Speaker: Jorge, Affect Member
Jorge: Hello, my name is Jorge, and I've been in groups at Affect for almost 6 months and some of the things that I value most about the group, it's gotta be the people. The counselors, they've been very helpful, and also the app, like doing all the missions, doing some of the challenges I've been learning a lot. And also, I gotta say, some of the people that I've grown to know, we share similar goals, similar struggles, Yeah, I've just been able to learn from them and share my story and hear their story. So we have a lot in common and it's also been very helpful in using this space to hold each other accountable.
Jorge: A moment in group that really stuck with me, was hearing somebody else's personal testimony, because I shared a lot in common with that person we have similar struggles, but the main thing was just hearing their, some of the challenges that they overcame and how, they've been in Affect longer than me. And just listening to them speak and share their, their story, I was able to reflect on mine and use some of the same tools that helped them, and these are some of the same tools that we've learned in group.
Jorge: Group has changed my, my day to day life, especially my recovery. For example, I have 3 sessions a week, one with my counselor and 2 with group, but every day I'm on the app, doing exercises, doing missions, learning new things through group and through those exercises. So every day when I wake up in the 1st in the morning, the first thing I do is open up Affect and work on some exercises. I also look forward to communicating with my group. We've grown really, really tight, which has been awesome because we share similar stories, similar struggles, and we all have the same common goal in, finding recovery.
Jorge: What would I say to someone who is nervous to join their first group? Well, I'd probably tell them the same thing that was told to me because I was nervous about it. And she said just check it out. Just go in with an open mind. You can share as much as you want to or as little as you want, and I haven't looked back since that day. I'm very active on Affect and it's been helping me. I look forward to some of the people I was first nervous to meet in group, and they've been very helpful in my journey and now they're a part of my journey and I'm a part of theirs. It's a, it's a beautiful thing. So I would just tell that person that's nervous, their first group is to just go in with an open mind and just give it a try, wouldn't hurt, right? It's worth it.
