Drug Rehabilitation, Dream Rehabilitation, Identity Rehabilitation
Making my way down to Delray Beach, Florida for drug and alcohol rehabilitation at Palm Partners, I had a name and I had an identity. My name was empty compared to the disease of alcoholism with which I identified so heavily with. The disease was my identity and the letters in my name, just that, letters. The disease was the reason I was on my way to drug rehab. My alcoholism untreated had caused me to lose myself, my ambitions, my goals, my dreams. My addiction caused me to lose who I truly was.
Today that is not the case. I have a name, a wonderful, beautiful name with a new identity behind it, with goals behind it, with ideals behind it, and with a full blown, inexplicable determination to do the next right thing holding me up. I am Rhea Rosier and I am here to introduce myself not just as a writer but also as a recovered alcoholic and drug addict.
As an addict and an alcoholic that needed drug rehab I am hoping to bring about a new sense of what exactly all these words mean. I’m here to share a little piece of me with you to try and help bring light to what it means to be hopeless, what it means to be living in absolute chaos on a daily basis, unable to manage, and what it means to be addicted. While all these things hold true and I plan on sharing, because I love to share, I am also here to tell you not only what it means to be hopeless but how it can be overcome with a simple choice to change your life. I know, I did it.
So back to the beginning, once again my name is Rhea and I am an alcoholic. I made the decision to come to Delray Beach, Florida in July of 2010, to start a long-term treatment program at Palm Partners. At the time I was 22 years old, shaken with the sickness of many years of drug use and drinking. I was scared, I was angry, and I was lost. Luckily, even though I did not realize it, I was on my way to a place where all of that was going to be taken care of. Treatment began slowly as everything does, healing takes time.
The tools used while I was there were all meant to help not only speed up that process but also to help me make this recovery from alcoholism and drug addiction a long term part of my life. From dancing, to yoga, to classes that allowed me to ask questions, and the individual therapy; it all enhanced the progression of my recovery into a life today, that is beyond my wildest dreams. Drug rehab taught me that not only could I overcome my addiction but I could rise above even the most daring dreams I have had as a human being. It taught me that this isn’t just about Rhea the alcoholic, but also about Rhea the person. Rhea, the girl who, even though she had lost her dreams, her goals, her ideals, for a little while in her addiction and alcoholism, still had them and not just that, she could achieve them.
So here I sit, a year later, working for the same place I went to treatment. No not working, working is the wrong word. I am doing something I absolutely love to do. A true, tangible, 180 degree twist from where I was a year ago. I am writing and I am sharing. I am one step closer to achieving my dreams and I have held onto my ideals.
I am still Rhea Rosier, still 22, getting ready to be 23, and I am still an alcoholic. The difference is, I now have the tools to live a happy, successful life. Success by my own definition is the progression of moving forward and changing every day. I am blessed to be an alcoholic and drug addict and as odd as that may sound it has helped me learn the determination to stick with the things that I thought I had lost and helped me to find a new purpose in life. Drug rehab didn’t tell me what to do, it helped me learn how to get up and have it done. My life is taking on new heights with every day and I have not only just overcome my disease but I am also overcoming life’s daily obstacles.
I am no longer defined by my disease; I am defined by my recovery. I am defined by the life I lead today and I am more than proud of my past, my present, and what is going to be my future. All because I made a choice to change, I made a choice to do something; I made a choice to get help.
If you or someone you know needs help from alcoholism or addiction and wants to make a change for the better. Call: 877-711-HOPE (4673) or go to www.palmpartners.com