In Recovery? Download the CHESS Health Connections App today! No matter your path, the Connections App can support your journey to recovery. Through your smartphone, you can connect with others 24/7. Whether you’re looking for a friendly sounding board from peers, seeking guidance from a peer recovery support specialist, attending virtual support meetings, tracking your goals, or staying in touch with a provider, you can do it through the Connections App. CLICK HERE to get started today.

Watch the video below to hear from a current CHESS Health Connections App User!

What is Recovery?

Recovery is a process of change that permits an individual to make healthy choices and improve the quality of his or her life.

“Over the past fifty plus year history of the Hancock County ADAMHS Board, we have set the bar high, aiming to bring the most effective prevention, early intervention, and treatment services to this community. It is important to ADAMHS that all members of our community feel as though they are part of making out community a better place. We especially are concerned with a part of our population who many times are overlooked: those who are or have experienced mental illness or addiction. We know that treatment works and people do recover. We also understand that it takes a community willing to exchange mistrust and stigma for vision and hope. There are individuals in recovery everywhere: in our schools; government; churches; places we eat, shop, and play daily. Recovery is something to be celebrated, not feared. We are committed to making sure people who want help can and do change for the better, and in doing so help change the face of our community.”   Precia Stuby, Director

FOCUS Wellness and Recovery Community

FOCUS is a recovery community organization offering free support and resources to anyone impacted by mental health, addiction, or trauma issues.

FOCUS provides a warm, welcoming space for people to learn skills, meet new people, and engage in their recovery. FOCUS connects people to other community resources when they are needed, provides education to the community, and organizes recovery events.  It can support you and you family on your journey of recovery from mental health problems, addiction, problem gambling or gambling addiction, or trauma issues.

Learn more at https://focusrwc.org/.

Pathways To Recovery

Fitness

Exercise can be a method to compensate for stressors. Physical exercise not only promotes overall fitness, but also helps to manage emotional stress and tensions as well. Exercise can also aid in relaxation and improve sleep quality. It can remove one temporarily from a stressful situation or environment. Being fit and healthy also increases your ability to deal with stress as it arises and creates a sense of physical well being.

Emotional Recovery/Wellness

One of the most common motives for turning to alcohol or drugs is an inability to deal with emotions. Emotional Wellness implies the ability to be aware of and accept our feelings rather than denying them, having an optimistic approach to life, and enjoying life despite its occasional disappointments and frustrations.  When people give up substance abuse, they become physically sober and while this termination of addiction is always a positive step, it may still be difficult to obtain and ensure happiness in sobriety. This is because the individual will still need to deal with their emotions and now without their chemical crutch. By making a determined effort to develop in recovery, the individual can become emotionally sober and while this may take years to accomplish, it will lead to a greater happiness in life.

Stress Management

Some people experience stress so frequently, they are unable to recognize it. This is troubling because it means the individual could be suffering the consequences of chronic stress without them knowing. Once the individual recognizes that they are suffering from stress they need to deal with it. There are many options for doing this with relaxation techniques such as exercising, proper nutrition, Yoga, meditation, spirituality, and a supportive living environment which can be great for coping with stress.

Alcoholics Anonymous

Alcoholics Anonymous is an international fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other in order to solve their common struggle and assist others in recovering from alcoholism. The only requirement for membership is the desire to stop drinking. With no fees or dues required from AA members, Alcoholics Anonymous is self-supporting through contributions. They are not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization or institution; they do not engage in any controversy and neither endorses nor opposes any particular cause. Their primary purpose is to stay sober and help others struggling with alcoholism to achieve sobriety and maintain recovery. Learn more: area55aa.org.

Heroin Anonymous

Heroin Anonymous (H.A.) is a non-profit fellowship of men and women who have found a solution to heroin addiction. H.A. is a comradry of complete abstinence from all drugs and alcohol. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop heroin addiction. With no fees or dues required, H.A. is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization or institution; they do not engage in any controversy and neither oppose nor endorse any particular cause. Their primary purpose is to stay sober and help others struggling with heroin addiction to achieve sobriety and maintain recovery. Learn more: heroinanonymous.org.

Nutrition

Proper nutrition and hydration are vital to the substance abuse healing process because they help restore physical and mental health as well as improve the chances of recovery. Proper nutrition helps those recovering from addiction feel better because nutrients give the body energy, help build and repair organ tissue, and strengthen the immune system. Because those recovering from addiction typically have damaged vital organs from the course of their substance abuse, good nutrition provides them the nutritional building blocks they need to begin repairing the damaged tissues. Healthy and nutritional food can be used to feel better physically and mentally, which in many cases, will reduce the risk of relapse.

Creative Expressions

Creative Expressions can help connect people, in all stages of life or during recovery, to that inner healing voice. Creativity can be explored through a variety of artistic disciplines. Commonly known methods include, but are not limited to, drama, dance, music, creative writing and the visual arts and photography.  All these activities engage the participant/artist in a process that uses a holistic health framework to access physical, mental, spiritual and social well-being. The benefits of Creative Expressions never end throughout the entirety of life even into adulthood. Creative Expressions can be used to express thoughts and feelings that perhaps are too big or too complicated to put into words.

Spirituality

It can be difficult to understand what has happened to us in our lives and find some sort of meaning behind the circumstances. Even though we may be in recovery from substance abuse and mental health disorder, we need something more to help us during the dark hours. When we feel challenged, overwhelmed, or even excited about an upcoming new direction we’re about to take, having a spiritual foundation may help in ways that we can only begin to imagine. We may consider spirituality something that only applies to few, but not to us. That would be a mistake. Whether we believe in a Higher Power or God as we know Him or believe in the spirit of nature or mankind in general, we know instinctively that there is something beyond ourselves at work in the universe.

Meditation

Ranging from practices associated with specific religions or beliefs to methods focusing purely on physical relaxation, meditation is one of the most popular techniques to achieve physical and mental relaxation. There are thousands of different methods of meditation and many can be learned on your own. Mediation involves deep centering and focusing upon the core of your being, quieting your mind, emotions and body. This meditative state can be achieved through structured or unstructured activities. While teachers of meditative arts are readily available, some techniques can be learned through books or online tutorials

Narcotics Anonymous

Narcotics Anonymous (N.A.) is a non-profit society of men and women who struggle with drug use. N.A. groups meet regularly to assist each other to stay clean. What and how much you use is not relevant, only in what you want to do about your struggle and how N.A. can help. Membership is open to all those struggling with drug addiction regardless of the drugs being used. N.A. provides a recovery process and peer support network that work together to fit your needs. The only requirement is the desire to stop using. There are no fees or dues for members. Learn more: na.org.

Celebrate Recovery

Celebrate Recovery offers people the opportunity to participate in a group fellowship where love and hope combine with seeking God’s purpose for our lives without charge. The feeling of being HURT is an emotional reaction to another person’s behavior or to a traumatic situation such as abuse, abandonment, codependency, divorce or other relationship issue. A HABIT is an addiction to someone or something. Examples include, but aren’t limited to, alcohol, drugs, food, gambling, shopping, and smoking. HANG-UPS are negative mental attitudes that are used to cope with people of adversity. For example, things like anger, depression, fear and unforgiveness. Learn more: CelebrateRecovery.com.

In a crisis situation, please call the crisis hotline at 888-936-7116.