The idea of individualized recovery was nowhere to be found when I completed substance use treatment in the late 1980s. Back then, nobody suggested that addicted women like me should read books, listen to podcasts, join online communities, diffuse essential oils, do hypnotherapy or plant medicine, or embrace running or yoga to heal.
There was no recovery management or aftercare plan for me when I left treatment, and nobody even suggested that I should continue to seek professional support. I was advised to find and attend a Twelve Step recovery program.
Period. I am so fortunate that Twelve Step recovery worked for me and that I was privileged enough to be able to access a community of people where I lived who welcomed me, nurtured me, and put up with me.
I was a single mom on welfare and had no financial resources for additional treatment or therapy in that moment. Twelve Step recovery helped save my life.
I'm so glad it still exists and is still saving literally millions of women's lives. But it isn't for everybody, and the recovery world needs to be okay with that.