Noor Hadad

"Hi! I’m a recent UCalgary graduate, researcher, dog mom, and aspiring psychologist.

I graduated with a B.A. (Hons) and have been an advocate for mental health and overall wellbeing for as long as I can remember!

I am also a person in recovery, although I didn’t always identify that way, even after I had begun my recovery journey. As a psychology student, I was only taught about addiction through a medical DSM-5 model, with the concept of recovery not being mentioned at all.

On the outside, it looked like I was doing well as I was still maintaining my schoolwork and employment, but on the inside, I knew that I had a problem.

I felt alienated and did not know where to turn due to the stigma and lack of available resources that I felt were appropriate for me.

Due to the large amount of negative representation of people in recovery and certain pathways I had seen in media, I also had a distorted view of recovery.

Namely, my mind would not stop picturing a dark church basement, with cold coffee and stale pastries… I was afraid and didn’t feel like I belonged there. I also falsely believed that being in recovery required abstinence, which is not the pathway I used.

I had high hopes of pursuing graduate school to be a psychologist but did not think it was possible due to my experiences with addiction.

That is when I met Dr. Victoria Burns, a faculty member in Social Work who is proud to recover out loud!

Joining her team to assist in the development of the UCalgary Recovery Community helped me challenge my own misconceptions and stigma, understand that recovery is defined by the individual and looks different for all, and learn more about the variety of different recovery pathways available.

Today, I view my recovery as a positive identity trait, and hope to continue helping change campus culture through education and awareness about harm reduction and recovery."