To celebrate Recovery Month, Jit shares his journey from addiction to recovery. His story is a powerful testament to resilience, cultural identity, and the role of community support, and offers vital insights into the importance of culturally informed approaches in addressing addiction within South Asian communities.
I started drinking in my teenage years and continued until I was 41. Now, in my early 50s and coming up to eleven years substance-free, I can say with all honesty: I’m glad I’m in recovery. It’s central to my every day.
It’s given me a new lease on life and had a positive impact not just on me, but on my friends and family, too.
Why would I ever want to jeopardise that?
The End of a Lifestyle That Wasn’t Living
I hated the last ten years of my drinking. I use the word lifestyle loosely—it wasn’t much of one, and it’s certainly not something I’d wish on anyone.
I knew something wasn’t right. My drinking wasn’t “normal,” especially when it became days-long binges, often intensified by drugs. More concerning was when I started drinking alone. Who in their right mind would do that? I guess someone like me—an alcoholic.
Eventually, I hit rock bottom. I had no choice but to stop. If my family hadn’t intervened, I genuinely don’t think I’d still be here. They reached out to a local support service, but for me, it didn’t fit. They didn’t look like me. They didn’t understand my faith, culture, or background. I felt like an outsider.
That changed when I found a local mutual aid group. Being around people who had been through similar experiences gave me something I hadn’t felt in a long time: belonging. I found community, and more importantly, I found connection.
Learning, Healing, Growing
Over the years, I embraced practices that helped me stay grounded—meditation, reading, and learning more about the workings of my mind. I slowly built up a set of tools I could draw on when challenges hit—tools that kept me from turning back to substances.
Breaking the Silence: I’m Jit and I’m an Alcoholic
My journey inspired me to make a short film: I’m Jit and I’m an Alcoholic. It’s about my experience as someone from the South Asian community living with addiction—and the impact it had not just on me, but on everyone around me.
The film explores how addiction is viewed within the South Asian community, and the stigma and taboos that surround it. It features interviews with loved ones and members of the community in recovery. It shows the damage addiction causes—but also the healing that’s possible when we speak up.
I made the film because I was tired of watching people suffer in silence. Tired of the lack of support. Tired of the shame. I want people to know that help exists. You don’t have to go through this alone. If you reach out, I’m here.
Changing the Narrative in the Community
We’ve taken the film to temples and community centres across the South Asian community. The response has been powerful. It’s sparked conversations—real ones. It’s shown people that you can turn your life around if you get the right help. There’s no shame in struggling with alcohol or drugs. But there is power in seeking support.
Our community needs to break the silence. No parent, friend, brother, or sister should have to live in fear of judgment. We must normalise conversations about addiction and make it safe to ask for help.
Pushing for Change: A Community-Driven Approach
From these conversations, we saw that services aren’t doing enough to reach minority communities—especially in a way that is culturally appropriate and accessible. Working alongside Dr David Patton, Bac-In, and Safir*, we co-authored the report A Change is Gonna Come…—a detailed look at what needs to change.
The report’s recommendations included:
- Lived Experience Integration
- Tailored, culturally appropriate services
- Community engagement and empowerment
- Addressing systemic barriers
- A holistic approach to treatment
This led to the birth of Free in Recovery, a Lived Experience Recovery Organisation (LERO) created to take these recommendations forward and provide an alternative to the traditional recovery system. One that reflects real lives and real people.
A Life I Never Thought I’d Have
You could say my life has been flipped, turned inside out compared to what it was in the depths of addiction. Recovery has given me space to grow, to express myself, and to become the person I was always meant to be.
And honestly? I don’t miss the drink. I don’t miss the chaos.
My lifestyle today is one I love—because it’s mine. It’s free. It’s real.
Articles and Videos
- I’m Jit and I’m and alcoholic extended trailer
- A Change is Gonna Come by Dr David Patton
- The Native Immigrant Podcast (13/12/21)
- BBC News Clip – Screening at a local Gurudwara
SHAAP Blogposts are published with the permission of the authors. The views expressed are solely the authors’ own and do not necessarily represent the views of Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP).