I give SMART Recovery a lot of credit for helping me save my life. When I first admitted that I had a substance use problem and needed help, the meetings I was directed to were not helpful. Furthermore, since they were being held up as the “gold standard” of recovery, I felt like there must be something wrong with me because I was continuing to struggle. My background is in engineering and math, so I like to understand how things work and why things happen. However, I was being told to “shut up and do what I’m told,” and when I would ask questions, I was told I was being difficult. It led me to feel like I didn’t belong unless I changed a core part of who I was, which caused me to remain in active addiction for multiple years after I first reached out for help.

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That all changed when I found SMART Recovery. It didn’t happen immediately, and the growth and change weren’t easy—it took a lot of work. However, I felt more supported through the process. SMART understands that there is no “one size fits all” approach to recovery. What works for one person may not work for another. Instead, SMART takes a more scientific approach. It doesn’t just tell you what you should do, but it also explains why you should do it, backing its claims with data. Asking questions and trying to understand are encouraged, not discouraged. SMART is a behavioral therapy, tools-based program, so it felt well-organized and built with intention. It also aligned with a lot of what my therapist was already teaching me, so it felt familiar. Unlike 12-Step groups, in which participants work through the 12 Steps with a sponsor and are encouraged to attend meetings for life, SMART Recovery is organized around 4 Points. However, those points are general areas of life that SMART has identified as areas where people with addictions may need assistance.

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The 4 Points are: (1) Building and maintaining motivation, (2) Coping with urges, (3) Managing thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, and (4) Living a balanced life. They are the framework SMART uses to organize its tools, and each point has a variety of tools participants can use to fit their specific needs.

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I also believe that we are not recovering from addiction, but rather working to recover our lives from addiction. Because of this, SMART does not believe it is healthy for people to commit to attending meetings for life. SMART believes that addictive behaviors are not the primary problem. Instead, addictive behaviors are symptoms of other problems in our lives that we don’t know how to solve or manage. As a result, we turn to addictive behaviors as coping mechanisms to help us live with unaddressed problems that we do not yet know how to handle in healthier, more helpful ways. Therefore, while other programs spend much of their meetings discussing not using, SMART spends most of its time trying to uncover the true problems behind addictive behaviors and helping people figure out how to process and work through those problems. When you are able to address the underlying issues, the symptoms—the desire to use or numb out—begin to fade.

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I always say there is a big difference between sobriety or abstinence and recovery. Sobriety or abstinence is simply not engaging in addictive behaviors. It is an important first step in turning one’s life around, but it is not the end goal. Recovery is building a life that one is happy living sober. That is the goal of SMART. We expect that people will develop more fulfilling relationships and find hobbies and passion projects they want to pursue in recovery. That is what they should be doing, rather than spending the rest of their lives in meetings that are no longer helping them grow.

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SMART also encourages cross-talk in meetings. I remember feeling very isolated and detached in other meetings when I would bare my soul during my check-in only to be met with, “Thank you, next...” We learn best when we can learn from each other, rather than each of us having to make the same mistakes. So, when a person hears someone else struggling through something they have experienced themselves, they are not only allowed but encouraged to share what they did in that situation and how their actions turned out. We can learn from choices that turned out well, as well as choices that turned out poorly. Getting that input from others made me feel more connected and supported. It helped me see that I wasn’t alone in dealing with my problems.

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The growth and positive changes I have made in my life through the tools of SMART and the support of my fellow SMART participants have been immense. I am so grateful for this program and all of the people who have supported me on my journey of recovering my life from the depths of addiction.