INTERVIEW WITH A PERSON IN RECOVERY-MICHELLE 1
Interview with a Person in Recovery-Michelle
Laura A. Bigley
Liberty University
ADCN 605 - Client, Family, and Community Education in Addiction Counseling
Dr. Angel Golson
September 12, 2021
Author Note
Laura A. Bigley
I have no known conflict of interest to disclose.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Laura A. Bigley
Email: lbigley@liberty.edu
INTERVIEW WITH A PERSON IN RECOVERY-MICHELLE 2
Interview with a Person in Recovery-Michelle
The setting during this interview is in the living room of my friend Michelle. Michelle
and I have been friends since middle school, so that is over thirty years ago. Michelle is the
friend that taught me how to play the clarinet and bass clarinet in band. I had no idea how to
read music. I watched her and heard her play and that is how I learned. I got by from reading
music in band until we graduated. The reason why I chose Michelle to interview is because it
has recently come to knowledge that she is a recovering alcohol addict. This was a huge surprise
to me when she told me, however, I was honored. I am honored for the fact that I am her only
childhood friend that knows what exactly happened, why, and what’s she is going through during
her recover.
Observations and Inquiries
The first time that Michelle experienced alcohol was on her twenty-first birthday. Her
mom and Godfather took her to a restaurant called, Bennigans. She ordered a glass of wine and
a margarita. She enjoyed her meal and drinks and that was then end of the evening. Michelle
was never a big social gathering person. When we did gather in our group, we all knew each
other and didn’t really have any pressures back then. Once she went off to college, Michelle was
invited to some parties with her now husband. Again, she recalls that she might have really
drunk at a couple of parties during her college years, but not many at all. Although the use of
alcohol is more prevalent in student who attend college rather than the one that do not due to
peer pressure, social acceptance, and social status (Quinn & Fromme, 2011). Michelle wanted to
be above the “norm” and the statistical number at college.
In May 2012, Michelle fell and hurt her back. She had back-to-back surgeries and her
doctors decided to prescribe her 180 Oxycodones-80, which is one of the highest dosages of oxy
INTERVIEW WITH A PERSON IN RECOVERY-MICHELLE 3
there is. This dosage went on for about 4 months. Once Michelle went in for her follow-up, her
doctors shoved her off and told her she was “healed”. Mind you, they did not lower the dosage
and did not refill her prescription. Michelle was left by her doctors, he moved to another state,
no medications, no other way to heal-she turned to alcohol. She started to self-medicate with
alcohol to help with the pain. The concept of self-medicating is defined as the use of different
substances to help cope and deal with period of emotional and psychological distress (McHugh
& McBride, 2020).
It was February 17, 2021, Michelle and her daughter got into a huge argument and
Michelle had pushed her. Michelle was drinking before this argument. When she realized what
just happened, Michelle called her husband and told him what just occurred. This family
situation prompted Michelle to seek treatment for her drinking problem. Michelle called a local
treatment recovery center, and they admitted her one week later. All this time, I personally did
not know how severe this was and I had no clue that she had went to treatment. I was on
Facebook and had seen a post from Michelle stating, “This is the first day of the rest of my life.”
That prompted me to call Michelle to ensure all was okay. This is when Michelle proceeded to
tell me that she was gone for the past 90 days to treatment for her alcohol addiction. This blew
my mind. It made me feel that I was not a good friend because I had not notice that she had been
silent on social media and that we didn’t have our weekly talks. I thought maybe she just needed
some time to herself, and I left her to tend to her own things. I personally felt like I failed my
friend, she ensured me many times that I did not fail her, she just did not want anyone to know
out of embarrassment. I told her that I was proud of her and thanked her for sharing with me and
having faith in me and our friendship that she would always have a lifeline to reach out to. After
our talk, I prayed to God to be a better person and to check on my silent friends.
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Like I stated before, I am the only childhood friend to know about her addiction and
recovery. My reaction was shocked but so proud of her. Since that phone call, I have been
checking in on her weekly but not in a suffocating way. I am allowing her to heal but she knows
that she can call me anytime of the day or night if she needs to talk. Her husband and child have
been great supporters of her treatment and recovery process. Her grandmother (mom) was her
biggest cheerleader and super supportive. Her mother is skeptical and doesn’t believe that her
daughter has a problem, needs help, and never trusts her when she says she is not drinking. Her
mother is a drug addict and doesn’t believe in counseling or treatment.
