Month: October 2009

I am simply overcome with gratitude this week. This week I have five years clean. When I was new, getting five years clean seemed like the most impossible thing, but somehow, it just kind of happened anyway. One night, Visions Adolescent Drug Treatment Center took me to a 12-step meeting, and suddenly staying clean seemed possible. I had been to many meetings before, but this one had something special: my first sponsor. She was speaking that night and said something that I will never forget. She said that she sticks around for the too-skinny, awkward young girls that come to meetings. I thought, “Well, I’m an awkward, too-skinny girl.” For whatever reason, the idea that someone might actually be waiting around to help a girl like me made me feel like I had a chance. It even made me think that if I were to by chance stay clean as an adolescent, I might even get to stick around for the too-skinny awkward girls that come through the door.
Tonight I got to celebrate my five years clean and sober at that meeting. Suddenly, standing in front of everyone there, I was overcome with gratitude and I was hit with the idea that, “Holy crap, I actually stayed clean.” I hated it, but I burst into tears in front of everyone there. I used to cry because I wanted help and felt so incredibly desperate. I cried because I wanted to die. Tonight, I cried because my life is so good and I sometimes can’t believe that I am free from active adolescent addiction. It seemed like such an impossible thing to do when I first walked into teen drug treatment, but by following the suggestions given to me there, I am now able to stick around for all the awkward, too-skinny, drug-addicted adolescent girls from Palo Alto that come into recovery today. If you would like help please click here struggling Teen.

Once again another study has shown that teens that drink before the age of 15 may be setting the stage for alcohol problems later in life. Early alcohol consumption may alter sensitive and still-developing brains, triggering a more powerful response to alcohol. This may be one reason that my drinking was such a bigger deal than a lot of my peers. My drinking began at a very early age and I was immediately inclined to drink as much as possible as often as possible. This led me to lose friends, offers to college, and the relationships I had with my family.
Teen alcohol rehab gave me a chance to stop and really focus on my life. I was really unhappy at first, because I couldn’t imagine a life without my protective veil of drugs and alcohol. Without them, I felt too sensitive and raw. In the safety of adolescent treatment, I was able to process these feelings of vulnerability with a loving and supportive staff and peer group. We began work on issues that I still work on today. I learned there that I wasn’t going to change overnight, but that I could learn to live without the use of drugs and alcohol. I have been on this journey for several years now, and am amazed at the life I have had the ability to create without using and drinking. If you’d told me then that I would be writing a pro-rehab blog, I would have laughed in your face. As time has gone on, I realize how integral that early piece of my recovery truly was. With the strong foundation that I got in treatment, I was able to go back into the world of Los Altos a stronger person- with the emotional tools I needed for success. If you or your teen is struggling with alcohol, Contact us today Visions Adolescent Drug Treatment Center.

MTV premiered Adam Goldstein’s Gone Too Far, a series on teen drug addiction, on October 12. Goldstein, also known as DJ AM, recently died from a drug overdose. The series was shot prior to his relapse, and was a true testament to his desire to help other addicts get clean. The series will focus on DJ AM’s efforts to help eight young drug addicts find recovery.
The death of DJ AM was a shock to everyone in both the entertainment and recovery communities. He had been sober for over 11 years and worked very hard to help others find the gift of recovery. I find it especially moving that despite the tragic end that met DJ AM, his ability to inspire and help others will live on. Perhaps having MTV do this series on recovering young people will inspire others to give this thing a shot. If your teen is struggling with addiction, Contact us today Visions Adolescent Treatment Center is ready to help.

I recently saw something where a doctor was asking if 12-step programs like AA and NA are hip enough for adolescents, which got me to thinking. When I first started going to meetings in teen drug treatment I was concerned with this very question. I certainly didn’t feel like they were very cool at all. It seemed like a lot of old people talking about things I’d never done. What were Quaaludes? I was really focused on the differences and not the similarities. As I stayed in treatment and began to honestly look at the severity and destruction of my drug and alcohol problem, I began to care less about how cool 12 step meetings were, and more about how they could help me.

As I stayed clean though, I realized that I could make my program whatever I needed it to be. When I got out of treatment and went back home to my adolescent outpatient program Santa Monica, I searched for young people’s meetings and decided to get involved. I could go to dances and barbeques. My clean and sober friends and I could be as cool as we wanted without using drugs and alcohol. I decided that it’s pretty cool to go from being dependent on drugs to creating a whole new life. My old idea of cool- like going to raves and partying- was killing me. I might be one of the few young people who prefers hanging out with a bunch of “old” sober people, but my quality of life has changed tremendously. If I decide to stick around and be as hip and cool as I want to be, then maybe my presence will make it easier for the next teenager trying to stay clean. I’m glad that Visions helped me focus on what was important- my life. That’s pretty cool. Please contact us for more information about adolescent drug and alcohol treatment.