“Serenity in the Pines” Prescott, AZ Shoestring Roundup

Over the past weekend, July 22-24, 2011 Gatehouse Academy allowed several of the women in the community to attend the 26th annual Prescott Shoestring Roundup. The Shoestring Roundup is a three day event where those in recovery or that have the desire to stop drinking participate in fellowship, marathon meetings, speaker meetings, fun, and much, much more. I was surprised to be chosen as one of the women to go on the weekend getaway being that I am so new at Gatehouse and my sobriety; however, I was more than thrilled to have the opportunity to attend. The Roundup was a new and exciting experience for me. I had never been around so many people in recovery and who had years and years of sobriety, it was an eye-opener to see that I was not alone and I could do this, much like all the attendees. During the Roundup, I was able to chair one of the AA marathon meetings. Our topic was personal spiritual experiences, and although I have yet to have an awakening of sorts, it was enlightening hearing other people’s stories. I learned that these spiritual experiences do not have to happen in your first days of sobriety and that it is not just limited to one experience. These experiences help people understand and awaken to see the “light” in their recovery, it helps them reflect and see others’ points of view. I look forward to the day and/or days that I have my own spiritual experiences. All in all, the Shoestring Roundup was a lot of fun and it was a great step for me in my recovery. I even got the opportunity to be of service and chair one of the marathon meetings. All in all, it was a great experience and I hope that I get the opportunity to go to more roundups in the future.

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Surrender

[Fear] was an evil and corroding thread; the fabric of our existence was shot through with it. It set in motion trains of circumstances which brought us misfortune we felt we didn’t deserve. But did not we, ourselves, set the ball rolling?

When I arrived at Gatehouse, I was deep in a drug-induced psychosis. I couldn’t tell up from down. My existence was shot through with fear, delusion and intrusive thought I could not control. I felt that the other residents wanted to kill me, that Gatehouse w2as a pyramid scheme and that there was no way of avoiding being robbed and left for dead by the staff. I made strange, symbolic connections and couldn’t trust the process. I believed myself to be doomed.

On my first or second day at the Hassayampa River Ranch, nine miles down a dirt road in Wickenburg, Arizona, other residents and I sat around a room and gave each other solutions to our problems taken from the Big Book. When it came time for me to describe my problem, I said, “Everybody hates me. I have no friends.” Tears streamed down my face. Another resident, Patrick Odess, leaned over, put his hand on my shoulder and said, “I want to be your friend, John.” I immediately stopped crying, and have only cried once since that day. The next time I cried was yesterday, June 10th.

I sat in Circle, where residents tell each other how they feel and express their concern for each other. I was convinced that no one was angry at me or concerned. I was living in a delusion and had not yet surrendered after eleven and a half months at Gatehouse. I had come a long way, but I had not yet completely given up the fight. Resident after resident expressed deep concern for me, giving me specific reasons why they felt such alarm and fear for me. Anthony Marengo, the program director and my co-sponsor, offered me the chance to clear the air, bare my soul and express my feelings. He said I could do it another time if that made me feel more comfortable.

“[I] stood at the turning point. [I] asked [God’s] protection and care with complete abandon.” (Alcoholics Anonymous, 59) I began to speak: “I’m John and I’m an alcoholic. I am concerned that…” And everything came rushing forth. I told the whole community how Bipolar Disorder had affected my life. I told them all about my fears and shame. The tears came quickly once I opened up. I suddenly realized that I had surrendered. There was nothing left to do at the end of Circle. It was the first day of the rest of my life.

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Great Post by one of the Gatehouse Academy Residents

My name is Harrison; I am twenty-three years old from Boston, MA. I have been on the road to recovery since July 26, 2010. Over this period of time I have been through a handful of treatment centers, now I am receiving treatment at Gatehouse Academy. I have been here at Gatehouse roughly six months.

Every weekday morning the residents at Gatehouse Academy wake-up at 5:30AM to perform household chores and head off to “work ethic.” Work ethic is a form of service work which is held on and off campus. The residents are placed into different work crews, such as cleaning crews, landscaping crews, maintenance crews, horse crews and there are two residents who check the cleanliness of each residential house.

After months of being on different crews, such as landscaping and horses, I am now a member of the maintenance crew. We repair damage done to the campus in all of the housing areas and different offices and buildings. I enjoy doing this type of work. I am a certified automotive technician and I absolutely love to work with my hands and really be able to see the end result. I take a lot of pride in my work.

Before my using career began all I would do in my spare time is tinker with tools and make things out of wood. I was absolutely obsessed with my tool collection and putting it to full use. I had many dreams of what I would like to do in life. Soon after I began using and completely forgot about what I am really compassionate about and stopped caring. I used drugs and alcohol to get out of my head. The substances made me feel so great and excited, I felt no emotions. Now after having about six months clean and sober I face different emotions everyday. Usually I do not like feelings and emotions but I am learning different ways to find a solution for these feelings.

Being on the maintenance crew at Gatehouse is a great way for me to meditate and really get out of my head in the morning. It is a nice quiet time for me to work with tools, find solutions and serve others. That excitement I felt when woodworking in my parents’ garage when I was much younger has come back. Returning to my passion has at times helped me fill that void I sometimes feel missing from substances.

Recently at Gatehouse I have been struggling very hard. I was the foreman of maintenance crew and had been asked to step down because of my actions. Typically I would be extremely offended by this and become very resentful. By living in the solution, meeting with my sponsor regularly and living in integrity I was able to find my own part in this situation and respect the concern from my peers.

