In service to our fellows....
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Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 8,637
In service to our fellows....
Often times, while we're still new to recovery, it can seem like there's not much we can do to offer service work. Maybe we feel intimidated. Maybe we don't feel we have the right yet - we're still new ourselves!
Maybe we feel like getting too focused on others might be a tempting obsession that could take away from our focus on our own addiction, and this is a valid concern to be sure.
Still, a look around just about anyone's life these days will reveal at least a few people who have been or are struggling with addiction or its fallout. And one thing they often face is their own sort of quiet shame. Addiction - unlike cancer, heart disease, the loss of a child, being wounded in action - is something that still seems to come with a stigma attached that keeps people at a distance.
One thing that we can offer is compassion, understanding and support. Solidarity. It might be as simple as dropping by with dinner to someone's house whose daughter has recently gone off to rehab. Inviting over a mother and her children to have a family meal when their Dad has had to go to jail for his second DUI.
This article got me thinking..... and I just wanted to share.
Because new or not, reaching out to others and recognizing the shared struggle is powerful medicine.
Families dealing with mental illness need support, too.
Maybe we feel like getting too focused on others might be a tempting obsession that could take away from our focus on our own addiction, and this is a valid concern to be sure.
Still, a look around just about anyone's life these days will reveal at least a few people who have been or are struggling with addiction or its fallout. And one thing they often face is their own sort of quiet shame. Addiction - unlike cancer, heart disease, the loss of a child, being wounded in action - is something that still seems to come with a stigma attached that keeps people at a distance.
One thing that we can offer is compassion, understanding and support. Solidarity. It might be as simple as dropping by with dinner to someone's house whose daughter has recently gone off to rehab. Inviting over a mother and her children to have a family meal when their Dad has had to go to jail for his second DUI.
This article got me thinking..... and I just wanted to share.
Because new or not, reaching out to others and recognizing the shared struggle is powerful medicine.
Families dealing with mental illness need support, too.
Member
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: East Coast USA
Posts: 120,877
Thank you, Free Owl.
Great article.
Support is crucial - for those who are suffering and for those who care for the suffering - for those who pace the floors with worry into the wee hours of the night - and for those who mourn.
Great article.
Support is crucial - for those who are suffering and for those who care for the suffering - for those who pace the floors with worry into the wee hours of the night - and for those who mourn.
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