When I went to teen drug treatment, most of my friends thought I either went to hell or went on vacation. I think they either imagined me digging trenches and staring at walls or having a blast riding horses and getting massages at the beach. It wasn’t like either of those things. I did learn how to manage my time though, which has turned out to be an unexpected benefit of going to treatment. I watch a lot of my peers struggling to get everything done, and a lot of them resort to drinking and taking pills like adderall or vyvanse to get through finals week or to finish a bajillion college applications. Some of the things I learned in treatment I learned without realizing. For instance, I learned how to recognize priorities and to set and stick with a game plan. I know that nothing is worth using over, and in order to keep myself from losing my mind, it’s imperative that I create a manageable workload and schedule. I can recognize my boundaries today. I know how much work I am capable of, and what I am able to do without going off the deep end. I also know how to put my head down and work. I know that uncomfortable feelings pass and that sometimes life is just challenging. I thought that teen drug rehab in Malibu was just going to help me get off drugs (which it did) but it also helped me learn valuable life skills that I use daily.
Originally posted on December 3, 2009 @ 5:55 am
