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| Rehab is a lonely place for a gay man like me | Rehab is a lonely place for a gay man like me |
| (about 1 month later) | |
| Too many services assume people are straight. Tailored, more inclusive approaches are critical – and a civil and human right | |
| Mark Prest | |
| Mon 11 Dec 2017 10.30 GMT | |
| Last modified on Mon 11 Dec 2017 10.32 GMT | |
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| It all started with a drink. For millennium celebrations I was in Cape Town with a group of friends. One day at lunch I had what I now know to be a panic attack. To settle my nerves I drank some wine and, as if by magic, all was well. It’s at this point that my social relationship with alcohol shifted – to self-medication for acute anxiety. | It all started with a drink. For millennium celebrations I was in Cape Town with a group of friends. One day at lunch I had what I now know to be a panic attack. To settle my nerves I drank some wine and, as if by magic, all was well. It’s at this point that my social relationship with alcohol shifted – to self-medication for acute anxiety. |
| How could this happen to me? I was raised in a supportive and loving environment, had an arts degree and was the director of a contemporary art gallery. Not bad for a working class lad from Oldham. But all was not this surface of perfection. | How could this happen to me? I was raised in a supportive and loving environment, had an arts degree and was the director of a contemporary art gallery. Not bad for a working class lad from Oldham. But all was not this surface of perfection. |
| After an excruciating eight-year battle with alcohol, I went to rehab. | After an excruciating eight-year battle with alcohol, I went to rehab. |
| My rehab was a small place, and to my knowledge I was the only out gay man there. My sexuality and its relationship to my alcoholism were overlooked by my counsellors. One exception was when weekly men’s and women’s groups were established. | My rehab was a small place, and to my knowledge I was the only out gay man there. My sexuality and its relationship to my alcoholism were overlooked by my counsellors. One exception was when weekly men’s and women’s groups were established. |
| The intention was to create a safe space to air gender-specific issues. The first was themed around sex. Surely they weren’t expecting me to discuss my man-on-man antics in a room full of straight young men? They were. | The intention was to create a safe space to air gender-specific issues. The first was themed around sex. Surely they weren’t expecting me to discuss my man-on-man antics in a room full of straight young men? They were. |
| At my turn to speak I remember saying: “I wasn’t prepared to be the afternoon’s entertainment and titillation.” Afterwards I spoke with a staff member who responded by saying that the issue hadn’t occurred to him. No further groups took place and no alternatives were offered. | At my turn to speak I remember saying: “I wasn’t prepared to be the afternoon’s entertainment and titillation.” Afterwards I spoke with a staff member who responded by saying that the issue hadn’t occurred to him. No further groups took place and no alternatives were offered. |
| After six long months I left rehab. My queer and recovery identities were at odds and even now, nine years on, I still feel conflicted. | After six long months I left rehab. My queer and recovery identities were at odds and even now, nine years on, I still feel conflicted. |
| Recovery values such as an abstinence-based lifestyle, honesty, personal responsibility and the need for healthy, loving relationships don’t rub well with quick-fix Grindr hook-ups and a hedonistic LGBT+ objectified world. | Recovery values such as an abstinence-based lifestyle, honesty, personal responsibility and the need for healthy, loving relationships don’t rub well with quick-fix Grindr hook-ups and a hedonistic LGBT+ objectified world. |
| With recovery, if we do as we’ve always done, it will always be the same. It is harder to achieve when, like me, you’re from the recovery community’s wider margins. It feels like there are no places or access to people who have had similar experiences, services or other agencies that can advise and help. There’s a sense of homelessness – where do I belong? | With recovery, if we do as we’ve always done, it will always be the same. It is harder to achieve when, like me, you’re from the recovery community’s wider margins. It feels like there are no places or access to people who have had similar experiences, services or other agencies that can advise and help. There’s a sense of homelessness – where do I belong? |
| I left treatment full of fear and trepidation. There were no inclusive, non-judgmental, sober options where I might safely meet or connect with like-minded people within the LGBT+ community. | I left treatment full of fear and trepidation. There were no inclusive, non-judgmental, sober options where I might safely meet or connect with like-minded people within the LGBT+ community. |
| It doesn’t help when the 2017 government drug strategy fragments and minimises the issue by focusing on chemsex rather than the wider LGBT+ community as a whole. | It doesn’t help when the 2017 government drug strategy fragments and minimises the issue by focusing on chemsex rather than the wider LGBT+ community as a whole. |
