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From Addiction to Helping Others: Elizabeth Stacey Finds Hope, Healing and Purpose Through Recovery
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I am Worth It. Elizabeth’s Journey to Recovery.
When Elizabeth Stacey sits across from a client at the Recovery Center at Manning Regional Healthcare Center, she understands something many people cannot. She knows what it feels like to believe you’ve run out of options. She knows what it’s like to question your worth, your future, and whether life can ever be different.
Now, Stacey works as a Substance Abuse Counselor, helping individuals navigate the challenges of recovery. As clients get to know her, many discover that she has stood where they stand now.
Before joining the Recovery Center team, Stacey spent nearly a decade battling addiction herself.
“I was in active addiction for about 10 years,” Stacey said. “It took everything from me, even things that I didn’t have yet. It made it harder to get those things.”
As her addiction progressed, it affected every aspect of her life. Relationships became strained, family connections grew distant, and the sense of belonging she longed for felt increasingly out of reach.
“Addiction absolutely ruined me. It turned me into a shell of a person,” Stacey said. “I had no healthy relationships. I was very distanced from my family. What I considered friendships were very much built around using substances and alcohol. I didn’t feel like I belonged anywhere, like I served any sort of purpose.”
“I was very used and abused,” she said. “Nobody really wanted me around for me. They wanted me around for what they could get from me. And it brought me to a really dark, low place in my life.”
Finding Her Worth and a New Purpose
Today, with nearly three and a half years of sobriety, Stacey says recovery gave her something she never expected: an understanding of her own value.
“The biggest realization that I had coming into recovery was that I am an individual who is valued and important simply as I am,” Stacey said. “And that is something that I want everybody who comes into recovery to know and feel.”
That realization eventually led her to a career helping others.
“When I went to treatment after 10 years of active addiction, the counselor that I had didn’t have any personal experience,” Stacey said. “I couldn't connect with her very well. So, I felt very inspired to become somebody that future clients could connect with and understand that there is a way out.”
Stacey’s personal connection reminds her what it was like to be in treatment, especially those first few days,
“I know what I needed in those times, and that reminds me to give clients grace and consideration with withdrawal symptoms and emotional roller coasters, giving them the compassion that I know they need.”
Recovery Is Possible. You Are Worth It.
For clients facing some of the hardest days of their lives, Stacey hopes to be a source of encouragement and understanding.
“When you feel like there is no hope and there’s nothing left and you’re at the last knot in your rope, just remember that you will get there,” Stacey said. “This is temporary. All the bad things will eventually evaporate and good will come from it. But you get what you put into it. So, you have to keep pushing, keep doing the next best right thing, and know that you’re worth it.”
Stacey also hopes to challenge one of the most common misconceptions surrounding addiction.
“I think people often misunderstand addiction and think that it’s a choice,” she said. “The initial use is definitely a choice, but it becomes a chemical necessity in our body, and it takes time and effort to get away from those substances.”
For anyone wondering whether they should seek help, Stacey’s message is simple.
“I would tell anybody who is looking for help right now to do it because everybody is worth it,” she said. “The scariest part is taking the first step.”
Today, Stacey wants every person who enters recovery to understand what took her years to realize about herself.
“There is no price or limit on your value to the world,” Stacey said. “And just by being you, we love that you’re here. I decided to get help because I am worth it and recovery is possible.”
The Recovery Center at MRHC
The Recovery Center is a 16-bed, co-ed rehabilitation facility providing evidence-based medical care, behavioral therapy, and social support to help individuals build a healthy, substance-free lifestyle. The facility is licensed by the Iowa Department of Public Health and is covered by most insurance plans.
Individuals seeking help for themselves or a loved one struggling with substance use are encouraged to call (712) 655-2300. For more information, visit www.manningrecoverycenter.com.
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