I was admitted to drug rehab at Ridgeview in the suburbs of Atlanta, GA on January 4th, 1996. First, I was placed into cottage “C” for detoxification and drug testing. I told the staff that I had not drank any alcohol or used any drugs besides marijuana in the last 3 months. They definitely did [...]
On the first or second day in the half-way house, I went out with friends to a movie “Get Shorty”. I think it was at the dollar theater at the time, so it was cheap. This was my first venture away from the half-way house since I was admitted to rehab. Somehow the conversation of [...]
The person in charge of the halfway house at RidgeView was Susan. Susan was a very strong individual and very commanding. She definitely had the halfway house under control for me and the other participants. One of the things that I notice early on was they wanted you to do chores while you were in [...]
The first week at drug rehab consisted of this daily routine of going to meetings in small groups with counselors, as well as meeting with family members and drug counselors. In the evenings after these meetings with various drug counselors and possibly a short meeting with a psychiatrist earlier in the day, we attended AA [...]
You are ready to quit, to put down the “dope,” to stop putting powerful and dangerous chemicals into your body. If you’re ready to quit drugs, it often comes down to far more than simply saying “I want to quit.” Yes, that is incredibly important and powerful! However, most strong drugs out there require professional [...]
Drug addicts don’t start out abusing chemicals by falling into a hole. They start by jumping in. This guide offers personal solutions for the drug addict trying to defeat the social, family, mental, and physical health problems of addiction after the fact. It builds upon positives, and starts with a philosophical note.
Forgive Yourself:
The first step [...]
Wondering is a dangerous place to be. It often means going down a road and making a choice. Drug addiction, the bane of modern society, means going down the same road again and again expecting different Results. Do that and you will get sick of walking. Meaning: drugs do things to each of us which [...]
Asking for help isn’t easy for many families, because it so often means you’ve “failed” somehow. However, substance abuse extends beyond the family, and it is a worldwide problem. There is nothing to be truly ashamed of, and the only mistake is accepting that the addict can use. Whether it’s a father downing painkillers … [...]
As I mentioned in my previous article, I was using “fake it until you make it” in the beginning of my recovery. The next day at the halfway house (after almost going out and drinking with Jay), I told Susan the halfway house manager that I’d almost drank the night before. The response I received [...]
On the 10th day at Ridgeview I experienced anger. I remember the night before sitting in bed thinking about all of the money this place was charging and how we were expected to do those “chores”. Wasn’t this place supposed to be club med at $1000 a day? Why were the beds so hard that [...]