We have a vision, it is to see this CRC program we offer on campus grow into a strong, structured safe haven for the recovering population. Since we have started this blog a couple months ago I am the only one who has written entries. The student participation is low right now, but it is our hope to have other students come forward and share through this blog. In the mean time we have decided to go a different route.
The only practical solution was to reach out to the community! As a person living in this society I knew it was possible because we like doing things together (Maslow's Hierarchy of needs). In reaching out to other bloggers in the community for different perspectives we have come across a new benchmark. Everything I have read so far has been inspiring, there is a lot of great information out there and I think making those connections is paramount. The idea of guest writers is another avenue we want to explore. I am not a boring person and this is a really great cause, the people that are helping behind the scenes are courageous and amazing people. So it is only appropriate the blog mirrors the people supporting it.
We are looking to find innovative and creative ways to help people going through tough times. Imposing views on people is not the answer, saying it is easy is not the answer but letting people know it is not the end of the world if they need to stop is instrumental.
We have a vision deep in our hearts,
The days light up and we give it all of our smarts.
We work to bring people together,
closing gaps and starting the next endeavor.
It takes time and ambition to stick it out,
But everyone I work with has no doubt.
The things we do come naturally,
Making it easy to give advocacy.
We have decided to continue the AA meeting starting July 10th, this will be the following Monday after second session begins. The meeting will be the same 6:00pm-7:00pm in Student Health Center, Rm. 293.
Thank you for following, or please join us if you are in recovery, know someone in recovery or just would like to follow us!
Hillary Belk
Undergraduate Assistant
Wellness Promotion, UNC-Charlotte
Check out this helpful link. Great insight and a fresh perspective to the same old situations-:-D!
http://www.esoberbuddy.com/home
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
An Ah-ha moment
If you would have told me six months before I got sober, "six months from now you will be sober", I would have argued no way and it is against all odds I would even try. Six months before I would have given you some arrogant smart ass comment due to delusions of grandeur. There was no way that could be the case, my whole life revolved around
alcohol. The plans always included it, no matter where I was headed. I would even go as far as to say I would have found a way to "glorify alcoholism" (I was the worst active alcoholic), even though it was ruining my life. Before I was in recovery, I remember running into someone who was a couple years sober. I was drinking a Bloody Mary on Sunday (hung over), and I remember just feeling so sorry for him. Thinking he was the "quitter" unbeknownst to me the joke was definitely on me.
So in that very short window of time a switch turned on that I did not think I had. Logical thinking in a drunken stupor helped me to understand something was terribly wrong. Why could I not get my life and health insurance license? Why am I constantly calling people to see what I did last night? Why am I double checking that I did not do anything wrong and if I did call whoever I offended? Why do I have a routine to look out the window to make sure my car is outside the house/my check card and id are in my purse? Why did I lose many jobs? why were people telling me I wreak of alcohol? Why did the people I love constantly address my "problem"? Why am I depressed? why don't I have any ambition? Why was my car totaled? why am I getting cuffed? (I will never forget this internal monologue). Doing an inventory in this moment of truth, it became clear drinking was causing my demise. The time for change became that moment. My whole entire world lit up like the most beautiful blossoming flower. I was forever changed when I quit drinking alcohol.
I walked into it willingly as my present turned into my future. I learned how to deal with it, accept it and embrace the world around me without a drink in my hand.
Anyone can have an "Ah-ha" moment, students around campus may be opposed to the idea of coming to a meeting or hanging out in our designated Collegiate Recovery room. Six months from now the ones who knock it might just need it. Done with substances holding them back. Tired, want change. Ready to see the full potentials that are obtainable.
AA meetings will stop during summer, but we plan on having two in the Fall. Middle of the week Niner Noon Meeting and the usual Campus AA meeting.
Thank you for following, please join us if you are in recovery, know someone in recovery or just would like to follow us!
