Toward a Healthy Life National Recovery Month Emphasizes That Help Is Available

National Recovery Month is a national observance held every September to educate Americans about the fact that substance-use treatment and mental-health services can enable those with a mental and/or substance-use disorder to live a healthy and rewarding life.

Recovery Month celebrates the gains made by those in recovery, just as we celebrate health improvements made by those who are managing other health conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, asthma, and heart disease. The observance reinforces the positive message that behavioral health is essential to overall health, prevention works, treatment is effective, and people can and do recover.

There are millions of Americans whose lives have been transformed through recovery. Since these successes often go unnoticed by the broader population, Recovery Month provides a vehicle for everyone to celebrate these accomplishments. Each September, tens of thousands of prevention, treatment, and recovery programs and facilities around the country celebrate Recovery Month. They speak about the gains made by those in recovery and share their success stories with their neighbors, friends, and colleagues. In doing so, everyone helps to increase awareness and furthers a greater understanding about the diseases of mental and substance-use disorders.

Now in its 29th year, Recovery Month highlights the achievements of individuals who have reclaimed their lives in long-term recovery and honors the treatment and recovery service providers who make recovery possible. Recovery Month also promotes the message that recovery in all of its forms is possible and encourages citizens to take action to help expand and improve the availability of effective prevention, treatment, and recovery services for those in need.

Each year, Recovery Month selects a new focus and theme to spread the message and share the successes of treatment and recovery. The 2018 Recovery Month observance will focus on urban communities, healthcare providers, members of the media, and policymakers, highlighting the various entities that support recovery within our society.

The 2018 Recovery Month theme, “Join the Voices for Recovery: Invest in Health, Home, Purpose, and Community,” explores how integrated care, a strong community, a sense of purpose, and leadership contribute to effective treatments that sustain the recovery of people with mental and substance-use disorders. The observance will work to highlight inspiring stories to help people from all walks of life find the path to hope, health, and wellness.

Recovery Month began in 1989 as Treatment Works! Month, which honored the work of substance-use treatment professionals in the field. The observance evolved into National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month in 1998, when it expanded to include celebrating the accomplishment of individuals in recovery from substance-use disorders. The observance evolved once again in 2011 to National Recovery Month to include all aspects of behavioral health.

Currently, more than 200 federal, state, and local government entities, as well as nonprofit organizations and associations affiliated with prevention, treatment, and recovery of mental and/or substance-use disorders, comprise the Recovery Month Planning Partners’ group.