August is National Wellness Month, a time often associated with self-care, stress management, healthier routines, and taking stock of our overall well-being.
For people in recovery—and for the families, friends, providers, peers, and communities supporting them—wellness is more than an extra. It can be an important part of building and sustaining recovery.
Recovery is about far more than abstaining from alcohol or other drugs. It can also mean creating a life that feels stable, meaningful, connected, and manageable. That may include caring for physical and mental health, rebuilding relationships, finding safe housing, pursuing employment or education, developing a sense of purpose, and connecting with people who understand and support the recovery journey.
Recovery Is Real
There is reason for hope.
According to SAMHSA’s 2025 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 22.3 million adults age 18 and older considered themselves to be in recovery or to have recovered from a drug or alcohol use problem.
Recovery also extends to mental health. In 2025, 44.1 million U.S. adults considered themselves to be in recovery or to have recovered from a mental health issue.
These numbers reinforce an important message as we approach National Recovery Month in September: people do recover.
But the latest data also show why continued investment in treatment and recovery support is so important.
In 2025, among people who needed substance use treatment, only about 16%—roughly 1 in 6—received treatment. In other words, the large majority of people who could have benefited from treatment did not receive it.
For opioid use disorder specifically, just 15.7% of people with an opioid use disorder received medication for opioid use disorder in 2025.
These gaps remind us that wellness cannot be framed solely as an individual’s responsibility. Healthy routines matter, but people also need access to evidence-based treatment, peer support, stable housing, safe relationships, transportation, education, employment opportunities, and communities that make it easier to seek help.
Wellness Doesn’t Have to Mean Perfection
National Wellness Month gives us an opportunity to broaden the conversation about what wellness actually looks like.
Wellness doesn’t require expensive memberships, dramatic transformations, or doing everything “right.”
Sometimes it begins with small, repeatable actions: taking a walk, preparing a meal, attending a recovery meeting, making a counseling appointment, getting adequate rest, reconnecting with someone supportive, spending time outdoors, or setting a boundary that protects your well-being.
For many people, recovery begins with asking for help. Wellness can be part of what helps make that recovery sustainable.
Wellness Looks Different for Everyone
There is no universal recovery routine.
Someone may find wellness through faith, peer support, therapy, medication, exercise, art, family time, volunteering, education, employment, or simply having a quiet moment to reset.
What matters is identifying the combination of professional care, personal practices, relationships, and community supports that helps an individual feel healthy, grounded, connected, and purposeful.
SAMHSA’s recovery framework emphasizes four major dimensions that support recovery:
- Health: Making informed choices that support physical and emotional well-being.
- Home: Having a stable and safe place to live.
- Purpose: Engaging in meaningful daily activities such as employment, education, caregiving, volunteering, or creative pursuits.
- Community: Building relationships and social networks that provide support, friendship, love, and hope.
Five Wellness Practices That Can Support Recovery
Protect your mental health.
Counseling, peer support, journaling, mindfulness, medication when appropriate, or simply talking with someone you trust can all support emotional well-being.
Build healthy routines.
Regular sleep, meals, movement, work, volunteering, school, recovery meetings, and other consistent activities can provide valuable structure.
Stay connected.
Recovery communities, supportive family members, friends, peers, faith communities, and local organizations can provide encouragement, accountability, and belonging.
Make room for joy and purpose.
Recovery shouldn’t be defined only by avoiding risk. Hobbies, music, sports, art, volunteering, time outdoors, community events, and meaningful relationships can help people rediscover enjoyment and purpose.
Know when to ask for help.
When stress, cravings, anxiety, depression, or difficult circumstances increase, reaching out early can connect someone with additional support before challenges escalate.
Wellness Supports Treatment—It Doesn’t Replace It
Daily wellness practices can strengthen recovery, but they are not substitutes for professional treatment when treatment is needed.
Evidence-based substance use disorder treatment may incorporate behavioral therapies, medications, peer support, family involvement, relapse-prevention strategies, and other services tailored to an individual’s needs.
The 2025 NSDUH treatment data make this distinction particularly important. When only about 1 in 6 people who need substance use treatment actually receive it, strengthening access to care must remain part of any meaningful conversation about wellness and recovery.
Strong recovery-supportive communities make room for multiple pathways and help people connect with the level of care and support that meets their individual needs.
From Wellness Month to Recovery Month
August provides a natural bridge to National Recovery Month in September.
National Wellness Month encourages us to think about the daily practices that support well-being. Recovery Month gives us an opportunity to celebrate the millions of people living in recovery, recognize the professionals and communities supporting them, and continue challenging stigma surrounding substance use and mental health conditions.
Here in Tampa Bay, we can start that work now.
Check in on someone. Share a resource. Invite someone to a recovery-supportive activity. Support peer-led organizations. Learn more about treatment and recovery resources in your community. Create workplaces, schools, faith communities, and neighborhoods where people feel safe asking for help.
Most importantly, remember that recovery is possible.
Wellness isn’t a destination or a measure of perfection. It’s an ongoing practice—and sometimes meaningful change begins with one small step.
Source: SAMHSA, 2025 National Survey on Drug Use and Health
https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/reports/rpt57150/2025-nsduh-nnr-figure-slides.pdf
SAMHSA Recovery Resources:
https://www.samhsa.gov/substance-use/recovery
