“Recovery happens in a community and everybody is a piece of the community; therefore everybody has the opportunity to participate in this recovery movement.” Those are the words of Smoky Mountain LME/MCO peer trainer Richie Tannerhill, made even more poignant by the fact Tannerhill himself has been in sustained recovery for ten years after 27 years of alcohol and drug abuse.
As someone who is passionate about the nation’s drug problem, Tannerhill does not like to focus on addiction. He’d rather highlight recovery and help others understand the process. “The community doesn’t need more addiction stories,” he reminded. “They’ve heard enough of those.” He believes having more people involved can make a difference for recovery rates.
“Every four minutes, someone in the world dies of an overdose. In North Carolina, four people die every day from prescription drugs,” Tannerhill said. “Imagine four black bears rolling up on downtown main street falling over dead every day. Can you imagine the outrage of our community? People would be demanding an answer. Four people are no less important than four black bears.”
Tannerhill added, “More than 23 million people in the United States are in successful, sustained recovery from alcohol and other drugs. There are many people in sustained recovery. From a mental health standpoint, the numbers double.” He said most people with addiction have a co-occurring disorder like depression or anxiety so they are closely related.
“There are many people in successful recovery from other addictions,” he said. “If we add those addictions in gambling, booze, pornography and whatever else is out there to be addicted to, we have more than 100 million people just in the United States that are in sustained recovery with a lot of the same feelings of what pulled them into this addiction or this mental health challenge.”
Tannerhill said more recovery allies are needed. “That’s why I am excited you are writing this,” he said. “Even if we have all 100 million people speaking out with a unified voice, it’s not enough.