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Gatehouse Academy Residents Perform @ Commencement, June 2010


Here is a great video of 4 Gatehouse Academy residents preforming at our Commencement Ceremony on June 26th, 2010. Who says drug rehab isn’t a fun place to be???
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Family Workshop Experience at Gatehouse Academy

Written by: Ethan D

For three weeks out of our year stay in Gatehouse we have family workshops.  All separated by about a 2 month period.  For some it is a very difficult experience but for most all it creates a lot of growth in their lives.  I’m in the middle of my second.  I have a variety of different emotion but am very optimistic because of how well my first went.  The first workshop deals with getting everything out to our family, and letting them know where we have come from and what we are dealing with.

The growth my family experience through this workshop was mind blowing.  I’ve never been able to connect to my family in the way I did this week.  It has created a family atmosphere for us that we can now build on our recovery together, and not have any more questions of the past but only look towards the future.  List work is a large part of the workshops.  The first workshop only the residents have it but as the second and third approach the entire families enjoy this process.  The question differs from what the certain workshop is dealing with but always proves a challenge for all.  The list work is done in front of the rest of the workshop families and residents and is always followed up with feedback as well as advice and affirmations.  These workshops clue into the idea that this is a family disease and that it affect us all.  It is the key to a healthy life with our families and a milestone in our recovery.  Without these workshops some of us may never be able to talk to our families again, but for some of us it is the first time we will every really truly talk to our families.  I cannot thank Gatehouse enough for what they have done for me and my family.

Ethan is currently enrolled as a resident in Gatehouse Academy’s drug rehab program.  He offers his review and testimonial by telling us about a lesson he has learned from our 12-Step curriculum.

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The Positives of Gatehouse Academy

Written by Scott E.

There are many positives to Gatehouse.  One of them is having a big support group around you at all times.  There are many good things about this; having a big support group around you at all times means whenever you are struggling, there is always someone around for you to talk to and relate with.  You also have people that can hold you accountable and people who can tell when you are struggling and can reach out and help you.  School is another positive.  Taking school at Gatehouse means I can slowly get back into my education, one class at a time.  The entire accommodations and living aspect is another positive.  We learn how to live a responsible and sober life and how to manage food and keep the house clean.  The life skills block is another great part of Gatehouse Academy.  In life skills we get to learn how to handle all aspects of life that will be helpful to us after we commence.  I have a lot of fun at group sports.  It’s a great opportunity to exercise.  It also brings us closer as a community and allows us to build trust with one another.  The houses are really nice here.  We get to live in several houses and bond as a family.  Work ethic is an important part of the program; we have several different jobs done in the morning to teach us how to handle having a job and going even if we don’t want to.  I’m on car crew right now.  There are many positive aspects of Gatehouse, and I am grateful for all of them.

Scott is currently enrolled as a resident in Gatehouse Academy’s drug rehab program.  He offers his review and testimonial by telling us about a lesson he has learned from our 12-Step curriculum.

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Developing The Leader In Me

Written by Becca G.

When I became a senior resident I was really surprised.  I think it’s really cool that Gatehouse gives people leadership positions like senior resident or RA.  It really helped me see that the progress I’ve made here was being recognized and that helped motivate me to step up more.  It’s also given me an opportunity to help newcomers more, especially being able to talk to people on newcomer ban.  It’s also nice to be trusted a little more with things such as holding onto the RA phone.  It sounds really small, but to me it felt like a pretty big deal.  Because of how much trust I’ve lost with everyone in my life because of my using, being trusted even the smallest amount is really exciting.

Becca is currently enrolled as a resident in Gatehouse Academy’s addiction treatment program.  She offers her review and testimonial by telling us about a lesson she has learned from our 12-Step curriculum.

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Family Workshop Experience at Gatehouse Academy

Written by: Coleen F.

As a resident at Gatehouse I struggled with not being able to see my parents and sister very much.  I didn’t think that a family workshop could help my relationship with my parents.  I just completed my third and final workshop and I cannot believe the changes that have occurred within my family.  My father and I didn’t have a relationship before I came to Gatehouse, but through the family workshops we have gotten to know each other and have found that we are very much alike.  Today I am able to appreciate my family and respect and love them.  I am also happy to realize that even though I am sober my family as a whole is not perfect.  We are still going to have arguments and disagreements but today we can work through them in a healthy way, when in the past I would have drank over it.  I am so grateful for my families’ work and for the help of Gatehouse during the family workshops.

Coleen is currently enrolled as a resident in Gatehouse Academy’s addiction treatment program.  She offers her review and testimonial by telling us about a lesson she has learned from our 12-Step curriculum.

Families of residents attend 4 Family Workshops during their stay at Gatehouse Academy.

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Video Replay – Woods’ Public Statements – Is Tiger working the 12 Steps???

Video Replay of Tiger Woods Statments – 2/19/10

Above is a video replay of Tiger Woods‘ public address on February 19th. Feel free to re-watch today’s statements.

Is it just us, or are the principles Tiger is talking about based in the code of conduct described by the 12 steps?  Integrity, Service, Amends, Atonement, Boundaries, Cravings, Actions speak louder than words…

AMEN BROTHER!

Looks like you may have picked up a tool or two while attending a sex addiction treatment center.

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Shocking Video on CNN – Pain Clinics in Florida

Watch this revealing video about the Addiction epidemic.  No wonder there is a dire need for addiction treatment in the US.

Please post any thoughts or comments.

Posted in Drug Rehab | Tagged , , | 3 Comments
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