People tend to be impressed by big numbers. That can be especially true when it comes to measuring the success of something.
For example, as of this writing, over three million people have attended Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. That’s a big number—and one that is getting a lot of attention. The tour is certainly a celebration of Swift’s career to date, and each stop brings out huge numbers of Swifties ready to celebrate their favorite artist and their sense of being part of a joyous, empowered community.
But sometimes, important things don’t get the attention we might expect—even if they involve huge numbers of people and result in feelings of joy and empowerment.
Take, for example, recovery from substance use disorders.
Recovery by the Numbers
At the very beginning of 2023, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration released the results of its annual National Survey on Drug Use and Health. The report detailed what people living in America said about their experiences with substance use and mental health disorders as well as their pursuit of treatment in 2021.
The report is filled with interesting findings, but for our purposes here, we want to focus on a stat related directly to recovery:
7 in 10 (72.2 percent or 20.9 million) adults who ever had a substance use problem considered themselves to be recovering or in recovery.
Those 20.9 million adults who consider themselves to be recovering or in recovery? That is just shy of seven times the number of folks who have headed out to an arena to see Taylor Swift on the current tour.
Nearly 21 million people in recovery seems like a number to celebrate, right? Happily, there is a month for that.
September is National Recovery Month
National Recovery Month aims to call attention to the very real ways in which recovery from substance use disorders (as well as mental health disorders that may be entangled with a substance use disorder) changes lives for the better.
The website for National Recovery Month puts it like this:
There are millions of Americans whose lives have been transformed through recovery. Since these successes often go unnoticed by the broader population, Recovery Month provides a vehicle for everyone to celebrate these accomplishments. Each September, tens of thousands of prevention, treatment, and recovery programs and facilities around the country celebrate Recovery Month. They speak about strides made by those in recovery and share their success stories with their neighbors, friends, and colleagues. In doing so, everyone helps to increase awareness and foster a greater understanding about mental and substance use disorders.
That effort to increase awareness and foster a greater understanding is neatly captured by the National Recovery Month slogan:
‘Every Person. Every Family. Every Community.’
This slogan recognizes that substance use disorders impact more than just the struggling individual. Whole families and wider communities are negatively affected by substance use disorders. On the flip side, individuals, families, and communities all benefit from high-quality treatment and ongoing recovery from substance use disorders.
This interconnectedness is important to remember because it can motivate a person who is struggling to get help, motivate a friend or family member to encourage someone to get treatment, and motivate a community to treat those who are struggling with great empathy and respect.
Wooded Glen Can Help You Reconnect with Your Sobriety
Are you struggling with drugs or alcohol? Does it feel like you cannot possibly reclaim your sobriety and your life? To put it as Taylor Swift might, do you feel as though you and sobriety are “never ever getting back together”?
We understand. But we also know that no matter how hopeless you might be feeling, recovery is truly possible.
At Wooded Glen Recovery Center in Indiana, we provide evidence-based treatment for substance use disorders that is personalized to your specific needs. We offer a medically supervised approach to detoxification that keeps temptation away while also helping you manage the symptoms of withdrawal. We share strategies and resources for maintaining your sobriety through our rehabilitation program that includes both individual and group therapy (and addresses co-occurring mental health disorders). And we continue to support you through our commitment to a continuum of care as your recovery journey gets underway.
If you need to get sober (and you do!), don’t wait for the calendar page to flip. Join the National Recovery Month celebration and get the help that you need right now.