I don’t really remember the accident probably because I was in shock I ran off the highway at a high rate of speed it crashed into a retaining wall the airbag went off, but I was uninjured.
The police arrived and asked me if I needed medical attention which I declined.
I vaguely remember getting in the back of the police cruiser and the ride to the station.
I do remember them giving the sobriety tests and obviously failing them. I explained to the officer where I was going when the accident occurred.
I do not know if the officer felt sorry for me or what but after he finished processing my paperwork he offered to drive me the rest of the way to the rehab facility.
It was an amazing act of compassion on his part.
He even took me to buy cigarettes on the way.
I was in pretty rough shape when I arrived but the people at the rehab facility got me stabilized.
The next morning, I called my father to explain what happened.
He was upset but volunteered to go to the impound lot where my car was located and get my possessions that were left in the car.
I spent two days detoxing and was then sent to the unit I had been to twice before.
By now I was a regular and several of the counselors were both happy and sad to see me again.
Sad because I had relapsed but happy because I was seeking help again.
I don’t know if it was just because I finally hit the lowest rock bottom ever or if I was finally just ready to be done with alcohol, but I had a completely different attitude towards rehab this time.
I had always been an active participant in groups but now even more so.
I took advantage of every opportunity offered to me and the counselors noticed the difference compared to the other times I was in treatment.
However, I did try something different this time.
in my prior attempts I never took advantage of the psychological counseling opportunities that were offered to me.
I still felt the therapy was for weak people that was extremely reluctant to try it.
This was a moment of clarity when I realized I was not nearly as strong as I thought I was.
I’d finally come to grips with the fact that I was powerless, truly powerless, when it came to alcohol, but I didn’t really know why.
I met with the psychiatrist and for the first time truly opened up.
We began looking at medications to try which I had never done before because I was so skeptical.
He told me that the medications we’re not an exact science and that we might need to try a couple before finding one that works.
I was prescribed a couple different things to try and decided to find a therapist to see upon my release.
I left rehab in February of 2022 and at once began my journey with therapy which I’m still on to this day.
It was a bit of a struggle to find a combination of medicines that worked but just talking and being honest and open with my therapist was an immediate success.
I was beginning to feel better and happy again all because I realized that asking for help was not weakness but a powerful tool to increase my mental strength, I hope this story can help anyone that is on the fence about getting help for mental health.