Hillary Belk
Undergraduate Assistant
Wellness Promotion-UNCC
So in that very short window of time a switch turned on that I did not think I had. Logical thinking in a drunken stupor helped me to understand something was terribly wrong. Why could I not get my life and health insurance license? Why am I constantly calling people to see what I did last night? Why am I double checking that I did not do anything wrong and if I did call whoever I offended? Why do I have a routine to look out the window to make sure my car is outside the house/my check card and id are in my purse? Why did I lose many jobs? why were people telling me I wreak of alcohol? Why did the people I love constantly address my "problem"? Why am I depressed? why don't I have any ambition? Why was my car totaled? why am I getting cuffed? (I will never forget this internal monologue). Doing an inventory in this moment of truth, it became clear drinking was causing my demise. The time for change became that moment. My whole entire world lit up like the most beautiful blossoming flower. I was forever changed when I quit drinking alcohol.
I walked into it willingly as my present turned into my future. I learned how to deal with it, accept it and embrace the world around me without a drink in my hand.
Anyone can have an "Ah-ha" moment, students around campus may be opposed to the idea of coming to a meeting or hanging out in our designated Collegiate Recovery room. Six months from now the ones who knock it might just need it. Done with substances holding them back. Tired, want change. Ready to see the full potentials that are obtainable.
AA meetings will stop during summer, but we plan on having two in the Fall. Middle of the week Niner Noon Meeting and the usual Campus AA meeting.
Thank you for following, please join us if you are in recovery, know someone in recovery or just would like to follow us!
Hillary Belk
Undergraduate Assistant
Wellness Promotion-UNCC
Monday, April 23, 2012
Support
Someone recently told me "if I am constantly looking in the rearview mirrior it is hard to move forward." When I got sober, I knew I had to remember all the negative things, therefore fear became my motivation. Fear was how I got through the days without a drink for a long time. I than put my interest into helping other people and it was the SUPPORT I could offer the community that fueled my sobriety. Once I went through the 12 steps I started living by them everyday as if it were just programmed into my routine as a part of my life. My friends gave me praise and the people around me gave me SUPPORT for what I was accomplishing. I was actually finishing things I started and doing well at my job, school and was able to move out on my own.
Last summer, it came to my attention I had lost my way. This is what we call in recovery a bottom in sobriety. I wanted to blame it on my ADD medication and other things but it really came down to me wanting something unrealistic. I tried to be self righteous and exert control, which I have said I lack control. Since last summer, I have been reminded again that it is in my higher power's hands. For me that is God, others it may be different. The SUPPORT from my family and the drive I had to help people suffering from problems facing addiction redirected me into Debbie's office. I wanted people to have a place to come and talk about these issues because at that point I needed to talk to someone that understood. I realized that it is not about my personal gain but about the people I can help!!!
The SUPPORT is what drives my sobriety today, along with the joy in my heart to be open to the idea of infinite possibilities.
Now we are waiting for our furniture from IKEA for our Collegiate Recovery Center! They have approved our grant!!! We are so excited and are grateful there is somewhere for us to go and spend time together.
The campus AA meeting is going to be on campus for a couple more weeks, than we will be resuming in the Fall. That is at the Student Health Center Rm. 293 on Mondays from 6-7 pm.
If you are in recovery, know someone in recovery or just want to follow our efforts please join us!!!
Hillary Belk
Wellness Promotion-UNC Charlotte
Last summer, it came to my attention I had lost my way. This is what we call in recovery a bottom in sobriety. I wanted to blame it on my ADD medication and other things but it really came down to me wanting something unrealistic. I tried to be self righteous and exert control, which I have said I lack control. Since last summer, I have been reminded again that it is in my higher power's hands. For me that is God, others it may be different. The SUPPORT from my family and the drive I had to help people suffering from problems facing addiction redirected me into Debbie's office. I wanted people to have a place to come and talk about these issues because at that point I needed to talk to someone that understood. I realized that it is not about my personal gain but about the people I can help!!!
The SUPPORT is what drives my sobriety today, along with the joy in my heart to be open to the idea of infinite possibilities.
