Last Updated on August 3, 2023 by
I owe so much to the center. I’m more in in touch with who I REALLY am, and I’ve learned that I am good enough, I am loved, and I will survive. Thank you Alternative to Meds Center for giving me my life back!
When I got to Alternative to Meds Center, I had been on Cymbalta and Abilify for a few years. But that’s not the only reason I went to Alternative to Meds Center. I came to Alternative to Meds Center because I was depressed, anxious, had mood swings and was angry.
I have five children and a husband. I had completely stopped being a mother to my children and I had started cheating incessantly on my husband. I was also smoking pot daily, hour after hour after hour after hour. I was in a complete state of numbness and felt totally empty.
From the first day I arrived at Alternative to Meds Center, I felt a sense of relief simply because I wasn’t at home having to deal with my children any more. It took me 4½ weeks before I even missed them. That’s sad, but it’s the truth. Having a chance to just get away from the madness and craziness of running that big of a household was something I desperately needed.
Starting at the Detox Shoppe and eating the strict diet every day was very hard at first, but now at the end of my time here, I crave the two hours in the sauna. I happily stay in longer when I can! I’ll definitely find a sauna at home because I have come to enjoy the sweat, the silence and the peace of mind I receive from sitting in the hot box.
The staff at the Detox Shoppe is so amazing! I will miss them so much and I hope to come back to visit sometime, not as a resident but as a friend.
Before Alternative to Meds Center, when I was at home and I would run out of my meds and unknowingly not take them for a few days, I would go into a tailspin of depression and crying all day. I wouldn’t realize that was the problem until a friend would ask me if I had taken my meds.
Now, having tapered completely off both meds, having had tons of therapy sessions and education classes and detoxing the physical body, I feel like I have the tools I need to go home and handle the ups and downs of daily life without needing meds. Alternative to Meds Center is truly like summer camp. Yes, there’s no caffeine, no sugar, no gluten, and it’s hard at first, but the body responds! It feels so wonderful!
All the staff have been so fun, open and honest, tough and amazing. I’ll miss having meals prepared for me and I’ll miss having the wonderful cleaning staff clean my room for me. I’ll miss the nightly meetings where we talk about who we REALLY are. I’ll miss the residents I’ve met here. The connection that happens because we all feel broken and at a place where we want to change is simply amazing! I’ve made friends for life that I may never see again. That makes me cry but it also makes me happy.
I owe so much to the center. I’m more in in touch with who I REALLY am, and I’ve learned that I am good enough, I am loved, and I will survive. Thank you Alternative to Meds Center for giving me my life back!
~ AW
