Dee

I spent ages thinking about a photo that represented my recovery and there were so many I could have chosen it was really hard to choose but in the end kept coming back to this image from 10 years ago.

I found recovery hard in the beginning and I ended up getting in to a relationship before I was emotionally ready, I was lonely and I needed someone to fill the void left from alcohol.

It wasn’t a heathy one for either of us and when it finally ended a few years later I was lost. I wanted something to fix me. I was convinced that if I went somewhere beautiful alone, I would find myself.

The new single sober Dee would emerge because of the solitude and beauty. I flew to the Alps and got a ski lift up to the top then walked up to the top of the mountain expecting to finally find complete isolation.

When I get there I was very annoyed to find a German man with a selfie stick and I grumpily waited for him to leave! He was very polite and said hi and offered to take my photo so I handed over my camera and smiled (still quite annoyed) he suggested I do something funny and I started messing around jumping about and I ended up falling flat on my face, It was hilarious! He laughed and In that moment I found my laughter again I laughed so much I cried, I realized I had been spending so much time looking for a place to hide away from the world that I had shut everyone out and I suddenly realized that I didn’t need isolation, I needed to connect and have fun. We chatted for a bit and said goodbye and I set off down the mountain with a lighter heart and the desire to make connections again and a true understanding of the power of connections.

Connection is the opposite of additions and I try to live that every day.