Marking Recovery Month 2026

September is Recovery Month, a time to celebrate recovery and the achievements and resilience of so many. The colour purple is the official colour representing strength, bravery and persistence, qualities required to face addiction. It is also a colour associated with wisdom and personal transformation - mirroring the journey of recovery.

So how would I define Recovery? As the CEO of Chrysalis Community Drug
Project, a person-centred harm reduction addiction service, I believe it is up to the individual to define their recovery not up to the professionals. Recovery is a process, a journey to improve your physical, psychological and social well-being. But the process or journey may look very different for many. For some it is about abstinence and for others it is about stability and living a safer life. Whatever the route chosen, as practitioners we need to support the choice and facilitate change.

 

People will have setbacks, will lose motivation, will get angry and frustrated but recovery is messy, it is not linear. Recovery doesn’t happen in a vacuum; relationship struggles, daily stressors, health scares will continue to happen, and old habits will be difficult to break.

Recovery takes time, and maintaining recovery will be a lifelong journey for many. Recovery is difficult however it is achievable with the right support and connections from trusted family and friends, peer support groups, recovery coaches and/or professionals. Recovery begins the moment you step out of isolation and into the community. As Gabor Mate expressed ‘safety is not the absence of threat, it is the presence of connection’. Human connection is the driving force of recovery.

 

So as practitioners, let’s keep focusing on what matters, providing safe spaces and real connections to support long-term recovery.

 

Happy Recovery Month!

Passerose Mantoy