I admitted to myself I was an addict a long time ago, but I never thought to do anything about it. Now I’m at Marina House, I have that opportunity. I’ve learned that addiction is a disease to which there is no known cure. It, however, can be arrested at some point. I don’t just identify myself as an addict but as a recovering addict.
Before I came to Marina House, I was told that it was the best place to go to work on my addiction and also on other areas of my life that I had difficulty working on in the past. This is now my sixth month, and I have realized that what I was told was true. Marina House has turned my life around.
Upon arrival and during my stay, I had a problem with aggression. In other words, I dropped the drug but not the drugging behaviours. Through open discussion, learning to resolve conflict in group therapy sessions and assertiveness classes (including much needed practice), my aggression has been nipped in the bud.
The counsellors who make every workshop, lecture and group session a learning experience are to thank for all the progress I’ve made in recovery. Along with the psychologist and psychiatrist who are available to clients on a weekly basis.
Family sessions are also available to assist those clients who may have been disconnected from family during drug use. Marina House has two phases. The primary phase lasts up to three months and then there is the second phase or the ‘half-way house’ as it is otherwise called, which is up to six months. If you complete both the duration of stay is nine months which can be extended for one year if applicable. In the second phase, you are given the chance to further your education or look for a job. Either way, it is beneficial.
I’ve been given the opportunity to go back to school which I’m entirely grateful for and if I hadn’t made the decision to come here, my life would be stuck in a rut. I’ve learnt about ‘slick,’ the voice that persuades you to use, and triggers and people, places and things. I’ve received the tools you need to ensure that you don’t regress or relapse in addiction.
Along with three square meals a day, regular exercise, yoga, it’s an efficient twelve step AA/ NA programme and there’s a magnificent view. If you are a woman in need of a place for healing from addiction then Marina House is for you.
The post Healing from addiction: A client’s story appeared first on Barbados Today.
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