“I speak a little bit of English, but not enough to meaningfully participate in peer support groups. My keyworker at Boston Recovery Pathways suggested that we set up a group for other language speakers where we could read the literature and participate in discussions. I liked this idea!”
I was referred to BRP by my social worker during the lockdown in 2021. I was drinking almost on a daily basis, I worked on and off through an employment agency at various factories. My life was chaotic, and I did not admit or even realise that alcohol was the problem. I thought that drinking was helping me to cope with life. At first, I was engaging with BRP team remotely, on telephone, or via internet using Zoom. My keyworker posted to me a book about alcohol addiction recovery – the book was in Lithuanian language. I was pleased to be able to have some literature in my own language. However, I found it hard to dedicate time to reading at home. At a 1 to 1 meeting with my keyworker we looked at the barriers that were stopping me from using the resources that I had. I said to her that I would like to meet other people who had similar struggles with addiction, and talk to them about their experience with recovery. To me, it is very important to connect and talk to people – I like meeting others. We figured out that attending a peer support group once per week would make this possible. However, I was very worried about my English – I speak a little bit of English, but not enough to meaningfully participate in peer support groups. My keyworker suggested that we set up a group for other language speakers where we could read the literature and participate in discussions. I liked this idea!
Since then, we meet once peer week on Zoom and talk about living sober.
In the past 4 months a lot has changed in my life. Unfortunately, I had to face some consequences of my past behaviours – I was diagnosed with advanced Tuberculosis and was hospitalised for a long term treatment. This was the final thing that made me stop alcohol completely. It was not easy to stop, however due to having an established remote support system, I was able to access peer support groups on Zoom every week, as well as attend remote 1 to 1 appointments. During my time at the hospital, my goal is to dedicate my time to recovery by attending per support groups on Zoom with BRP, as well as engage with mutual aid fellowships on Zoom. In order to avoid relapse, I want to establish a support network and a set of recovery tools that I can use when I’m discharged from the hospital and back to my normal life.
It is important to me to find constructive ways to spend my free time; I have discovered a new hobby – knitting!
Mentally, I feel much calmer and more relaxed now that I am sober, I feel I am more resilient and more able to deal with everyday life. My whole outlook on life has changed.