Many of the people I know who are in recovery from mental illness and/or addiction are authentic and “rigorously honest.”
Pain, suffering, and desperation drove us into leading a better way of life to stay sane and sober.
It is no earned virtue. To paraphrase Bill Wilson, we were driven to live better lives by the lash of our affliction. And we stay here to avoid going back to the throes of untreated mental illness or addiction.
Nevertheless, most of us are very authentic and are pretty good people. (JM)
INSPIRATION AND EMOTIONAL COURAGE: MENTAL ILLNESS, ADDICTION, AND RECOVERY 