Setbacks to Comebacks

02/18/2026

🎉 Just completed level 3 and am so excited to continue growing as a creator on Facebook!

02/18/2026

📣 Know Your Rights at Work in Recovery

Did you know that people in recovery are protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)?

▶️ Employers can’t deny a job solely because of a past substance use disorder (SUD) or alcohol use disorder (AUD)

▶️ You may be able to request reasonable accommodations, like time for treatment

▶️ Your medical information stays private

We wrote a short blog breaking down what these protections can look like and why they matter.

👉 Read more: https://bit.ly/4alzcow

02/13/2026

💥 From Surgery to the ICU to Advocacy: My Recovery Story 💥

I’m a disabled Army veteran, and in 2015, a surgery for a service-related injury changed my life.

Not because of the procedure itself — but because I developed an opioid addiction during recovery. I didn’t choose addiction. It happened quietly, like it does for millions. I was in pain, and no one told me there were safer options.

But when I found my way out… I decided to make it mean something.

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💡 I turned my pain into purpose.

I became a Certified Addiction Recovery Coach, and I founded a nonprofit called Setbacks to Comebacks to provide free recovery and life coaching to people and families impacted by addiction.

A few years later, I connected with Voices for Nonopioid Choices — and got involved in national advocacy to make sure others don’t fall into the same trap I did.

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📢 One of my proudest moments?
➡️ Helping advocate for the NoPain Act, a bipartisan law that expands access to non-opioid pain management options.

So many surgeries are planned, but pain care conversations still get skipped. The NoPain Act opens the door for education, alternatives, and real choice.

Visit: https://nonopioidchoices.org/resources

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⚠️ But recently, my world flipped again.

I had an emergency surgery. There was no time to prepare, no plan. I woke up in the ICU after two surgeries, in extreme pain… and realized I had been given morphine and fentanyl — again.

As a person in recovery, it was terrifying.

But this time, I knew how to speak up. I worked with my doctors. I tracked my meds. I communicated clearly. I began reducing doses and eventually switched to Tylenol in between. 💊

Every provider who walked into my room?
💬 Became an opportunity to educate about the NoPain Act and point them to the Voices website.

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🌱 This is what recovery looks like now:

✔️ Advocating for veterans and women like me
✔️ Helping pass smart pain care policies
✔️ Sharing my experience with providers, nonprofits, and families
✔️ Building partnerships with groups like FAN (Families Against Narcotics) and America’s Warrior Partnership
✔️ Creating free tools like my trauma-informed recovery journal
✔️ Offering free coaching through Setbacks to Comebacks

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🗣️ I’m here to say: You are not alone. If you have any recovery needs contact me with my information below.

If you’re a clinic, veteran org, court system, or community partner and want to work together — I’d love to connect.

📬 kim@setbacks-to-come-backs.com
🔗 www.setbacks-to-come-backs.com
📎 Non-Opioid Resources: https://Nonopioid choices.org/resources
📎 Free Therapy Journal: https://www.setbacks-to-come-backs.com/journal
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“You’re not broken. You’re becoming.”
— Kimberly Robbins, Veteran | Peer Recovery Coach | Founder, Setbacks to Comebacks

02/04/2026

Addiction Policy Forum is proud to share Alcohol Use Disorder 101—a brief, science-based online course designed to raise awareness and promote safer choices around alcohol use.This 15-minute, self-paced course introduces key concepts about alcohol’s effects on the body and brain, outlines the ri...

02/04/2026

02/03/2026

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/sterling-elliott-pharmd-bcmtms-b0444a23b_sterling-elliott-war-on-drugs-never-has-activity-7423725068200923136-D5wC?utm_medium=ios_app&rcm=ACoAABQSEd4BrAFi7aI9jxyn3BetVK734PZI0J0&utm_source=social_share_send&utm_campaign=facebook

Reposting this must-read by Dr. Sterling Elliott, whose perspective on drug policy and pain management deeply resonated with me.

Sterling Elliott makes a powerful and necessary case: the war on drugs has failed because it focuses on supply instead of demand. As someone who became dependent on opioids after surgery, I experienced firsthand how the system feeds that demand. I was prescribed opioids unnecessarily—for an entire year.

The real crisis isn’t just illegal trafficking—it’s how we, as a society, over-rely on prescription medication to achieve something that may not be fully possible: total pain elimination. That expectation is unrealistic and dangerous. The purpose of pain medication should be to make pain manageable, not to erase it completely.

Dr. Elliott is right: we need a culture shift in how we talk about pain, addiction, and healing. If patients and providers set realistic expectations and prioritize safer, more sustainable alternatives, we can reduce dependency and support recovery. We must stop treating pills as the only solution. Our bodies can manage pain—especially when supported with the right tools and education.

It’s time to reframe the conversation, not just for those battling addiction, but for how we prevent it in the first place. This is how we start to shrink demand—and save lives.

What do you think—how do we shift the culture around pain, prescriptions, and recovery?

🙏 to Chicago Tribune for giving a voice to this message. The war on drugs started with the Nixon administration in the early 70’s. It’s never been successful as a primary strategy all the while a global business has thrived with the US emerging as the preeminent market. Read my thoughts and j...

12/01/2025

Sobriety is not a competition.

12/01/2025

This may be a bit controversial here, and many may not agree with it, but I happen to think this is absolutely true! Someone NEEDS to hear your story! Someone NEEDS to see your success despite all you’ve gone through. It doesn’t make what you went through “worth it” or “better” by any means (and not to lessen what anyone has been through), but sharing your story is incredibly important!! You never know when someone will hear what you’ve survived and have the light bulb go on for them… to know they too can survive it, they too can thrive, they too can overcome!! Keep sharing your story! You matter!
~Deb 🩷

11/25/2025

Thank you to all that have sponsored the NonPain for Vets bill!

11/25/2025

Thank you for supporting the veteran community!

10/21/2025

Sobriety is the ultimate act of self-love.

10/21/2025