Brian struggled with depression and anxiety for most of his life. He remembers the moment alcohol first gave him a sense of peace. “I was free. Alive. I could be my true self,” he says. “After that, it’s all I wanted to do. It took away all the pain.”
But that fleeting relief quickly turned into dependency, leading to years of chaos in his life. Despite the consequences, he couldn’t stop drinking.
Brian’s journey to recovery started with a call from a concerned friend.
“It was the first time somebody talked to me about my drinking in a very compassionate and respectful way,” Brian says. “He didn’t judge me. He didn’t stop being my friend. He didn’t tell me what to do. He told me, ‘I’m worried about you.’”
It was three more long years after that call until Brian quit for good. “I was sick and tired of being sick and tired,” Brian recalls. Through a combination of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), therapy, psychiatry, exercising and volunteering, Brian worked to find ways to feel good naturally and embraced the life of recovery.
Helping others navigate their recovery journeys
Today, Brian is a manager at HealthPartners Programs for Change (a compassionate, judgement-free outpatient alcohol and substance use recovery program in Western Wisconsin) where he’s been helping others navigate their own recovery journeys since 2015. His lived experience with substance-use and mental health challenges gives him a unique perspective – and a deep well of empathy – for the people he serves.
Treatment may include education, group therapy, lectures, written assignments and more. The bulk of the program involves treating underlying conditions, helping patients manage their emotions and behavior through healthy behaviors, creating new patterns and repeating them until they become automatic. “It’s helping people find a new way of living,” Brian says.
Taking the first step
Substance use and mental health have a strong correlation. Substance use disorders often co-occur with an underlying or previously diagnosed mental health condition.
Primary care clinicians can be a valuable first step in navigating care for mental health and/or substance use disorders. If you have health insurance, calling the phone number on back of your insurance card can often connect you to a care navigator, who can help guide you to mental health resources through your health plan. If you have a workplace that offers an Employee Assistance Program, this can be an important resource for employees and often their families, too. They may offer mental health support options, which are confidential and often at no or low cost.
If you need immediate emotional or mental health support, have alcohol or drug concerns, or are worried about someone else, you can call or text 988 or chat online through the 988 lifeline to connect with a trained counselor. It’s free, confidential and available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Learn more at 988lifeline.org.
Brian is a Make It OK ambassador and invites you to get involved, by becoming an ambassador, taking the pledge to stand up against stigma, or simply to learn more.