WHEN SPIDERS UNITE, THEY CAN TIE DOWN A LION. That is what AARC is doing with ADDICTION
I was admitted to AARC in the year 2000. That is as specific as I will get. I was admitted against my will just as our friend who ran away after 5 months. Unlike her, I finished the program and have a completely different view of the program because my eyes have been opened wider than hers. I also was present as AARC while she was undergoing her treatment if anyone would like an outside view of what she was like inside. The staff were a bit skeptical of whether she was truly an Alcoholic/Drug addict or not - which is not a regular occurence, (AARC is almost always sure that people are addicted before they are admitted. If they aren't sure, some people are kept for a longer assessment to determine the severity of the addiction over a longer period of time). She was given opportunity after opportunity to be honest as to the extent of her drug use and more importantly the way she felt during those times and was not pushed one way or the other. People simply stated what their stories were and related them to hers. But before AARC could truly assess her condition, she decided to run away. They never heard from her again and apparently she is loving Ontario. Back to me for the statistics. I was in AARC for 13 months before I completed the program. The sad part is that I only used drugs for less than a year and it took more than that to rehabilitate me. At the beginning of my treatment, I did not like the people at AARC nor did I agree with the program. This was not because it was ineffective or abusive but because I was the target and the spotlight was on my life and me which I was very ashamed of. I was ashamed of the things I did to others and to myself because of my addiction. I was such a hurting individual and contemplated killing myself daily but was too scared to carry it out. AARC was not in the wrong. I was angry because for the first time in my life I was forced to look at myself because I was left with nobody else to blame, not even my parents because I wasn't allowed to see them. That was also rightly so because I treated them like absolute crap. However I would have denied that fact when I entered treatment because I was blind and in the denial that only an addict can have. As I moved through the program and looked at myself, I started to feel that freedom. Today I am over 3 years sober because of the kickstart AARC gave me into sobriety. Before I came in to AARC one of my siblings had been in there so I knew what was coming to me if I used a lot of drugs but I couldn't stop because I was horribly addicted. I returned home after 8 months (pretty long by AARC standards) and from there I went hard and cruised through the rest of the program. I love AARC, I love the people, and I am no longer sick like some of the people who are in this forum. You see, sick people cannot see the bigger picture, they can only see the sickness. I have been in both spots, the darkness and the light. I like the light. So many people critisize AARC but it is not to be critisized. Miracles happen there every day. Lives are saved. It's like the Bible, you either believe or you don't and it is hard to switch sides. AARC's program works for the people who use it. For some who don't use it, they tend to fall into their sicknees and start hate forums and things like that. All I know is that I sometimes start to cry when I think about how I used to feel every day and how I feel now. This was partly because of hard work but AARC lead me to this place. I have a job and I am going to College. I have a great relationship with my parents and an AWSOME, BEAUTIFUL girlfriend. I never thought I would have these things because I used to have NOTHING. I used to hate myself. I hope you can all feel the way I do today someday because it is truly the meaning of freedom.
