Written by Jed H.
My name is Jed, I am 18 years old originally from San Diego, California and I have been at Gatehouse Arizona Rehab Center for about 11 and a half months now. I would say I am happier than I have ever been in my life at this point; I went from a hopeless miserable drug addict to a responsible and most of the time happy person.
My drug treatment started in a 2 month facility in Montana the date was February 1st 2008 I was there for 58 days, on the 57th day I relapsed. Immediately afterward I was sent to another treatment facility in Michigan, this was a 9 month program but my stay there was only 6 and a half months. After this I came to Gatehouse Academy on October 8th 2009.
Despite the fact that I was already 6 and a half months into my sobriety I was still very miserable. To be honest I wasn’t genuinely happy until I was over my 1st year of sobriety (about 6 months into my gatehouse stay). For me sobriety is a life long process, and if any drug addict expects there 1st year of sobriety easy and stress free there definitely out of there mind.
At Gatehouse Academy, I started to find new hobbies and things that make me stay busy, happy, and motivated. Some of these things are working out, talking with my friends, talking with my sponsor, going to group sports on Sundays, mostly things that keep me very busy and keep me away from my mindset when I am not doing well. I tend to fall back into a negative mindset when I am sitting around and being lazy, and that’s why the type of structure that Gatehouse Academy provides makes it a very good environment to get back up on my feet and start a new life like I have never experienced before. Like I said before its not easy here and everyday is a challenge, there are many things that I have to do daily that I don’t always want to do, but I have become a better person for doing them.
In my stay at Gatehouse Academy, I have made a lot of mistakes. Gatehouse Academy staff has shown me a lot of patience and tolerance, and helped me see the lessons to be learned from my mistakes.
As of now I have less than two weeks here and I will be transitioning to Gatehouse College Campus (GCC). I think that a whole year of being at main property and a six month transition to GCC will help me to build a life of happiness and fun in sobriety. To this day I still have many struggles and pains that I go through, but I can be ok with that. I have recently grasped the ability to accept my issues as they are and work on them rather than taking a negative approach like I used to. I am so grateful to be given this second chance at a new life.
Thank for reading this.
It is hard to find a drug rehab that is best for you. The reason some rehabs are not very successful is because people have to want to get off drugs and alcohol. They have to have a will. It’s not going to work if you don’t have it.
thanks for the post, Jed H.
Hey, I know you are young and I honestly think it is great you’re finding your way, a better life with out drugs and alcohol. We all have our journeys and it’s wonderful to see you having a wonderful success.
Good luck at GCC!