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For many, college is a time of independence, self-discovery, and trying not to think about all that student debt piling up! It can also be a time when many experiment with alcohol and drug use, given the newfound freedom and/or stress of academics. In fact, college life itself can promote alcohol and drug use. Drinking, in particular, is often seen as a ritual for college life.

We recently introduced several new videos through our Addiction Doesn’t Define Me campaign, an ongoing effort to reduce the stigma of substance use disorder. The new videos feature testimonials of people in recovery, along with informative discussions by experts in the field of addiction and recovery.

For me, those were days when the telephone was attached to the wall in the kitchen and had a cord—I had a 20-minute time limit to talk so that the phone line wouldn’t be busy in case someone tried to reach my parents. I passed folded notes to my best friends in the halls of my high school in between periods.

When talking about the journey of recovery from substance use disorder, we often use the term “relapse” to describe someone who has returned to using a substance after a period of attempted recovery.

Representatives of the Council on Chemical Abuse (COCA) recently attended a September county commissioners meeting, in recognition of National Recovery Month. They thanked commissioners for funding services that support prevention, treatment and recovery from substance use disorder.