| The statistics are alarming. According to Stonewall research in 2014, 52% of young LGBT people report that they have self-harmed; a staggering 44% have considered suicide; 42% have sought medical help for mental distress. Alcohol and drug abuse are often damaging forms of self-medication to deal with this underlying distress. A recent study by the LGBT Foundation found that drug use among LGBT people is seven times higher than in the general population, binge drinking is twice as common among gay and bisexual men, and substance dependency is significantly higher. | The statistics are alarming. According to Stonewall research in 2014, 52% of young LGBT people report that they have self-harmed; a staggering 44% have considered suicide; 42% have sought medical help for mental distress. Alcohol and drug abuse are often damaging forms of self-medication to deal with this underlying distress. A recent study by the LGBT Foundation found that drug use among LGBT people is seven times higher than in the general population, binge drinking is twice as common among gay and bisexual men, and substance dependency is significantly higher. |
| Recovery for me is about freedom. Where is the freedom when services are not representative and fail to meet people’s needs? Tailored, more inclusive approaches to recovery are critical, and a civil and human right. | Recovery for me is about freedom. Where is the freedom when services are not representative and fail to meet people’s needs? Tailored, more inclusive approaches to recovery are critical, and a civil and human right. |
| We’re celebrating 50 years since the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality. Yet some of us in or working towards recovery are still victims of systemic homophobia. | We’re celebrating 50 years since the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality. Yet some of us in or working towards recovery are still victims of systemic homophobia. |
| I rarely speak at mainstream Alcoholics Anonymous fellowship meetings about the relational aspects of my sexuality and recovery. The giggles are tiresome and hardly reassuring of a safe space for disclosures. | I rarely speak at mainstream Alcoholics Anonymous fellowship meetings about the relational aspects of my sexuality and recovery. The giggles are tiresome and hardly reassuring of a safe space for disclosures. |
| Other than pioneering work being carried out by the London-based sexual health clinic 56 Dean St on gay men and chemsex, I can’t provide examples of service provision that address the needs of the whole community. | Other than pioneering work being carried out by the London-based sexual health clinic 56 Dean St on gay men and chemsex, I can’t provide examples of service provision that address the needs of the whole community. |
| As a response to my professional arts background and addiction recovery experiences, I founded the visual arts charity Portraits of Recovery (PORe) in 2011. PORe works with contemporary art and artists to examine addiction and recovery as social processes that reconfigure identity. | As a response to my professional arts background and addiction recovery experiences, I founded the visual arts charity Portraits of Recovery (PORe) in 2011. PORe works with contemporary art and artists to examine addiction and recovery as social processes that reconfigure identity. |
| Art has become my central strategy for recovery. It helps me feel good about myself, gives me a reason to get out of bed in the morning and a purpose for living. | Art has become my central strategy for recovery. It helps me feel good about myself, gives me a reason to get out of bed in the morning and a purpose for living. |
| PORe’s latest offering, UNSEEN: Simultaneous Realities explores the viability and desire of Greater Manchester’s south Asian, LGBT+ and disability groups to be visible and understood. The project also draws attention to the diversity of our recovery communities and highlights the need for culturally diverse and tailored recovery approaches. | PORe’s latest offering, UNSEEN: Simultaneous Realities explores the viability and desire of Greater Manchester’s south Asian, LGBT+ and disability groups to be visible and understood. The project also draws attention to the diversity of our recovery communities and highlights the need for culturally diverse and tailored recovery approaches. |
| Stereotyping doesn’t help people looking towards recovery, their family and friends, health services or wider society. Holding or promoting such one-dimensional views is discriminatory and inaccurate. Addiction is a health concern – not a choice. | Stereotyping doesn’t help people looking towards recovery, their family and friends, health services or wider society. Holding or promoting such one-dimensional views is discriminatory and inaccurate. Addiction is a health concern – not a choice. |
| PORe will present the launch of the film My Recoverist Family at the Whitworth Gallery, Manchester, on 14 December. There will be a post-screening discussion with the author Will Self and others. The event is free; please book. | PORe will present the launch of the film My Recoverist Family at the Whitworth Gallery, Manchester, on 14 December. There will be a post-screening discussion with the author Will Self and others. The event is free; please book. |
| If you would like to write a blogpost for Views from the NHS frontline, read our guidelines and get in touch by emailing sarah.johnson@theguardian.com. | If you would like to write a blogpost for Views from the NHS frontline, read our guidelines and get in touch by emailing sarah.johnson@theguardian.com. |
| Join the Healthcare Professionals Network to read more pieces like this. And follow us on Twitter (@GdnHealthcare) to keep up with the latest healthcare news and views. | Join the Healthcare Professionals Network to read more pieces like this. And follow us on Twitter (@GdnHealthcare) to keep up with the latest healthcare news and views. |
| If you’re looking for a healthcare job or need to recruit staff, visit Guardian Jobs. | If you’re looking for a healthcare job or need to recruit staff, visit Guardian Jobs. |
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