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Stories of addiction, recovery available for those who struggle

Addiction isn’t the easiest thing to talk about, but many in Massachusetts are bucking the stigma this week and sharing personal accounts of their battles with the disease.

Under the hashtag “#massrecovery,” Facebook and Twitter users have been laying out their difficulties and triumphs in short videos.

Attorney General Maura Healey shared a message soliciting the stories Wednesday afternoon, drawing contributions from recovery centers and individuals.

Many of the videos detail the costs of addiction to drugs or alcohol — the lost relationships, emptied bank accounts, and damaged careers — and talk about the road to recovery.

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A common theme in the videos is the hope that the shared story will lend hope to others who are struggling.

Here are a few accounts shared online:

Tim Lineaweaver talks about how an addiction to cocaine and alcohol “ruined my health, wrecked my marriage, alienated me from my child, and took every last penny I had.” He has been in recovery for 31 years and has “regained all the things I lost, and then some.”

“Greg,” who works at New Beginnings Peer Recovery Center in Lawrence, discusses his own story and describes his joy at getting paid “to come and watch people get better.”

#MassRecovery @LawtownRecovers #recoveryhappens

Posted by New Beginnings Peer Recovery Center on Wednesday, September 23, 2015

“How awesome is that?” he says.

Jessica Bourassa describes how her depression led to drinking, and speaks honestly about the challenge of getting past addiction. She offers some advice to people who are trying to stay sober: “Wake up every day thinking, ‘What can I do to make myself better today?’”

#MassRecovery

Posted by Jessica Bourassa on Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Andy Rosen can be reached at andrew.rosen@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter at @andyrosen.