Recovery Month is Here! Posted On
Did you know that September is named as Recovery Month? Recovery Month is a national event intended to educate Americans that addiction and mental health services, including problem gambling, can enable those with a mental and/or addiction disorder to live a healthy and rewarding life.
Defining Recovery
So, what does recovery really mean? Recovery is more than abstaining from gambling. Recovery looks a little different for everyone in the details, but overall, recovery includes some of these elements:
- Relationships
- Community
- Wellbeing/Self-Care
- Mindfulness
For most people, when they say they are in recovery from problem gambling, they mean that not only are they no longer gambling, but they have incorporated some essential elements for overall wellbeing. It means they’ve been able to repair relationships damaged by their past gambling behaviors, they are actively participating in their community, they are engaging in healthy means of coping with stress, and are paying attention and responding to the things going on around them, how they respond and how it impacts their lives. Recovery is a big deal and people in recovery have done a lot of work to find and keep their recovery status.
CELEBRATE!
During Recovery Month, we CELEBRATE what it truly means to be in recovery. And we celebrate the people who have worked hard to stay on their own path of recovery. By celebrating recovery, the idea that behavioral health is essential to overall health is reinforced. And equally important, the fact that prevention works, treatment is effective, and people can and do recovery from problem gambling, other addictions and mental health disorders.
At NYCPG, we are going to spend the month promoting recovery in hopes that we can help more people find their pathway. You’ll see social media posts, short videos, and a recovery focused webinar. We’ll also be promoting problem gambling screening tools so that everyone can explore their own gambling behaviors to determine if they should consider making a change.
If you think you should take a look at the impacts of your own gambling, please reach out to the Problem Gambling Resource Center near you. They can help you set up a one-on-one appointment at no monetary cost to you, to talk with someone about your gambling.
