Oklahoma City VA Medical Center

By, Jennifer Halter, LCSW, Recovery Coordinator

Mitchell was in recovery for a while when he became angry.  "I thought I wasn't getting the help others were getting."  He continues, "I was going to give up when I thought, 'Maybe you're supposed to put something into [recovery]'".  He mentioned this to his Peer Recovery Support Specialist (PRSS) who referred him to become a PRSS himself.  PRSSs are people recovering from substance and/or mental health diagnoses who help others in their own recovery.  Mitchell was firm in his recovery when he learned he has Bipolar Disorder.
James' path to recovery shows that recovery is non-linear.  It's not a straight line from A to B.  Many people who have mental health problems have times when they manage symptoms well.  Then have times when symptoms get out of control.  "I recovered in the 1990s.  I was sleeping better and I was going to school.  I got a degree in Business Management and started working."  James found the work world in which he was engaged was very stressful, however.  "I allowed myself to relapse.  I stopped managing my symptoms and I started using cocaine.  I was self-medicating."  He entered substance treatment where he relearned wellness skills.  He also got his medication for Bipolar Disorder re-evaluated.  "I wasn't able to move past the failure of not being able to hold down a job."  He started this recovery at the VA Veteran Recovery Center.  Here, he got into a regular routine of daily activity.  "That really helped me."

Mitchell and James are two of four volunteer Peer Support Technicians (PSTs) at the Oklahoma City VA Medical Center.  The state of Oklahoma uses the term PRSS.  The VA uses the term PST nation-wide.  These terms mean the same thing.  These are Veterans who re-learned how to live life substance-free.  They also learned to manage the underlying mental health symptoms well that were causing them problems.  "I didn't know about my mental health symptoms until after I was sober," reflects Mitchell.  "Before I became a [PRSS], there was no fear.  If I drank and did drugs, the worst that would happen is that I'd get arrested.  Now, there's a reason to live life."  For Mitchell, helping others was the life purpose he needed.  It creates motivation to continue recovery of his mental health and substance problems.

James explains, "Being [PRSS] is the next step [in my recovery].  I plan to volunteer for 6 months, then move into a paid RSS position."  James likes recovery because it focuses on what a person can do.  Too often, helpers focus on the problems.  Indeed, recovery is about finding and keeping what's working well in a person's life.  Then they can learn the skills and find the resources to overcome life's challenges.  "Being a PST is being a surrogate friend or family until [the person in recovery] builds a support system of their own."  Everyone needs support in life.  Veteran peers can be that support for other Veterans in early recovery.