Now we are waiting for our furniture from IKEA for our Collegiate Recovery Center! They have approved our grant!!! We are so excited and are grateful there is somewhere for us to go and spend time together.
The campus AA meeting is going to be on campus for a couple more weeks, than we will be resuming in the Fall. That is at the Student Health Center Rm. 293 on Mondays from 6-7 pm.
If you are in recovery, know someone in recovery or just want to follow our efforts please join us!!!
Hillary Belk
Wellness Promotion-UNC Charlotte
Monday, April 2, 2012
The Stigma
We are a free country! This is indeed true, we have a right to do as we wish, no matter what that may be. Whether we grow up in families that drink and party, or not; all of us will face the decision to try alcohol and drugs at some point. For most people, it is a socially acceptable rite of passage.
When does it move from the socially acceptable to a problem? That depends on each person. It is a self diagnosis and is not for anyone else to decide. For me, although I often felt I was down for the count, I figured things would just work out. My cycle of denial, illusions and justification became commonplace; it was a never-ending cycle of insanity. It was when things kept falling short of my expectations that change started to happen for me.
Talking about alcoholism is difficult. It is a sensitive issue that many people want to avoid. However, ignoring the issue isn’t helping anyone. I understand that drinking is popular and accepted, especially among college students. But what if the popular, accepted thing is making life harder and causing unnecessary problems for many students? Is ignoring the issue the right thing to do when it is hurting people?
The Wellness Promotion Department at UNC Charlotte offers a program for students who are in recovery from substance abuse of all kinds. Since I have been working there, I have gotten to see firsthand how being a part of such a cool program can change lives. The weekly AA meetings have been great support for my own recovery but the really important thing has been the changes I have seen in others. One student walked away with higher hopes of seeing that the obsession/craving can go away. Some, who may have otherwise failed, now have a chance to make it through their college career.
This program pushes against the grain because talking about our addictions in public is difficult. However, it is worth sharing our stories over and over again if it can help someone else not have to go through what we’ve been through. The cycle of addiction is full of pain, sadness, false pride, lack of emotional growth, and the feeling of being alone.
You are not ALONE, nor will you ever be! There are people pulling for you that have no clue who you are, but they pray for you every single day!!! Support that was not available before is now here on campus to help and benefit our students. The AA meetings are on Monday evenings from 6:00-7:00 pm at the Student Health Center.
The AA meeting went from 3 people two weeks ago to 8 people last week! The next meeting is this evening and I have gotten a bunch of business cards made that have a map to the Student Health Center on the back.
Also, we are excited to have a dedicated room for the Collegiate Recovery Community in the Student Health Center. Right now, it is just an empty room but we have written a grant request for IKEA Charlotte to furnish the room for us. We hope to hear about that soon. Getting this program going has been a slow process but we are making progress. We are also looking into starting a Learning Community which would allow recovering students to go through classes together, study together and support each other in their recovery and in their success at UNC Charlotte.
Whether you are in recovery, know someone in recovery, or just want to be supportive of our recovery efforts, come and join us!
Written by Hillary B and revised by Angela Allen
UNC-Charlotte
Wellness Promotion Department
Thursday, March 22, 2012
It is all relative
The Wellness Promotion Department has been a guiding light for the students on UNC-Charlotte's campus. We hold classes on sex, drugs and other informative information college students should have pertaining to their health. Especially the susceptibility to STD's and STI's. We have also been trying to tie in a program dedicated to helping with addiction. In doing so we had some positive feedback and than after time the numbers decreased. Just like anything else, it will not happen over night, it is not the instant gratification of the process but long term results.
Debbie, Carol and I attended the 3rd annual Collegiate Recovery Conference down at Kennesaw State in Georgia. It was a great opportunity to talk to the people that have helped make this program so successful and learn some of the specific routes they have taken to implement a productive and demanding environment. The stigma is no joke, but breaking those barriers has been possible given the proof in the pudding! More people can't help but notice this is a huge problem.
