Practicing Stoicism as a Recovering Addict

Recovery is like the eight arms of an octopus propelling freely across the sea floor while addiction is the prey impaled by the venom from the octopus’ beak. The eight arms of recovery consist of more than just rehabilitation from drugs. It is knowledge of what a good life could look like. Each arm makes up a different aspect of our everyday lives we struggle to understand in our recovery. Love, sex, fear, anger, resentment, acceptance, serenity, and freedom rein havoc on the souls of addicts if left unchecked. In recovery, we find the mobility to move with purpose and that purpose gives us new meaning to freedom. Our previous death from the venom slowly dissipates as we learn how to exist freely without it. That’s only half the battle. The other half is regenerating lost arms. Similar to an octopus, if an arm is severed, it will grow back. Addicts lose their arms intentionally or unintentionally. Whatever the case, it is all the same, we can grow our arms back and propel freely. Unlike an octopus, an addict’s regeneration takes time.