Sometimes Recovery Means Starting The Process All Over Again

Recovery is experimenting to find the right combination of meds. Sometimes you mitigate the symptoms and experience horrible side effects. Or the meds work out amazingly for you and then they don’t. What if your insurance company stops covering your medication and you can’t afford to pay out of pocket to continue? Maybe you become unwell because you thought you were all better and no longer needed your meds.

Then you start the process all over again.

Recovery is going on countless first appointments with therapists. If you’re lucky, you find out right away whether it’s a good fit or not. Sometimes you invest yourself for weeks or months, only to discover it’s not going to work out. Sometimes you find that solid match, then your symptoms evolve and you need someone or something different. Maybe your therapist retires, moves away, or no longer accepts your insurance.

Then you start the process all over again.

Recovery is recognizing your limitations. Maybe there were certain things you could do before that you are unable to do now. Sometimes certain situations and certain relationships are no longer conducive to your needs. You may struggle to recognize that the internal differences you may encounter don’t make you less than. Perhaps you have to learn new skills to adapt to these changes.

Then you start the process all over again.

Recovery isn’t linear. Recovery doesn’t have one magical formula that can apply to the multitude of unique circumstances each person may encounter. Recovery is about doing the best we can with what we have at the time. Recovery may mean different things to you on different days at different times in your life. Recovery is an evolution. Recovery is about accepting you won’t get it completely right every single time. That’s okay.

Then you start the process all over again.