Rob Lowe makes the honest mistake so many #celebrities make when they talk publically about their "recovery" story. They forget to speak about it in the first person. So instead of his headline quote, "You have to want to do it", he gets to say, 'I had to want to do it’. See the difference? One is exclusive and one is inclusive. One forces comparison, the other does not. One has a hoop(s) to jump through and one has other options. One is not hopeful and the other is. I most certainly did not want Rob's "recovery", because it meant that I had to have a label like alcoholic and addict and that I had to keep that label forever and I had to go to meetings forever when all I really wanted was what every human being wants; self-acceptance, relief of pain, peace of mind, social connection, and a sense of power and place. Had I known those needs were on offer by way of multiple pathways almost 20 years ago then perhaps I wouldn't have suffered as long as I did thinking that there was NO OTHER WAY than Rob's. #endthestigma #widewonder #mentalhealth #hopedealer