstinence, support, free, and program.” These terms correlate with the organization’s mission to help the participants change their behavior and gain a successful recovery. The rules are very fluid when interacting. They have a variety of methods and programs for the participants to choose from. This includes cognitive behavioral therapy, rational emotive behavioral therapy, motivational interviewing, and mindfulness/relaxation.
After doing research, many facts proved that people who deal with addictions are often marginalized. A lot of people incorporate stereotypes into normative society about people struggling with addiction. They are often left to be neglected socially and most of the time, having an addiction can hinder their chances of becoming employed. People view them to be undeserving and careless. People who suffer from addiction often have traumas and or triggers which cause them to turn towards their addictive behavior for a sense of comfort or relief. They are often misunderstood by society. This has an importance in our community. According to Casa Palmera “substance abuse costs the United States more than $740 billion a year in terms of health care, work productivity and crime” and “Workplace productivity can also suffer when employees are abusing drugs.” Ways that we can advocate for people who struggle with addiction in our communities are by starting petitions, surveying people who suffer from addiction and asking them how we can help, creating and petitioning for more non profit and accessible programs to provide rehabilitation therapy for people who can’t afford it.
Bibliography
What Is Addiction?, www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/addiction/what-is-addiction.
Staff, Written by Casa Palmera. “How Does Drug Abuse Affect Society? The Societal and Interpersonal Cost.” Casa Palmera, 27 Sept. 2019, casapalmera.com/blog/how-does-drug-abuse-affect-society/.
“Self Help Addiction Recovery Program: Alternative to AA.” SMART Recovery, 1 Dec. 2020, www.smartrecovery.org/.
Center, Nova Recovery. “7 Common Challenges People Face in Recovery: Get Help Today.” Nova Recovery Center Near Austin Texas, 12 Mar. 2020, novarecoverycenter.com/recovery/7-common-challenges-people-face-addiction-recovery/.
