The "lingo"
Was thinking about how I really don't particularly like the language used in "recovery". Even that word - I'm "in recovery." It sounds like a big piece of bulky luggage you have to drag around. I belong to a support network (Lifering). I don't like to call myself "in recovery" except as shorthand, so people can understand easily why I enjoy attending a support meeting each week (and convening another).
Being "sober." Have problems with that one sometimes - one thing I don't like is someone can not drink or use (be completely abstinent) for years and if that person says or does something another doesn't like, they're a "dry drunk." Sobriety has become a catchall term with so much baggage. It's more than just about not drinking or using - it's become this crazy, ephemeral way to designate you or other people as having some sort of idealized state of personal growth - or it's a way to denigrate another's personal growth or behavior - regardless of whether they retain abstinence or not.
Being an "alcoholic" or an "addict." That's an easy one to dispense with - I'm an ex-addict myself. I'm a teetotaler, I'm a 'sobrietist,' but I don't personally find it helpful to me to carry around the linguistic equivalent of a mark of Cain on my arm in order to move forward. It's negatively reifying to me (e.g., seems to define me in a negative way) and doesn't seem to move me forward.
Any other language you don't like from the so-called "recovery" world? What kind of language do you prefer that's more empowering and positive?
-DrS