Addiction Recovery Quotes
A few words can steady a hard day. These are ones people in recovery come back to — chosen for what they say, and attributed to where they actually come from.
A quote is not a treatment plan, and no line on a page does the work of recovery. But the right words, at the right moment, can name something you could not, or remind you that other people have stood where you are and kept going. Here are a handful worth keeping — grouped by what they speak to, and honest about who said them. Many of the most-repeated recovery sayings come from the 12-step fellowships and are anonymous by tradition; we've marked those as the fellowship sayings they are rather than pinning them to a name.
On connection
“The opposite of addiction is not sobriety. The opposite of addiction is connection.”
— Johann Hari, 2015 TED talk
“We are only as sick as our secrets.”
— a saying of the 12-step fellowships
One day at a time
“One day at a time.”
— Alcoholics Anonymous
“Progress, not perfection.”
— Alcoholics Anonymous
On resilience
“Rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.”
— J.K. Rowling, 2008 Harvard commencement address
“Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.”
— Helen Keller, Optimism (1903)
“It always seems impossible until it's done.”
— widely attributed to Nelson Mandela
On self-compassion
“You are not required to set yourself on fire to keep other people warm.”
— a recovery-community saying
“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.”
— Anne Lamott
When you're ready for more than a quote
If you or someone you love is living with substance use, the Grove Recovery centers can talk it through — admissions are answered 24/7.