In honor of National Recovery Month, hear from one of our Substance Use Services patients about their inspiring journey below.
“Most of my life, I have been on a path of self destruction, not really knowing how I got here or why I choose to continue on down this road. I have a lot of past trauma. My way of dealing with this has always been to pretend it never happened and keep moving forward. I am surrounded by happy people with happy normal lives and it seems to come so easy to everyone but me. I have tried more times than I can count to get help through doctors. I have been on tons of different medicines for depression, anxiety etc. all failed attempts to heal myself. I had given up completely on doctors helping me so I did what I thought worked for me, self medicate. I basically slept walked through most of my life. At age 35 I realized that it had been two decades of self-medication, self-loathing and self harm because let’s face it, that is what drug addiction is. I wanted normal, or as close to it, as I could get. I wanted it for myself, for my family and for my future. I had tried many times before on my own, but the problem was always the same as soon as my mind cleared along with my system, I remembered and I felt it all like a ton of bricks all at once. On top of that, it took everything I had just to get out of bed every day, the results of years of drug addiction. A constant struggle and a constant mess was my reality.
This program has changed my life. It is the perfect formula for people like me who have exhausted all other options. The key is you have to be ready, only then will the formula work. The Suboxone medicine is what originally drew me to this program but I found so much more than I expected. They really go above and beyond the call of helping people with an addiction issue. I have never felt like just another number here. They gave me tools and resources to help me heal from within. I have a Doctor who sees me as a person, and who really cares and hears me. I get to speak with someone who has gone through everything I am going through, someone who not only understands, but it is proof you can overcome this, and come out on top.
Counseling, you have to open the hard doors even if you don’t want to, it’s where you find the answers to how you got here and how to end the cycle so you don’t end up back where you started. You build a support system, people rooting for you that you can talk to and find an outlet like going to the gym, hiking or swimming, it helps you to release frustration, tension and clear your mind.
The formula ensures not only that you get the help you came for, but it changes you. It changes your life and who you are as a person and it affects everyone around you and their perception of you.
People see me now that I haven’t seen in a few years and they can’t believe it’s me. I get lots of compliments and of course they want to know how. I just smile, and thank them, but I’ll tell you my secret, I switched my path from the path of self-destruction to the path of self-preservation. Where my heart used to feel so much pain and sadness it only feels peace, love and gratitude. It shows, and it only grows from there. I am grateful to the people who created this program, and to the people who work for the program because they make this work for us. Its changing the world, helping it heal one broken person at a time. I owe all of this to the person I used to be for being brave enough to reach out to them.
Best wishes to future patients. You are the author of your own story. Write something beautiful.”