I’ve been secretly wanting to write this blog for years to challenge some of the views and opinions of a small minority of whom I refer to as the “Recovery Police” present in the recovery community. The Recovery message is supposed to carry hope, yet a silent battle exists within some corners of the recovery […]
Category: Having a word with me sen
From Gleadless Valley to United Nations
As a child written off by the school system, I could never have foreseen that my path would lead me from drug-induced psychosis to centre stage at the United Nations. Throughout my career, I’ve delivered countless presentations locally and nationally. But being at the UN was a whole new level. To have a voice in […]
Recovery isn’t a destination; it’s a journey.
Recovery isn’t a destination; it’s a journey. For years, people told me to fake it until I made it. Only it was getting harder to hide my fears and doubts and pretend I’d got life all figured out. Always afraid I’d soon be found out. At times, I was an emotional wreck and felt out […]
Unlocking the Magic of Writing:A Personal Journey of Reflection
It was whilst caring for my father in his battle with alcoholism that I first found solace in journaling. My writing fell silent when he passed, but the urge to share my experience of being an affected family member never waned. I’d dabbled with the idea of writing a book and had at various times […]
Don’t play me
I ain’t nobody’s fool. And I have got a heart of gold, but lo and behold, if you try taking the piss. What you see is what you get. You see, over the years, I have had to my bed and have learned how to lay in it. Some say I’m passionate and outspoken. But […]
Learning to Drive – The Road to Recovery
Someone recently asked me, ‘Tracey, what have been the main lessons you have learned in your recovery?’ It was a tricky question because there has been so much more to my journey than just putting down the drugs. So I came up with this learning-to-drive metaphor to explain in the hope you can relate. Like […]
Navigating friendships in recovery and learning to let go
I have a saying: ‘Getting the balancing act right is a balancing act in itself’, and the same could be said for friendships or, should I say, people to whom we attach or align ourselves. Over the years, I have witnessed how friendships and relationships can negatively impact someone’s recovery journey, especially in early recovery, […]
Your past lived experience alone, wont make you a better support worker
I classify myself as being very lucky. I have the best job in the world, but the most important job is taking care of myself first. I learned the hard way, so I have written this blog in the hope that you can avoid some of the pitfalls and remind you that if you […]
Losing and Finding Trust in Recovery
When I first started my recovery journey, it’s fair to say that I had little or no recovery capital I felt powerless, I’d lost my identity, hope and meaning and after walking away from my peers and social networks and life as I knew it, I’d never felt so disconnected. The isolation at times was […]
Proof that two heads are better than one, even if they are broken
I have been on a personal mission for months to try and arrange a meeting between two guys I now have the privilege to call friends. Their paths have never crossed before, yet they have so much in common. They have both lived on the fringes of society. Both have been involved in crime, violence, […]
