John K.'s Story

A person can have severe mental illnesses and still recover from alcoholism 'cause I did it. For the alcohol, in August 1989, I had let's call a vital experience and I was able to put the alcohol down all of a sudden. But, and this is where the stigma comes in. I felt so alone.

I didn't feel I could reach out to anybody and I just struggled with it alone and the OCD made the obsession that much worse. It was really, really painful. And I ran into a friend who told me about a support group for alcoholics and I start going with her and I've been involved with that ever since. I have a story that I was early in recovery.

Like, I lived in Brockport and I was like, on the floor in a fetal position. I just could not take it anymore. And I went over to this friend's house and they said, "I have to drive into the city. Do you wanna come with me?",

and I did. And by the end, we were laughing and joking. She was one of the first people I knew who didn't drink and just that human connection is so important. Recovery is like, for me, very, very different than the drinking.

My mind has slowed down. The number of crazy ideas has gone down. The depression that was accompanying the alcohol use is not there. I get depressed, I'm able to work on it.

I try to be grateful. I don't think I was grateful when I was drinking. Well, now that I'm in recovery, I like sharing my story and knowing that I'm helping other people and I did not have that when I was drinking, so. And just, and I do the meditation and the yoga.

I do phone meetings and there's a little community of people who do that that I know well. And just every time I think about my sobriety, I feel happy. Here is what I would tell people. It is a day at a time and millions of people are on the road to recovery.

It's possible for people, even with a severe mental illness.