Question by zalia1: help! I’ve started a social work degree & not sure its 4 me ex. past personal issues:drug addiction, psychosis?
I’m still getting over a heroin addiction – recovering & on suboxone for a year now. I’m just not sure if i should be a social worker when i’ve had A lot of issues in the past that i haven’t dealt with (as many people do!) and i don’t really consider myself to be emotionally healthy. its a pretty challenging job which requires you to do A lot of ‘soul searching’ in the sense that you must know yourself and the reasons as to why i am the way i am…I would love some input and will happily explain more
Thank you so very much for you answer. I feel a lot more positive now – just was in need of an objective opinion or perspective. I’d love to comment more now but have to go although i will tomorrow. Once again thanks for your time- appreciate it
Best answer:
Answer by cairis
Your background and lifetime experience is and probably will be one of your biggest assets. You mentioned psychosis and I’m not sure if you mean you’re just freaking right now or if you have been diagnosed as such. Either way, it doesn’t matter so long as you are regulated on your meds and know the importance of remaining so.
One year of dope is a lifetime, so congratulations for that! If you are not involved in counseling, therapy or a support group such as NA or it’s like, I would do so. The reason is two-fold:
1-For a long time your life was centered around the getting and using of drugs and finding the ways and means to get more. You’ve been off the dope long enough to work on yourself in a structured manner. This will enable you to examine your addiction, the circumstances that brought you to the end and the person you were when you were using. Most important, the things you do in your life today that prevent you from being that person again. You can’t go it alone. Further, were you more involved in this aspect of your life, you likely would not feel as much at a loss right now.
Being around people who have turned their lives around the way you have will help you feel less like the ‘odd man out,’ less guilty about the person you once were and the people you may have hurt as a result as well as help you really start feeling emotionally healthy. In short, start (or keep doing) the soul searching this way and you will likely feel more of a sense of control and more *worthy* and “emotionally healthy.”
2-In general, social workers counsel individuals through a crisis that may be due to death, illness, relationship breakdown or other reasons and provide clients with information on services to assist them. This may include providing letters of referral or reports that will help clients to obtain other services such as crisis accommodation or social security benefits. Further, they may guide small groups of people to share their experiences, support each other and learn social skills and help community groups to plan and carry out programs to help themselves (e.g. assisting newly arrived immigrants to form an association) and a lot of other things.
=>That was a mouthful! I realise you are aware of things a social worker may do. In short, you help the system work for people where it has otherwise failed them for whatever reason.
No one understands some things better than a person in recovery. You more than anyone know what is like to really *need* something so bad you would do almost *anything*. You know and understand desperation. Even if your resources were used to perhaps support an unhealthy lifestyle, you have seen how easily this can happen to someone when they take one wrong turn.
This understanding will be you keep you sane, motivated, persistent and tolerant during the times when you get frustrated, disgusted or discouraged with your clients, other programs, institutions, rules and policies to name a few. It will remind that if anything, you in some way believe in some type of social justice for all members of the community.
Take the time to get to know and thus see yourself in a different way. You already have what it takes; to me your academic education is merely cultivating your existing skills.
Add your own answer in the comments!