Doctors and many smart dedicated individuals spend a lot of their precious time with kids, adults and families working through addiction. The alcohol and drugs have profound effects on your life when you enter the later stages of the progressive illnesses facing addiction. It is imperative to help the 18-25 year old crowd to understand the severity it can reach if not addressed. These are some of the things covered during the conference. There was also a lot of hope, experience and happiness shared by other students making it one day at a time. The students who have asked for help with this disease are now able to turn back around "full circle" and share it with other individuals who would like the guidance. This my friends is what makes this advocacy so beautiful!!!
The campus AA meeting is about the same, we have been doing some new things to attract more people. Such as, attending meetings around campus and making business cards with our meeting information on it so it can be easily put in a wallet. I have been told recently to take my time and given the advice that a solid foundation has to be established before something can flourish, but "if we build it they will come" I love that movie!!!
Just for today, no time to stand still or take steps backward...makes it very hard to be moving forward in a positive direction!
Have any questions please contact Debbie at 704-687-7414 or e-mail me at hillbelk@gmail.com
More to come...other recovering students...
Debbie, Carol and I attended the 3rd annual Collegiate Recovery Conference down at Kennesaw State in Georgia. It was a great opportunity to talk to the people that have helped make this program so successful and learn some of the specific routes they have taken to implement a productive and demanding environment. The stigma is no joke, but breaking those barriers has been possible given the proof in the pudding! More people can't help but notice this is a huge problem.
Doctors and many smart dedicated individuals spend a lot of their precious time with kids, adults and families working through addiction. The alcohol and drugs have profound effects on your life when you enter the later stages of the progressive illnesses facing addiction. It is imperative to help the 18-25 year old crowd to understand the severity it can reach if not addressed. These are some of the things covered during the conference. There was also a lot of hope, experience and happiness shared by other students making it one day at a time. The students who have asked for help with this disease are now able to turn back around "full circle" and share it with other individuals who would like the guidance. This my friends is what makes this advocacy so beautiful!!!
The campus AA meeting is about the same, we have been doing some new things to attract more people. Such as, attending meetings around campus and making business cards with our meeting information on it so it can be easily put in a wallet. I have been told recently to take my time and given the advice that a solid foundation has to be established before something can flourish, but "if we build it they will come" I love that movie!!!
Just for today, no time to stand still or take steps backward...makes it very hard to be moving forward in a positive direction!
Have any questions please contact Debbie at 704-687-7414 or e-mail me at hillbelk@gmail.com
More to come...other recovering students...
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Taking it slow and easy...
Game night brought out very few people last week. It felt discouraging given the outcome but also ready to find ways to continue to keep the students engaged. Anything worth a damn is going to take hard work and dedication to see positive results. It is about perseverance and having the passion to help others for the greater good. It is amazing to have all the support and know this cause is being addressed by a whole lot of people. I learned when I got sober it is okay to ask for help, and it is quite a fallacy to think doing so makes you weak. Which I personally felt was the case for a long time. Now that I have asked for help because I can't do it alone, it proves to be best course of action. When I try to do things on my own, my alcoholic thinking gets in the way and everything goes wrong...remembering I lack control...is key to successful recovery.
We were supposed to have a game night tonight but have decided to postpone until after Spring Break. We have to advertise more and find better ways to get people interested...
Some of us will be traveling down to Kennesaw State for a conference next week: 7-9th of March. We will be interacting with students and employees from all over the nation that have successfully implemented CRCs on their college campuses. I personally look forward to networking and speaking to those who have made it possible. Picking up tips, solutions and better ways to bring those students who need this into the program.
Next on the agenda: There is a large group of people out there that really never took interest in drinking! We would like to speak to some of those students and get some perspective from their point of view and see if they want to help. More to come...
Any Questions ???? Call Debbie Insley at 704-687-7414 or e-mail me at hillbelk@gmail.com
Hillary B
UNC-Charlotte
Wellness Promtion Department
Happy Spring Break, be safe!!!
