Table 3.

Qualitative Findings

Recovery date is sobriety date (12-step commonly mentioned)

“My recovery date today is April 15 2005 and I’ve had numerous dates before then because no this was something that definitely wasn’t easy.”—Rachel, Age 53 “I think you start a recovery as soon as you stop using drugs regardless of how hard you’re working at it or what have you.”—Bennett “As far as recovery is concerned if I relapse, yea, I’d be starting over but I already have all the tools and all the knowledge and everything I’ve learned you know. Like Matthew I’ve done the steps and eight and nine was the bitch for me. You know made a list of all the persons I had hurt you know. And then I had to go and make direct amends. A lot of them had passed away and write a letter to them and then just tear it up you know. Some people go to the cemetery and talk to them you know which I didn’t. But if I relapse it’s starting over.”—Paul, Age 63 “I walked into Fairbanks seven years ago and haven’t used since. . ..I tried everything. And I’ve been court ordered my first court ordered recovery was at Central State Mental Hospital back in ‘98. And yeah, so I tried several different ways to stop. But yeah, I didn’t even know. I did everything to try to prove I wasn’t a drug addict. And the whole time I was so yeah, I tried to stop multiple times. . .that wasn’t recovery.”—Austin, Age 63 “That was the last time I used. That’s when I came into the rooms April 15th 2009.”—Matthew, Age 54 “My sobriety date is October 20th of 2018. I got arrested on the 17th of October and even though I got out the same day, or the next day, I drank one more day. And then I was completely sober on the 20th. That’s why I use that as my date.”—Catherine, Age 30 “October 5th. And the reason why I use that date is because that was the date that I turn myself in and that was the date I started my recovery when I was incarcerated for nine months and then it’s just been. You know. Ever since I haven’t gone back to using anything like that.”—Audrey, Age 61 “Mine’s June 6, 2019. It’s the day I went to treatment. I went to treatment on the fifth, but I was high, so I just counted that day out. —Trevor, no age provided “[B]ut the 12-step program which is the only thing that I know that works for people to recover, they all include only the first step mentions the drug. The other eleven steps have nothing to do with the drug. It’s about the person, about living. So for a personal recovery, I don’t care what it’s from, they do the same deal. It helps– you got to quit using first. . . The recovery though, recovery is recovery. And that’s the other 11 steps of whatever 12 step program that you’re working once you stop using in the first thing. . .. My recovery coach training differs from what I believe. Recovery coach training says that a person’s in recovery when they say they are. They say I’ve only smoked five joints a week instead of 20. But my sponsorship family and the way I live my program says I don’t do any of that stuff. There’s no, that question I don’t know that you’re ever going to get an answer because you know I mean if I’m working as a Recovery Coach I can’t apply what I believe in that job – it’s not the same." —Russell, Age 69 “Relapse is absence of recovery as far as the way I look at it. I mean you hear from day one that relapse is part of recovery. But I fully believe that the reason that people relapse is either they forgot the pain or they’re not working their program, which means they’re not actually acting in working.”—Austin, Age 61 “Being in recovery was facing responsibility. . .because I did not want to stop getting high. . ..February 3, 2015. . .I overdosed and, in the ambulance, they used Naloxone, I sat straight up and said, ‘I need help.’ I knew I couldn’t do it alone.”—Travis, Age 46 Uses sobriety date, but recognizes that relapses may be part of recovery: “June 24th. But I went to detox June 10. And I smoked pot after I got out detox and I was going to claim that date because I didn’t think pot was a big deal. But now I do. So it’s June 24th. . .. Each time I feel like I relapse I learn from it. And even though I regressed I still learned something like if I learn something from it then I think it could be considered recovery.” —Cody, Age 40

Recovery date precedes most recent sobriety date; recovery has included (or may include) episodes of use

“My clean date is March the 16th 2018 and that’s the last date that I used any mind-altering substance, but I’ve been at this for many, many, many years so like December 3rd of 1994. But I have a clean date, but I’ve been around the recovery world for a long time.” –Russell, Age 69 “So the day that I started in recovery was the day I was arrested April 20th 2002. So that was the first thing that ever broke the chain of opiate addiction for me but my sobriety date or clean date whichever program you’re in is February 18th 2018 because that’s the day after, the last day that I drank alcohol.”– George, Age 50 “Yeah, I had setbacks. It was just part of it. I mean I look at it like I was losing before and then I go into recovery, and you relapse. Look at what you’re losing all over again. I just think it’s part of it.” –Kurtis, Age 46 “OK, well then, when I first started recovery was 10/15/15. Had a lot of relapses since then clearly because my last sobriety date is 03/22/19. I did a therapeutic program that was like 10 months long very intense and that started in 11/2015. So yeah.” –Heather, Age 31 “[W]e use a workbook and it’s WRAP stands for wellness recovery action plan where we do talk about trauma and we do we dig a little deeper because our philosophy is that most of us are trauma kids. You know what I mean. And so with the 12 step programs you deal with sobriety and how to stop using it and learning how to live your life and serve others which is what I think everybody should live that way. When we come full circle. But it doesn’t deal with anything deeper than that. And to me for me my drug addiction isn’t just about this obsession that uncontrollable obsession to use. No, it has everything to do with “I suffered through some shit”. You know what I mean. So. And that until I was able to kind of deal with some of that stuff, and then learn how to cope in other ways, was I able to be more successful.” –Audrey, Age 61 “It depends on how you define your recovery. If I stay sober until the day, I die from the point of my current recovery which is May 21st then without a doubt my past relapses were part of getting me to this. So, do you measure it as the last time I used? I don’t know how you actually measure or define recovery, ya know what I mean?”—Abel, no age provided