When talking about roadblock, Michelle started to get fidgety, upset, and crying. One of
the biggest roadblocks to her recovery has been the passing of her grandmother (mom). She was
everything to Michelle. I remember growing up and “mom” would be at every football game for
our halftime show. She was always so proud of Michelle, no mater what she did in life. Life
started getting rough after her grandmother had fallen, gotten ill (mentally and physical) and then
two weeks after the fall, she had passed away. Michelle was the only person to help take care of
her grandmother during this time because her mother checked out of life and just threw up her
arms and gave up. Michelle would go to the hospital to visit, took care of her grandmother,
watched her grandmother go downhill. This is where Michelle relapsed. Michelle broke down
and drank because she needed to feel numb. Michelle has not grieved fully for the loss of her
grandmother to this day.
Some of the darkest moments that Michelle went through during her recovery were when
her dog-Peached passed away. She had Peaches as a puppy, and it got sick and died in May.
Then her grandmother fell, broke her hip, and then passed away in May. Her husband had a
couple of necessary surgeries, she lost her job, and her mother being so passive aggressive and
INTERVIEW WITH A PERSON IN RECOVERY-MICHELLE 5
rude to Michelle daily. Getting accused constantly of drinking when nothing is evident is not
helping Michelle recovery and sometimes pushes her to want to drink. One of the greatest
moments and joy of her sobriety was being able to be focused and clear and not wasted when her
grandmother needed her the most and at her funeral.
I asked Michelle what are the main situations that would cause her to think to relapse and
she said, anxiety, stressful situations, depending on the moment, who she is dealing with, and
work stress. I asked Michelle when she is feeling this way what does she do? Michelle calls her
sponsor or me. She doesn’t call her husband because she feels as if she is already a burden on
the family. Her husband was in the room during this interview and he abruptly interjected,
“Michelle-I want you to call me, I need you to call me, I would be so proud that you would call
me to help talk to you in the way home without stopping at a store”. Michelle started to cry and
gave him a hug and thanked him. I personally think she was needing to hear this. I saw a sense
of relief after he said that to her.
Michelle and her husband are in the middle of discussing an action plan while he is
recovering from a recent ankle surgery that has him out of work at this present time. She does
feel that she needs to go back to treatment, she needs to be 30 days free of any relapse first. She
is working hard on accomplishing this. In the meantime, she is working on being more vigilant
in her recovery by attending online meetings, having lunchtime phone calls, and just learning to
reach out and not take on so many things. Michelle is learning about how not to forget about
herself while caring for so many others. Self-care should be a very important part of her
recovery and routine. Staying mindful, connecting with others in recovery, finding balance in
her life, taking time for herself, and setting healthy boundaries are five tips that every recovery
addict needs to learn while in recovery (Mercy, 2019).
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Personal Reflections
This interview personally impacted me in a few different ways. Like I mentioned above,
I felt as if I failed Michelle because I did not know that she was hurting so badly. I personally
was so lost in my own loss of my mother, that I did not see my best friend hurting. This
interview helped me gain confidence in being able to talk to clients that need treatment, help, and
a process to recovery. It helped me know that this is exactly what I need to be doing in my life.
I personally have my own demons; however, we all do. I believe that this interview brought
Michelle and her husband closer now that she knows that he is there to help and protect her. And
lastly, talking with Michelle, this allowed her to be open and honest to me as a friend and a
future counselor. My eyes are wide open!
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References
McHugh, R. & McBride, O. (2020). Self-medicating low mood with alcohol use:
Examining the role of frequency of alcohol use, quantity consumed and context of
drinking, Addictive Behaviors, Volume 111, ISSN 0306-4603,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2020.106557
Mercy, K. (2019). 5 Ways to practice self-care in addiction recovery. Retrieved from
https://www.sandstonecare.com/blog/5-ways-to-practice-self-care-in-addiction-recovery
Quinn, P. D., & Fromme, K. (2011). Alcohol use and related problems among college students
and their noncollege peers: the competing roles of personality and peer influence. Journal
of studies on alcohol and drugs, 72(4), 622–632.
https://doi.org/10.15288/jsad.2011.72.622
