Does working as a peer help your own recovery?

General
1

Has this work as a peer been helpful for your own recovery ? Does it inspire you to do better within your own recovery ?

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Absolutely. I have found that working with others is great for my recovery. It helps me get out of my head and not focus on myself so much. I also think it is a form of accountability as well. I try to be an example to others.

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It did for sure. Feels good to give back, to be supportive and to use my shit experience to support others.

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That’s a really interesting topic, and I see a few possible scenarios:

  1. Some people become peers as a way to sustain their own recovery and create accountability. This approach can be effective early on, but over time, the line between their work as a peer and their personal recovery can start to blur.

  2. Others have a strong foundation in their recovery and clear boundaries, which allows them to do meaningful and effective work.

  3. There can also be a mix of both…

The key point is that the boundaries need to be well-defined. Peer work can absolutely grow your perspective of recovery because constantly learning about other pathways is super great.

Without having clarity between personal recovery and peer work, there’s a risk of causing harm—either through personal bias influencing others’ recovery paths or by letting the work interfere with one’s own recovery.

Just my thoughts!

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5

I am biased because I train peers and believe in the role. I think it is important to give support to an individual to find their own path to recovery so that the recovery community as a whole has a tapestry of pathways and colors. mama

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It inspired me to have purpose, yes. But it was also really hard. The mental load, the workplace drama/dynamics and trying to figure out who I am again all collided my first year and took a toll on me mentally. I might say it inspired me to do a lot of really hard interpersonal work. It inspired me to grow as a human being and I am so grateful for that. I learned SO MUCH.

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It did for a while, taught me a lot. What about you @Ackermanb ?

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