Nobody gets to recovery from a good place, and Mike Hooper was no exception. “I reached out to the VA crisis line because my addiction to alcohol had reached a point of total destruction of my life.” Hooper, a veteran who is now SMART’s Ohio Outreach Director, says he hadn’t connected with any type of recovery program and felt like he was out of options and headed for more trouble. Then he unexpectedly found SMART Recovery.
At first, he was cynical and skeptical about whether it could help, but it turns out his concerns were completely wrong. One big reason it worked for him was that he had never come across a self-empowering pathway like SMART that put the participant in the driver’s seat while providing practical tools and mutual support, “[it] began my road to self-management, acceptance and forgiveness.”
Now he is a SMART employee and spends his days connecting SMART with people and organizations. Mike says his best reward is being able to pay it forward by helping to save lives from addiction and maladaptive behavior. Based on his own success, he has a lot to contribute to the cause.
Here are Mike’s responses to the Take 5 Spotlight questions:
It’s clear that Mike believes that Life Beyond Addiction includes embracing new experiences, enjoying a wide variety of people and activities, and just plain having fun. He knows that he’s not wrong about SMART this time—it’s a pathway to a happy and healthy life.
Learn more about the Take 5 Spotlight series and see others who have been profiled.
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If you are interested in addiction recovery support, we encourage you to visit the SMART Recovery website.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
If you or someone you love is in great distress and considering self-harm, please call 911 for immediate help, or reach out to The National Suicide Prevention Hotline @800-273-8255, https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/
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