Emotions, identity and recovery A short talk by Tim Leighton Director of Professional Education & Research, Action on Addiction Living Room Cardiff Annual Lecture Pierhead Building Cardiff Bay June

State at the turning point “Well, my rock bottom wasn't when I was homeless or anything like that, my rock bottom was just looking at myself in the mirror, and actually looking at myself and saw, you know you were talking about identity, that identity thing, what I saw in the mirror wasn't who I thought I was.” “I lost my sense of worth, my sense of values, in addiction. I lost my goals, my values and my morals..”

Desistance (stopping) vs. maintainance (staying stopped) Reported desistance factors ‘Quite a lot’ or ‘a lot’ Fed up with lifestyle89.5% Psychological health factors 58.5% Family pressure, criminal justice, physical health problems cited by 40-50% Reported maintenance factors ‘Quite a lot’ or ‘a lot’‘Not at all’ Moving away from drug-users83.5% Having reasonable accommodation72% Support from friends65% Religious or spiritual beliefs58.4% 31.3% Info on this slide from Best et al. (2008) Breaking the habit. Similar factors are found in other studies.

Big recovery factors 1.Self-efficacy (confidence that I can remain drug/alcohol free) Negative affect self-efficacy: confidence that I can stay drug free even if I am feeling bad. Social self-efficacy: confidence that I can stay drug-free in social situations. 2. Changes in Social Network Breaking away from using friends Increased association with drug-free friends 3. Spirituality maybe not always religious practices, but meaningful activities, renewed values, caring about life, self and others, connectedness etc.

What do people in recovery do? Actively participate Do not just receive but give Take care of themselves Develop routines Connect regularly Start things

What do people in recovery do? I want to argue that recovery from addiction is a ‘social practice’ Practices arise in relation to social needs People discover how to ‘do’ recovery and develop the practice together There are ‘communities of practice’ in which a person can participate People exiting from treatment can participate and be helped to learn the practice of recovery

What do people in recovery feel? Recovery addresses a person’s ultimate concerns “I didn’t know what I liked – I knew I liked drugs and money but I couldn’t think of anything else” Everyone knows feelings are important in recovery In the rather little known DTORS qualitative study participants often mentioned shame and other painful feelings as crucial to relapsing. Margaret Archer describes ‘human emotions’ as ‘commentaries on a person’s ultimate concerns’

What do people in recovery feel? Ultimate concerns (and the human emotions that arise form these) in three domains: Physical embodiment – being in the physical world Practical performance – how well or badly we do things Social – how acceptable are we to others?

What do people in early recovery feel? “I get help from my drugs worker who suggests I go to the Job Centre. We work on skills like filling in forms but when I get to the centre I get emotionally overwhelmed and after a while I just walk out.” Shame, feelings of failure, feeling less than others

Human emotions as commentaries on our ultimate concerns As humans we cannot help but have concerns in what Margaret Archer describes as 3 orders: The natural order – our embodiment in relation to the real world The practical order – our performative achievement The social order – our worth as reflected in relation to our social group These concerns, which are unavoidable, give rise to truly ‘human’ emotions, which are a special form of awareness, part of the ‘internal conversation’

Human emotions as commentaries on our ultimate concerns This doesn’t mean we all have the same concerns, it depends what our commitments are. In addiction we can see there is often: Physical damage to the body Failure in performance (work, family) Isolation, demoralisation, erosion of self-worth Addiction becomes an all-consuming relationship: “I knew I liked drugs and money, but I didn’t know anything else I liked” Inadequacy in all three orders leads to emotional pain, which is then managed by more addictive behaviour.

What helps with this? Our identity: Who are we in relation to society? Our values, what we do, what we are concerned with Identity project How we develop our lives in relation to an identity or role which is available to us in the society we live in. It would be possible to develop an identity project as an artist, an academic, a parent etc., maybe a combination of these. They provide values and ways of living. Identities are profoundly related to our emotional life

What helps with this? It is possible to develop an identity project as a recovering person. The recovering communities of practice provide Knowledge Training Tips and tricks Values (honesty, caring, helping others) Emotional support (valuing, acceptance, trust, belief in you) Practical help Living and coping skills emerge from practice If you simply provide ‘coping skills’ people may flounder emotionally.

What helps with this? Disconnection leading to overwhelming negative emotions. The old identity as a drug user is available to manage this. People entering recovery might benefit from understanding that recovery is an identity project. Negative feelings can be tolerated if you care enough. Caring about things comes from being part of a social group which supports your evolving identity.

What helps with this? There are lots of versions of recovery See for example: Livingston, W., Baker, M., Jobber, S., & Atkins, B. (2011). A Tale of the Spontaneous Emergence of a Recovery Group and the Characteristics That Are Making It Thrive: Exploring the Politics and Knowledge of Recovery. Journal of Groups in Addiction & Recovery, 6(1-2), Some are more publically visible, others are more private. The basic mechanisms probably don’t vary that much. Having a strong identity as a recovering person does not prevent individuality and creativity.