Alcoholics Anonymous has had a tradition that a person in recovery within their program needs to refrain from acknowledging publicly that they are in recovery within that program. Such a person may speak publicly about their addiction and recovery but should not identify themselves as a member of Alcoholics Anonymous. It seems to me that generally recovering people honor that tradition and I am always a bit surprised when that tradition is broken.
However there is a movement in the recovering community to encourage people to publicly acknowledge their addiction and recovery. And in many ways that seems very healthy to me. If we really believe it is a disease---a disease that is not caused by being weak and having a lack of self control---a disease that has a medical and spiritual component---then why should it be such a secret? Keeping THE secret of addiction only adds to its stigma. Addiction is a disease with a progression that can lead to death AND it can be put in remission with treatment. That is very good news for people with this disease. Keeping the opportunity for remission a secret seems like a cop out to me.
I realize acknowledging this disease is not always easy. A friend at dinner the other night spoke of her daughter's recovery saying, "She doesn't talk to me about it." When I recently was asked to do a women's retreat on recovery (based on my book), I hesitated. The retreat group would be women in the new church we attend. Do I really want to talk about my own addiction and recovery? Do I want them to know? Will they think of me differently?
When we stand up and acknowledge this disease publicly we take a risk. When we stand up and acknowledge this disease AND recovery, we give hope.
When we place this disease and recovery within our relationship with God, we are safe.
Blessings-Penny
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