Addiction Treatment Center
The procedure of denial breakdown doesn’t occur in a single day. It was
about two weeks of exposure and beating myself up at the addiction
treatment center to say finally, “I am a substance abuser,” and understand
what that meant. Sometimes it’s difficult to know whether or not I am
being honest with myself. I don’t like to refer to substance abuse as a
disease (I prefer to call it an affliction). However, in many ways it is
like a disease—I suppose that’s why addiction specialists refer to it as
such. Anyway, at the addiction treatment center, I learned that to
understand this visually in regards to the progression of my dependency
was to identify every symptom listed during the first, middle and last
stages of the affliction. I learned at the addiction treatment center that
all abusers experience symptoms differently. However, it looked as if my
physical craving and symptoms of withdrawal has a rapid progression at my
young age. I was able to identify to a number of subtle additions that are
gauges: neglect of food, increased black-outs, and loss of regular
willpower, inability to talk about the problem, pre-afternoon drinks and
tremors.
As I consider the past before the recovery therapy at the addiction
treatment center, several warning signs were somewhat more apparent. To a
high school student, the alleged signs of warning are more suitably seen
as battle scars, validation, a skewed misinterpretation of youth or a rite
of passage. At the addiction treatment center, I thought back to my high
school years and realized I was an ace at being at the wrong place at the
least appropriate time. What began as experimentation with cocaine,
marijuana and substances was a result of a new method to socialize on
weekends. Before my stay at the addiction treatment center, I thought this
was quite normal as getting buzzed became a natural way of life. There
were times my parents were out of town, and we decided to meet in the
woods with some girls, gather at the park or undeveloped properties to get
high or drunk. That would’ve been an ideal time to consider an addiction
treatment center.
My psychotherapist offered me the initial steps of my strategy plan at the
addiction treatment center. The plan declared, “Steve lacks comprehension
of addiction, in evidence of the statement he brought this onto himself
and got what he deserved…Steve will undoubtedly internalize the affliction
procedure and recognize his severity of the affliction.”
Of course after my primary shock, I was astonished that the
psychotherapist was audacious enough to mention that I lacked
comprehension of my addiction. It was my desire to relax and allow the
professional to do her work at the addiction treatment center. In the
educational part of the addiction treatment center program, I had several
assigned readings. I learned a little bit more about addiction to
substances, the role played in genetic inheritance (if that was to be the
case), and how addiction is progressive, chronic and likely to be fatal.
Essentially, I had plenty of time at the addiction treatment center to
discover evidence that’s time-tested to suggest that addiction to
substances genetically passes and is indeed a disease. In other words, it
is a disorder in the brain which doesn’t dissolve; it just worsens and can
rub you out if you don’t receive suitable treatment. I’m glad I had all
the time in the world at the addiction treatment center because I needed
to continue reading.
My answer to adolescent boredom on the weekends was the use of drugs. Not
only was it a way to fill my downtime, but it was able to turn a mundane
night into a vibrant evening. Whether it was a heavy buzz or a few drinks,
the stress vanished and the socializing was easy. Before detoxification at
the addiction treatment center, I felt liberated as substances made life a
breeze. Pleasure was my main focus with substances and reality gradually
became the periphery. The parties I enjoyed before my stay at the
addiction treatment center were more of a mentality than social functions.
I had to rely on substances to enjoy myself, and became dependent socially
on substances during my freshman year in high school. (The physical
symptoms of my substance dependence started to reveal itself in college.)
At the addiction treatment center, I thought about an incident in high
school where my parents discovered me in pitiful form. It occurred when my
parents went to my sister’s music festival in Canton, Ohio and I made a
stupid move. About nine of my friends and I invited four cheerleaders to
my house for a couple of beers packed in ice. We had a pretty good time
and there was no harm done as we cleaned up before my parents arrived.
Then, we made the decision to continue the party with the girls at a tree
farm close-by. As I look back at my life before the addiction treatment
center, it’s hard to imagine I had such audacity…and stupidity. I got home
about ten minutes after my parents and sister returned from Canton. I was
out of it and a friend had to help me to the door. I was not able to tell
my parents what happened to me and they stared at me with their jaws
practically touching the floor. I learned at the addiction treatment
center that an addict gets rid of blame with black-outs. I made that
attempt as I confronted my parents that night.
The next morning, I felt terrible about the concern, shock and
disappointment I could see in the faces of my parents. That certainly
wasn’t a part of the criteria. The addiction treatment center must have
been a consideration for my parents. Today, I have achieved sobriety as I
lead a productive life as a high school guidance counselor in Yardley,
Pennsylvania. Thanks to the addiction treatment center my life is drug and
substance free. I can now proceed with a productive life.
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