With different lines of work come different perks and benefits. I found this out when I had the good fortune of landing my dream job as a sitcom writer several years ago. My job exposed me to some famous actors and actresses, and sometimes even the wild parties you hear about with the endless supply of free drugs. Cocaine in particular was one of the most accessible and tasteful drugs on the scene, and before long I was introduced to several contacts who could keep me supplied literally around the clock. I was living life in the Hollywood fast lane, a world that literally thrives on the extreme. At first, I was nervous about using hard drugs because I only smoke pot and drank (admittedly a lot) in college. Never having used hard drugs before I was nervous the first time. But I immediately noticed a physical and motivational benefit that I knew would really help my creative work. Writing comedy every day is mentally exhausting and just wipes you out mentally. I reassured myself I needed the cocaine to succeed, and maybe even survive in my job, in this uber-competitive, dog-eat-dog world of Hollywood.
Within three years’ time, my addiction to coke switched to heroin, which eclipsed even my passion and dedication to my writing career. My work went down the drain and they eventually fired me. I wallowed in my misery and despair for a while but I knew if I ever wanted to be able to work again I had to get some help. I decided I would not go the typical Hollywood celebrity rehab route, because . . . well do I actually have to even complete this sentence? The headlines are filled with celebrities who are constantly going to luxury rehab facilities, and then going back to rehab, and then going back to rehab again. It’s a bigger joke than I have ever been credited with writing in my job!
I choose a luxury rehab called Seaside Palm Beach in Florida specifically because their site said they don’t prescribe to the celebrity luxury rehab approach for their treatment programs. They do not want to be known as another revolving door celebrity rehab facility. They believe your first rehab stay with them should also be your last rehab stay with them. Their goal is for every patient to succeed the first time and not to have a room reserved personally for them to keep coming back to every 6 months. After everything I had been exposed to in Hollywood that sounded like the place for me. I knew I made the right choice as soon as their limo driver brought me there from the Palm Beach airport. Their Seaside facility exuded a very tranquil setting. I sensed a soothing atmosphere, filled with the smell of the ocean that did wonders to unwind my normally supercharged racing mind. But it was the staff there that really saved my career and probably my life too. They gave me and all recovery guests the utmost appreciation and respect for just walking through the door that day and seeking help. They helped me realize all the qualities and strengths I forgot I had that landed me my dream job in the first place, and how I did it completely drug-free. Since I finished their program two years ago, I have resumed command of my life and I am working again. I continue to remain confident that I can thrive at anything I put my mind to, drug-free. I am writing this to thank all the people at Seaside for never judging me, and for pulling me out of the desperate, despondent, and dependent state I was in when I first arrived there.
