FireSprite

Lately I'm questioning whether this word is still accurate for me & my journey, but I also don't think it's as simple as moving to the past tense, "recovered".... that doesn't sound right either.

I feel like I'm no longer actively recovering from anything - it's not about my old damage, not about massive internal healing. It's evolved into something beyond that, something more positive & forward facing. Now when I hear myself refer to being "in recovery" it just doesn't fit. How long can a person stay in any one phase like that?

A few years ago I dropped the need from my qualifying reasons for recovery as an ACOA, wife of an AH, etc and started thinking in terms of my "Whole Life Recovery" - focusing on my overall health without getting stuck in the how/why I got that way.... I took control in a big way when my mentality shifted like that.

Now I'm ready to shed the next layer - using the word Recovery at all feels negative & misleading. I'm not recovering any longer; I'm Actively Balancing. Living.

But I just don't know what to call it.... words like "journey" & "path" are so trite & overused & conjure images of magical purple unicorns farting rainbows..... lol.....

Anybody got any ideas?

dandylion

Firesprite…….maybe there is no need to label it anything. Just living. Living. No need to call it anything else.....

Lizajane

I think renaming it is a good idea. Personally, I think of my change a:
REDIRECTING
I don't think I have depression, failure, remorse, etc to recover from. I have been very blessed. The bad times in my life are far in the past. I have some guilt for allowing myself to drink so much alcohol. The only way to deal with that is to change.
So I am redirecting my life.

SeriousWhimsy

Evolving? Advancing? Improving?

When I get there (when recovery no longer seems adequate to what I am working to accomplish), I think I would enjoy saying 'With help from HP, loving family and friends, I am dedicated to evolving into the person I am truly meant to be.'

DontRemember

I use "better" and "I'm happy"

PeacefulWater12

I like "journey".

It doesn't make me think of unicorns farting.

I feel I am on a journey to become the me I always should have been.

Mango212

I recently felt a huge transition where recovery was over and the new phase I'm in is simply Healing.

Journey speaks to me in many deep ways.

The shirt I'm wearing today has several deep, connected meanings. To an event I attended with my son. To Life. To the core of me in elemental ways. This awakening to new ways of seeing the world is a journey I'm greatly enjoying.

tomsteve

i agree with this, mainly because of
Lately I'm questioning ...
just been questioning,right? so no need for a definitive answer right now?

now to complicate it
why the need for a new word? i did read what ya wrote but there could be something deeper as to why.
journey does sound better than some of the synonyms for journey,though.

alwayscovering

In a state of awesomeness!

FireSprite

I really just feel like I've outgrown the term - like when summer rolls around & you drag out last season's clothes only to realize that those favorite shorts don't fit this year. It just doesn't FIT me any longer.

It's just semantics on some level too.... this is far from a crisis issue, lol.

The words don't change the actions but I feel like when I speak of my recovery, there's an automatic, subconscious negative attachment because it will always relate to bad stuff I've gotten over. I DO believe in the power of positive vs. negative thinking & feel like this is one way to support that type of ongoing reprogramming as well.

I believe recovery is a life-long process because we're never done growing & adapting & finding new tools, which is why "recovered" isn't really even accurate.

I tend to overuse Amazing.... how are you today Fire? I am Amazing, as always.....

firebolt

I love this, and I'd probably just add 'healthy.'

Actively balancing and living healthy. And you sure are!

SmallButMighty

I like to think I am now Thriving... although still a never ending work in progress, so maybe I am "just" Progressing....

hearthealth

The only acronym I can think of is Balanced Living Actively Healthy B.L.A.H.. That's the furthest from the truth.

trailmix

Be the Unicorn! (not sure what that means!)

MindfulMan

I started psychodynamic therapy as part of my recovery. It's helping with all areas of my life.

Would it have the same effect if I'd not done it as part of a sobriety program?

I think it would.

At some point, as someone mentioned above, it's really just living.

Clover71

This is pretty much what I think

Sasha1972

For some reason, the word that resonates most with me is "traveling". I've always had trouble with "recovery". I don't think I was/am sick - I was just overwhelmed and in way over my head with a mentally ill alcoholic. I learned ways of being in response to this situation which were not healthy for me, and now I'm unlearning them. For me, "traveling" means that my natural state is the journey.

velma929

One of the things that I didn't/don't care for in groups is jargon and code words. I don't worry about what to call my life. My days aren't a forever, upward arc. My best effort is my best effort, but that varies from one day to the next.

Maybe I'm just a curmudgeon who doesn't want anyone to know my business.

Caramel

Pilgrimage?

Maudcat

How about Living in Serenity?