We were supposed to have a game night tonight but have decided to postpone until after Spring Break. We have to advertise more and find better ways to get people interested...
Some of us will be traveling down to Kennesaw State for a conference next week: 7-9th of March. We will be interacting with students and employees from all over the nation that have successfully implemented CRCs on their college campuses. I personally look forward to networking and speaking to those who have made it possible. Picking up tips, solutions and better ways to bring those students who need this into the program.
Next on the agenda: There is a large group of people out there that really never took interest in drinking! We would like to speak to some of those students and get some perspective from their point of view and see if they want to help. More to come...
Any Questions ???? Call Debbie Insley at 704-687-7414 or e-mail me at hillbelk@gmail.com
Hillary B
UNC-Charlotte
Wellness Promtion Department
Happy Spring Break, be safe!!!
Monday, February 20, 2012
Hello!!! Welcome to the first post on the Collegiate Recovery Community (CRC) blog for UNC-Charlotte. My name is Hillary Belk, and I am a senior at UNC-Charlotte. I got sober on July 10, 2008 and I have not looked back.
Last semester I was very fortunate to get a internship working in the Wellness Promotion Department- http://studenthealth.uncc.edu/content/wellness. Debbie Insley has worked in the department for 18 years and is passionate about getting students interested in our community.Together we are making efforts to bring students together to get serious about issues regarding addiction.
This has been one hell of an experience for me and great for my recovery! The twists and turns along this road have helped me to recognize how much helping others means to me. I guess the first thing I would like to do is ask for help. I know that there are students on campus already in recovery and we could really use some experience, strength and hope...not to mention great ideas I know are out there. Also, anyone thinking about recovery or would like to talk to someone, please do not hesitate to get a hold of us via info at end of post.
This is a process, there is not perfection when it comes to this deal. Lets come together to share ways to lesson the burdens and help each other move forward to happier days!
We have to start somewhere, so here we are!!!
As of right now we are offering an AA meeting- 6-7 p.m. on Monday at the student health center, Rm. 293 (Open Discussion, Young Adults) we will be doing some step work out of the big book during the month of March.
"Sober game night" will be in the Student Union at Norms- 6-9 pm on Wednesday the 22nd of Feb. and Wednesday 29th of Feb. Please come out and join us refreshments and snacks provided.
Any ???? Please call Deb Insley, 704-687-7414 or you can e-mail me at hillbelk@gmail.com
Thank you, and we shall keep you posted...more posts from other recovering students to come!!!
Last semester I was very fortunate to get a internship working in the Wellness Promotion Department- http://studenthealth.uncc.edu/content/wellness. Debbie Insley has worked in the department for 18 years and is passionate about getting students interested in our community.Together we are making efforts to bring students together to get serious about issues regarding addiction.
This has been one hell of an experience for me and great for my recovery! The twists and turns along this road have helped me to recognize how much helping others means to me. I guess the first thing I would like to do is ask for help. I know that there are students on campus already in recovery and we could really use some experience, strength and hope...not to mention great ideas I know are out there. Also, anyone thinking about recovery or would like to talk to someone, please do not hesitate to get a hold of us via info at end of post.
This is a process, there is not perfection when it comes to this deal. Lets come together to share ways to lesson the burdens and help each other move forward to happier days!
We have to start somewhere, so here we are!!!
As of right now we are offering an AA meeting- 6-7 p.m. on Monday at the student health center, Rm. 293 (Open Discussion, Young Adults) we will be doing some step work out of the big book during the month of March.
"Sober game night" will be in the Student Union at Norms- 6-9 pm on Wednesday the 22nd of Feb. and Wednesday 29th of Feb. Please come out and join us refreshments and snacks provided.
Any ???? Please call Deb Insley, 704-687-7414 or you can e-mail me at hillbelk@gmail.com
Thank you, and we shall keep you posted...more posts from other recovering students to come!!!
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