04/26/2026
Michigan Connects is written by Aaron Emerson- our Program Director and person in long term recovery. He shares some valuable wisdom in the article he wrote below. Thank you Aaron for sharing the real work of recovery… it’s much needed for everyone to understand and remember to have long term recovery.
What are you CHANGING in recovery? I talk about this quite a bit in some of the groups I facilitate. A lot of newly sober people start recovery riding the pink cloud, thinking that simply not using will fix all their problems. Obviously, sobriety is critical to true change in recovery. But for me, it was only the starter. I had to ask myself why I kept relapsing if I was doing the things on my relapse prevention plans after rehab. I realized I was willing to take some suggestions, but only the easy ones. I was going to meetings, finding jobs, staying away from old using friends. The easy suggestions. But what about the suggestions that I not get in a relationship for at least a year? Going to sober living after treatment instead of going home? Doing actual step work? Letting my therapist challenge me and talking about trauma? Not running from negative emotions? Doing the uncomfortable? Doing service work? These are the things I avoided. The problem is - cutting corners in recovery doesn’t work. I see it all the time working in recovery housing: guys get to Pinnacle, get a job right away, start dating the first girl that looks their way, and sooner or later their recovery takes a back seat. When I try to challenge some of them to keep their recovery first, they often respond, “That girl is sober and is good for me, she holds me accountable! I am staying sober and busting my ass at work, what else can I do?” 99% of the time in that situation, that person gets burned out within a month and leaves the program. Don’t get me wrong, staying sober is a miracle and I will always be proud of someone for doing that. But a lot of people can get sober. I am more interested in how you STAY sober. If recovery was ONLY about choosing to not use everyday, relapse wouldn’t be so common and overdose deaths would decline sharply. Recovery is hard, maybe the hardest thing someone will do in their life. But if we aren’t putting the same energy into our recovery that we put into staying high/drunk, it’s only a matter of time until you find yourself white-knuckling it.
**(Picture is of my friend Eddie and I. Eddie is someone I know who has put everything into recovery and he is reaping the rewards. He is a walking miracle that is okay with getting uncomfortable when it is needed.)**
