Thoughts on Recovery

 A friend of my recently turned my attention back toward thinking about "Recovery".  Over the years, I come to realize several things.  First of all, it does not much matter WHAT we are recovering from.  The term is common in Substance Use Disorder (SUD) treatment, and also used in Mental Health (MH) settings.  

Over the past several years, I have begun to realize that this term also applies to other situations which we experience.  Physical Health (PH), for example, also requires a time of "Recovery".  Just as in  SUD experiences, a knee replacement requires many, if not all of the same steps, along a similar path,with the same end goal-a return of function.  

If I need a knee replacement, that process starts with some sort of pain, issue, or injury which I ignore, tolerate and avoid for years or decades. My knee eventually collapses, and I writhe on the floor in pain. EMS is called, and the Doc at the Emergency Department (ED) feels the Rice Krispies, and refers me to an Orthopedic Specialist. Lower power interventions are attempted, The Ortho Doc prescribes Ibuprofen and Tylenol for the pain.  Physical Therapy ensues for weeks or months, an Occupational Therapist gives me a brace.  Eventually, these interventions often do not succeed, and I then wind up alerting TSA Agents at metal detectors.

The parallel process often happens with  SUD/MH/Trauma situations.  Things happen gradually, over time, build up and a crisis ensues.  That same process above repeats,except we change physical therapy to mental health therapy, and the Occupational Therapist becomes a Case Manager.

The analogy between physical health and mental health breaks down a bit when we reach the point where we cut out the defective body part and replace it.  That works well for knees, I admit.  Not so much for brains :)

Still, the point remains.  The cycle is Pain/Problem->years->tolerate/adapt->therapy/treatment-resolution, hopefully.

I guess the central point is that first of all, people follow a recovery process, regardless of the cause.  

Underlying that is that there is no "Butterfly" moment, where a cocoon bursts open, and we are magically fixed.  Recovery is a long, step by step process.