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I don’t know if, at 26, I would still qualify as a “youth in recovery.” But that doesn’t change the fact that, out of everyone I know who’s gone through recovery, I was the youngest when I started.
I noticed that a lot of the conversations around recovery have catered towards the needs of older folks over people like me who are still grappling with the existential crisis from our mid-20s. But I still remember how in my first month of sobriety, my sponsor would tell me that 24 was the perfect age to get sober, as if this was something I would want to go through at any age.
Now, two years later, I’m beginning to see their point.
I was young enough to avoid the worst consequences of my self-medication, start my career with a year of sobriety under my belt while positioning myself to be the voice of the youth when it comes to sobriety in the newsroom.
But being as open about my sobriety as I am at this stage of my life and career has only been possible from the broader push to normalize and accept conversations about mental illness and self-medication. However, being accepted does not always mean being understood.
Back during my early days in recovery, even though I felt accepted by the people in my life, it didn't feel as if they understood what it was like to be young, sober and a journalist.
Some might be able to understand one or two of those things, but never all three.
My fellow early career journalist could understand the challenges of navigating an industry in crisis, but not the challenges posed by its drinking culture.
My sponsors could understand the challenges of meeting new people while sober, but not the challenges posed by growing hostility toward the mainstream media to my mental health.
And even my sober mentors could understand the challenges of journalism’s entrenched drinking culture, but not the challenges posed by the worst youth unemployment rate since 2010.
So yes, the CDC is right: Recovery is possible through real conversations. But those conversations need to happen with people who also get it.
To any young journalist out there who wants to talk with someone who does: You can reach out to the Journalists Recovery Network anytime.
Click here to see additional resources.
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