Basketball legend Michael Jordan once said that if someone tried to push him towards what they thought was a weakness, he would turn that perceived weakness into a strength.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
And so it has been for Stewart in this time of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Stewart is a member of Narcotics Anonymous, an organisation that describes itself as a fellowship of men and women "for whom drugs had become a major problem".
A middle-aged man who lives, works and studies in the Newcastle area, Stewart has been clean and sober for 21 years. He says there was a time when the disruption and the isolation stirred up by this pandemic would have pushed him towards using drugs.
But not anymore.
"It's shown me I'm stronger than sometimes my negativity ... would try to suggest," he says. "I have resources, I am quite resilient. But having said that, I can't do this by myself. I need the support of like-minded people."
One of those like-minded people joins us on the conference call. She doesn't want to be named, but she is a 40-year-old Newcastle woman. The mother of two has been a member of NA since 2016.
She walked into a NA meeting while attending a treatment facility, after 20 years of using legal and illegal drugs, including alcohol, opiates and amphetamines.
"I knew for quite a few years I had quite a serious problem, however, fear overruled that," she says. "The only thing I knew to do to get through my day was to put a substance in me. Alter my reality, because I wasn't comfortable in myself.
"The reality of my situation was that if I didn't get help, I knew I was going to die. And if nothing else, my children deserved to have a mother who loved them enough to get well."
Stewart also had a long journey to recovery.
"I was mainly [using] alcohol and cannabis," he says. "The first time I got drunk I was eight and a half. It helped me disconnect from the harsh reality that as a child I wasn't able to process or cope with properly.
"My drug use ... made me homeless on several occasions.
"Before I got clean, I'd been homeless for about five months on the streets of Newcastle, living in Civic Park and staying on the cliff above Susan Gilmore [Beach].
"It just got to the point where I became desperate enough to approach my GP and get honest about where my life was at that time, and he gave me some options."
Both the woman and Stewart talk of finding strength and greater self-worth through the NA meetings. They undertake what is called the 12 steps towards recovery, to find, as the woman describes it, "freedom from the obsession to use".
Step one spells out where the participants have come from: "We admitted that we were powerless over our addiction, that our lives had become unmanageable."
The woman talks about finally accepting that admission.
"I had to change my attitude, I had to change my thinking, I had to change my whole life, which at times has been really challenging," she says.
"Clearly my way and my thinking didn't work, so I needed to try a new way and challenge my thinking. And through that I've found freedom, and I've found contentment within myself."
"I navigate life on a daily basis without having to use drugs."
She says that has equipped her to deal with the restrictions imposed due to the pandemic. The social isolation, she says, has not tested her abstinence but it has posed challenges.
"I've had to focus on keeping my mental health in check," she says. "If anything, it's made me even more grateful today. So the thought of having to use in a situation like this; I wouldn't want to think about it. It would be really painful."
What she has missed is the "strong and solid support network" that the NA meetings have given her. The physical meetings have been put on hold due to the pandemic. However, meetings have gone online.
"I could still hear and see my friends, and that made it easier," she says. "That lifeline is still there. It is what it is for the moment. I just had to get to a point of acceptance around that. For now, this is my reality. I just have to make the most of it."
Stewart says during this time, some people may realise they have a problem with drug use but don't know where to turn. But he says there's always somewhere to turn, and someone to turn to.
"Start looking for the supports," he says. "They are there. There are people who have gone through similar experiences to you. You're not alone. We're here to help.
"Once you're online, there are thousands of meetings around the world.
"Actually, this crisis is making recovering people and sober people, who are in touch with 12-step fellowships, [aware] there is so much support online out there."
And he reminds everyone that the changed way of life due to the pandemic is only temporary.
"If 12-step fellowships have taught me anything, it's that, whether it's an emotional issue, a traumatic issue, I know it will pass," he says.
With time on their hands, Stewart and the woman are putting it to good use.
"I get a lot more housework done," says Stewart. "I've been cooking, and dehydrating fruit and vegetables, making beef jerky, doing things I haven't had the time to do."
The woman is undertaking TAFE studies, and she is contacting others to check on their welfare.
"It's important for me today to ask how other people are going, 'Are you okay? Do you want to chat?'," she says. "It shifts the focus off myself and onto other people, and I've found that really helps me to grow."
Above all, she has used this time to be engaged with herself, and to reflect on how far she has come, from using alcohol and drugs to escape from herself to a point of "just being okay with me".
She has turned a perceived weakness into her greatest strength.
"I'm present in my life," she says. "That's what I love about myself. The ability to be present in my life, and for my children."
Read more 'When The Going Gets Tough' profiles:
While you're with us, did you know the Newcastle Herald offers breaking news alerts, daily email newsletters and more? Keep up to date with all the local news - sign up here