Recovery, wellbeing and the people who help us along the way

Recovery, wellbeing and the people who help us along the way

Mike Jenkins

Over the coming months, I will be sharing articles and reflections on my website about recovery and wellbeing.

These are subjects I approach through lived experience. I have been in recovery from a serious mental health condition for 28 years and from cancer for 20 years. I have also spent much of my adult life navigating the continuing processes of self-understanding, acceptance and defending my right to live openly as a gay man.

By several measures, I have already beaten difficult odds.

Like many people, I have also struggled with compulsions and addictions that have complicated and extended that journey. I grew up in a world where cigarettes and alcohol were ever-present. Today, our streets, communities, bars and clubs contain an increasingly bewildering range of substances, accompanied by competing claims about their risks, benefits and effects upon human consciousness and behaviour.

Our understanding continues to evolve. So, too, must the ways in which we respond to addiction, mental health difficulties and the complex realities of recovery.

During the past two weeks, I have been fortunate to receive care, kindness and practical support from many individuals and organisations. They have included my GP surgery, dental and hospital teams, local charities, the foodbank, churches and the Cathedral, as well as my family and friends.

The charity CGL has played a particularly important role. Its professionalism, humanity and patient, continuing support have helped to create a significant turning point in my recovery.

Weekly group meetings have given me the opportunity to speak honestly with people who have experienced similar struggles—and, in many cases, profound tragedy and suffering. Taking part in a week-long detox and wellbeing retreat has also helped me begin creating a healthier and more conscious environment in my home, my heart and my mind.

None of this happens in isolation.

Recovery is made possible not only through personal determination, but through relationships, public services, charities, communities and the willingness of others to continue offering care when someone is struggling to offer it to themselves.

Adjusting the sails by which we navigate life requires movement and a willingness to respond to changing conditions: calm waters, strong currents and unexpected storms.

There may be no final destination called “recovered”. There is, instead, the continuing journey of becoming more aware, more responsible and more fully alive.

For now, I can see dry land on the horizon.

Onward.