When I began my treatment at Seaside Palm Beach luxury drug rehab, I don’t think I really knew what I was getting into. I mostly went because my family coaxed me into it. Sure, I knew I was going to have to stay clean throughout the process but I don’t think my whole heart was in it. Now, 68 days later and trying to finish out my last month of treatment, I feel like a completely different person.
The withdrawals are the hardest part—that stuff will make you feel like a completely different person. But honestly, my whole outlook on life has permanently changed. (Well, I guess I will find out if it is permanent once I get discharged). Being in luxury drug rehab, I have met some of the most remarkable people who have, surprisingly, been from all different kinds of backgrounds.
Every addiction has a story. Behind every addict, there is a reason they turned to their drug of choice. I knew this, on an intellectual level, but I never really considered this fact or paid much mind to it, until I met my fellow addicts. I’ve enjoyed getting to know them through group meetings and by listening to their story. That is one thing that they never tell you: treatment gives you a voice. Being a part of luxury drug rehab has made me feel like I am important again. We’ve built this community of broken individuals and patched each other up. I feel like each and every one of us has not only built a network but a virtual patchwork quilt of friends who we can turn to for support once we finally go back to the real world. We all know that it is going to be different out there. We know it is going to be challenging. We know we will be faced with triggers and memories of our use, the works. But now we have something we didn’t have before: a team to back us up when we need it the most. We have a place to turn. We have a person – multiple people – to call.
At Seaside’s luxury drug rehab facility, we each had a highly individualized plan for recovery but we also got to know each others’ stories. Getting to know the ex-professional and professional football players has been the most profound part of the process for me. And, it is not because of their past or present fame. It is because of their heart. They gave their all for the game. They gave their life, their health for a sport. So that I could watch a Sunday football game, they risked their lives. That still boggles my mind.
I will never look at a game of football the same way again. I have always been a huge fan of the game but seeing now, firsthand, what tolls their bodies take just for a few minutes on the field, has changed the meaning of the game, as a viewer. These players want to do everything they can to be on the field; they take pain medication and lie about any injuries that may be bothering them – just so they can play! I think about their addictions, and realize they were turning to medication for real, physical symptoms. Then I look at my addiction, and how I turned to pills for emotional symptoms. I am amazed. I am humbled. That was when I experienced my first dose of the humility that was critical to my recovery.
I’ve learned, too, that different stories of addiction should not be compared in a greater/lesser than or equal to sort of manner but I can’t help but stop and think sometimes that my addiction was borderline superfluous when compared to theirs. If those guys can go through hell and back for something that they love, there is no reason that I can’t do the same thing. These guys have always had my respect but it has been magnified tenfold during my stay at Seaside’s luxury drug rehab. They have earned several patches on my quilt of recovery.
