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President’s Perspective
by Tom Baier, CAC/CCS
The Question of Visibility
Historically, recovery from the abuse of alcohol and other drugs was guided by the time-honored principle of anonymity. The notoriously restrictive regulations protecting the confidentiality of those seeking our services remains greater than those in mental health or medical records environments. The belief has always been that, in order for those suffering from addiction to voluntarily seek treatment services, we would need to guarantee that their identities would be protected. The stigma associated with the disease has traditionally been seen as so potentially detrimental to those seeking treatment that it necessitated a host of Federal regulations and, in some cases (as here in Pennsylvania) State regulations as well. The requirement on the treatment side was and is that people in recovery become invisible; the secret of the disease and the struggle to remain sober shrouded in our tight-lipped communities. We became the guardians of many secrets.
Fellowship traditions so revere the concept of anonymity that it is usually built into their very names. With the solid reasoning that public anonymity maintains a focus on the message and not the messenger, the Narcotics Anonymous Twelfth Tradition states: “Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.” In many ways, the more recent recovery movement has begun to promote ideas that shun the concept of personal anonymity. The rationale to “out” oneself as a recovering individual is equally compelling as is the tradition of anonymity. While maintaining anonymity might focus more on the message than the messenger, it is less compelling to many potential audiences who want to hear a personal story as a means of connecting with both the message and the messenger.
As a means of reducing the stigma associated with substance abuse, real faces with real stories of recovery may also help in introducing the idea that treatment, in combination with ongoing support, is the foundation for the stories of success that we so desperately need if we’re going to convince the powers-that-be that healthcare dollars are a good investment in offsetting the costs associated with alcohol and drug abuse. As people in recovery continue to step forward into the limelight in discussing their struggles with maintaining sobriety, we’re going to need to find some balance wherein the messenger does not become the message and yet, at the same time, the message is compelling enough for an audience accustomed to reality TV.
Central to the idea of anonymity, in addition to protecting oneself from the stigmatizing influences that are possible, is the idea that humility is a worthwhile virtue to develop in recovery. At the same time, as I watched the faces of those participating in the recent national recovery walks and saw hundreds of key chains denoting various times of sobriety, I couldn’t help but be impressed. Here were many people in recovery putting themselves out there for the world to see and hear. I did see one fellow who, in the spirit of things, wore a tee shirt with “Anonymous” emblazoned on the front. But I also saw a larger group with signs that read, “I’m in recovery and I vote.” There are two very valuable messages here and they are not necessarily disparate. My hope is that someday the stigma associated with the disease of addiction ceases to be and that people suffering from addiction are treated the same as with any other life threatening illness - without shame, without disgrace. In the meantime, we need to provide the loud and visible messages of experience, strength and hope to the world while at the same time safeguarding that the messengers, though ultimately important as a vehicle, are not the message itself.
This is my final message as PCB President after serving in this position for six years. I’ll now step aside while continuing to occupy a seat on the Board of Directors and turn over the helm to my esteemed friend and colleague, Ms. Terry Jackson.