Meet Dawn Nickel | Co-Founder & Board Chair, SHE RECOVERS Foundation

We had the good fortune of connecting with Dawn Nickel and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dawn, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
The amount of effort I put into work life balance has changed signficantly since I hit the wall with workaholism and burnout in 2011. Balancing life and work doesn’t come naturally to me. Fortunately, I have figured out that I get to define balance for myself. As someone in recovery from over-working I have to admit that
balancing life and work doesn’t look the same way for me as it might for most people. It doesn’t
mean working a certain number of hours per day followed by a certain number of hours living
my life. Sometimes, I work a 10–12-hour workday and balance looks like taking off an entire
Friday or a couple of afternoons during the week. Sometimes I work 12 days in a row and take a
week off. This is what works for me. Regardless of how my schedule shifts and how free I feel by managing it in my own way, I need to be always vigilant in tracking work versus non-work hours and days. What I know for
sure is that I tip over into the “more work than life” trap quite naturally. I may not achieve
balance in my life easily, but I remain committed to having it in my life, as I understand it.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I have three careers on the go – which explains in part my tendency to overwork. I am 1) a newly published author 2) a research & writing consultant in the areas of mental health and substance use recovery and 3) the co-founder and board chair of the SHE RECOVERS Foundation – a non-profit movement dedicated to redefining recovery, inspiring hope, ending stigma and empowering women in or seeking recovery to increase their recovery capital, heal themselves and help other women to do the same.

I’m most proud of how far I have come in my life. I was a high school dropout, survivor of intimate partner violence and sexual assault, mentally unwell cocaine and benzo-addicted single mom on welfare prior to going to treatment in 1987. Recovery gave me my life back and opened up the door for me to start realizing my potential. In recovery, I completed my GED, then went to university andI stayed in school for thirteen years where I earned three degrees in recovery, the last one a PhD.

I’ve learned so very much in the nearly 36 years of my healing journey but the two things that are most important that stand out in this moment are 1) we are all recovery from something and we don’t have to do it alone and 2) our work is not our worth. What sets me apart is advancing the philosophy that I’ve become known for that posits that we are all recovering from something and that we have to be supported to find and follow individualized pathways and patchworks of recovery.

Recovery has NOT been an easy journey but it’s all been worth it. I had to face and work through patterns of neglect, I’ve learned that the process of healing is one of returning to the self or recovering of the self. This means that no two recoveries are the same, which means that recovery cannot be a prescriptive practice. We can look to each other for guidance or help and share modalities that have worked. We can look toward pillars, touchstones, and foundations that
have worked for other people who have designed their own recovery pathways, patchworks, and practices.

I want women who are struggling with mental health, addiction and related to know that recovery is possible. That’s it. That’s all.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Sorry I’m not sure what city you are asking this about – is it LA? I live in Victoria, BC but love LA and have spent a lot of time there. Mary Kamalski – who I think you are also interviewing – lives in Sherman Oaks.

Hands down, my favourite places to hang are anywhere between Santa Monica and Venice. Walking the canals, hitting up the food trucks on Abbot Kinney on ‘First Friday’ and having breakfast, lunch or dinner at Cafe Gratitude are a few of my fave things to do, places to take people. Walking along the cliffs in Santa Monica and checking out the Pier are must do’s as well. In the high heat of summer, a day at the Annenberg Community Beach House and Pool is a delight.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Having the support of other caring individuals is paramount to my life and my recovery, and I am particularly grateful for all the incredible women who have shown up for me in my life. especially the women who have modelled what healing and recovery is all about. The women in the Twelve Step program where I first found recovery, along with the women in the She Recovers community have most influenced how I think about and practice life and recovery. In addition, my partner Allan and my two daughters Ashley and Taryn are my greatest supporters and inspiration.

Website: www.dawnnickel.com as well as www.sherecovers.org

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/recoveringdawn/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dawn-nickel-phd-576ab021/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/dawnsherecovers

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dawnnickelphd/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SHERECOVERS