Addiction specialist Beth Burgess' speech was described as “beautiful” by actor and comedian Russell Brand at a recent event to promote the needs of women seeking recovery from addiction.

Author and alcoholic in recovery Beth Burgess was invited to speak at Diversity In Care's 'Unspoken' event, which aimed to promote the fact that recovery from addiction is achievable when clients are given the right support.

“I didn't actually know Russell Brand would be there,” says Burgess, founder of Smyls, a solution-focused service to help addicts rebuild their lives. “I knew he supported the charity, but I didn't expect him to show up on the night. It was great that he did. And I'm really happy he appreciated what I had to say.”

In her speech, Burgess shared how she had gone from being a teenage alcoholic and prostitute to running her own business and writing books to help others to achieve recovery.

“The idea behind my speech was to show that it doesn't matter how far down you think you have gone, there is always a way back, if you have the commitment to get well and there is a service that will offer you appropriate treatment,” Burgess says.

“Unfortunately, it took me ten years to find my own recovery - and that was not through a lack of trying,” she adds. “Although there were addiction services out there, they were either inappropriate, didn't teach me what I needed to know, or just couldn't deal with dual diagnosis patients, such as myself.”

Burgess says she was keen to support Diversity In Care's event because it promoted the need for solution-focused, individualised, specialist treatment for addicts, something she also offers.

“Beating addiction is the hardest thing an addict will ever have to do,” Burgess says. “And it's made even harder when people aren't offered the right help. Why are we setting addicts up to fail by giving them inadequate services and then blaming them for not getting well? Addicts in recovery can achieve amazing things and create brilliant lives for themselves, but they need the right support to get there.”

At the event, Burgess was also promoting her forthcoming book, The Happy Addict: How to be Happy in Recovery from Alcoholism or Drug Addiction. The book is due to be published on 3rd July 2013 by Eightball Press.

About Beth Burgess

Beth Burgess is a recovered alcoholic, who now works as a Recovery Coach at Smyls, a company she founded in order to help addicts achieve recovery and long-term happiness. She is the author of two books on addiction recovery. One of her personal missions is to help fight stigma against people suffering from addictions.
W: http://www.smyls.co.uk & http://www.bethburgess.co.uk