Although many people may be brave enough to be open and speak out about their issues with addiction, others may choose to remain anonymous. It is important to be respectful of a person’s decision to keep their recovery a secret if they feel it is right for them. Rehab and recovery can be secretive in some cases because everyone has their own experiences and personal feelings about sharing their story.
Why do people want to keep their recovery secrete?
One of the reasons that people may choose to keep their recovery a secret is because of the significant stigma that still surrounds addiction. Unfortunately, many people view addiction as a kind of personal failure or problem with self-control rather than a serious disease. Those that fear the judgment of others and want to avoid being stigmatized may prefer to remain anonymous through recovery.
For those in certain industries, they may also worry that public knowledge of their addiction could endanger their career. If clients, coworkers, or others in their field were aware of their issues it could jeopardize their ability to continue working. For that reason, some may choose to enter rehab anonymously and keep their recovery a secret from everyone except very close loved ones.
Most drug and alcohol rehab programs and AA meetings make it a priority to maintain the privacy of every person there. People in recovery need to feel safe enough to open up without worrying that their personal secrets will be shared outside of treatment. Recovery programs encourage people to share within the meeting but to keep that information confidential.
Talking about addiction to others and being honest can be liberating but not everyone is ready to share their story with everyone right away. They may choose to speak only to a select few or keep it within the treatment program. This is a choice that everyone in rehab deserves to have so that they can feel safe during their recovery.
