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Life Beyond Addiction - Eboni Jewel Sears
By SMART Recovery USA on
Eboni Jewel Sears speaks frankly about her sexually maladaptive behavior and how she began to use SMART Recovery several years ago to overcome it. She also became a SMART Recovery facilitator and hosts a weekly meeting on the issue for others in recovery, especially vulnerable teens and young adults..
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Aaron's Lived Experience
By SMART Recovery USA on
Aaron Adkins loves everything about being in recovery. He lists the support he gets from his SMART Recovery peers, the practical tools he uses to address negative thinking, the understanding and insight he gains from being a meeting facilitator, and, perhaps most especially, being able to give back as a mentor to other facilitators. “It’s been a wonderful way for me to understand how I do what I do…being able to teach something just kind of takes me to the next level.”
Certainly, the level Aaron exists on today is much higher than when he was struggling with his addictions. There were two arrests for driving under the influence, job losses, financial ruin, visits to the emergency room and multiple mental health crises. It didn’t matter...
Markita's Lived Experience
By SMART Recovery USA on
Markita Renee is thriving. Now four-plus years in recovery, she runs OOAK Services LLC where she is a recovery coach, motivational speaker, and facilitator. In addition to that, Markita works part-time as an employment specialist for the state of Connecticut’s Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, facilitates two SMART Recovery meetings, and loves being a great mom to her daughter Si’miaya. And how all of this came together still amazes her.
It was just a few years ago that Markita’s life was a swirl of chaos and longing. In 2014 she lost all contact with her son after he was taken by his father, in 2015 she and her daughter became homeless, and during this time she was under court supervision for a felony charge. All these...
Kristal's Lived Experience
By SMART Recovery USA on
The drunk driver crossed the line and changed Kristal Field’s life forever. She was seriously injured and her best friend was killed. She required opiates for pain relief and struggled for the next ten years, crossing her own line at some point from taking opiates for pain management into full-blown abuse. Kristal lost herself in a cycle of misusing opiates and her life became focused on feeding the addiction. It all came to an end with her 2013 arrest for possession of narcotics. That’s when the rebuild started.
Because it was her first arrest, Kristal was put through a diversionary program that included being sent to Narcotics Anonymous (NA) meetings. Nobody mentioned other options like SMART. Kristal says she had trouble with the idea...