The Lived Experience of Volatile Substance Misuse: How Support Contributes to Recovery and Sustained Well-being

Abstract

This article examines the role of support in the lives, recovery, and sustained well-being of two long-term First Nations volatile substance misusers in Canada. Through the application of visual-arts-based and oral life history methodologies, support is conceptualized and analyzed from joint Indigenous and Western worldviews. With a culturally informed understanding of the types of connections that bring about support, insight is offered to those who are a part of the recovery and maintenance support systems of individuals who misuse volatile substances.

Recovery capital among migrants and ethnic minorities: A qualitative systematic review of first-person perspectives

“…Whereas all authors represented the voices of respondents to a greater or lesser extent (8), a key characteristic of participatory and qualitative research is that respondent and researcher voices are closely intertwined and can therefore not always be disentangled. Representation of respondents' voices was sometimes limited due to a high number of respondents (Bezdek et al, 2004) or predefined premises (Bone, Dell, Koskie, Kushniruk, & Shorting, 2011;Ehrmin, 2002;Hohman, 1999) that may bias the results of this review. In some studies, it was unclear whether part of the resultsmainly concerning cultural elementswere identified primarily by respondents or secondary informants (e.g.…”

“…Although the included studies had a broad range of study objectives covering various stages of recovery processes, some studies might have overemphasized the importance of root causes, cultural and social recovery resources. Predefined recovery premises, such as a specific focus on substance use patterns (Liat, 2016), treatment (Bowser & Bilal, 2001, social support (Bone et al, 2011;Cheney, Booth, Borders, & Curran, 2016;Laus, 2013;McCarron et al, 2018), the role of 'culture' (Bowser & Bilal, 2001;McCarron et al, 2018) or 'root causes' (Davis, 1997;Ehrmin, 2002), may have led to an overrepresentation of these elements in our analyses. Among the included studies, populations were selected primarily because of their ethnic groupness, leaving aside the individual history of migration (De Kock, Decorte, Vanderplasschen, Derluyn, & Sacco, 2017).…”

Dual diagnosis, as described by those who experience the disorder: Using the Internet as a source of data

“…2011; Verhaeghe et al . 2008), substance misuse (Bone et al . 2011), and dual diagnosis (Horsfall et al .…”

“…In the context of the individualized care approach for clients in mental health, and in a backdrop of comorbidity, the development of alcohol and other drugs (AOD) knowledge for mental health clinicians appears to be a logical step to take in terms of improving treatment options for this clinical group. In terms of recovery, support and ongoing access to services are advocated as beneficial for those who experience mental illness (Cook et al 2011;Tew et al 2011;Verhaeghe et al 2008), substance misuse (Bone et al 2011), and dual diagnosis (Horsfall et al 2009). For support, in recent years, clients have been turning to the Web and online support forums as an accessible and anonymous alternative or to augment attending face-to-face support programmes.…”