A Womans View
My name is Nicole and I‚’m an alcoholic and an addict. I always thought that if I could just stop drinking, I would be happy. If I could just lay off the drugs, I would be able to accomplish the things I had planned and I would find peace and serenity.
Despite the threat of death, emotional destruction, and the shame and guilt that hung over me every minute of every miserable day, I couldn‚’t stop inviting the abuse of my addiction. My parents gave me a choice, treatment or the street. I chose treatment because it sounded like a safe 30 day escape.
Although I longed for the personal achievements and accomplishments that would surely follow sobriety, I was extremely frightened by the thought of living my life without the haze and comfort brought on by alcohol and drugs. After 28 days as a patient in a residential rehab for substance abuse, even with the therapy and treatment, I realized that if I went back home I would die. For the first time in my life, I decided that I didn‚’t know best, listened to therapists and supports, and followed suggestions.
I admitted I was powerless. God led me to a halfway house in Delray Beach called Healing Properties. Scared out of my mind and willing to do anything to stay sober, I moved into the sober house and immediately began to follow suggestions. The first rule required that I get a sponsor and work the steps. I had no idea what the 12 steps entailed, but with the support of the girls and guidance from my property manager I began building a foundation as I learned about a solution with infinite possibilities. There are numerous club houses offering daily AA and NA meetings in Delray Beach and surrounding areas such as Boca Raton and West Palm Beach.
The rules of the facility and the random drug testing provided the structure I needed to stay focused on recovery. The houses are located off of Atlantic Ave which offered many job opportunities and beaches within walking distance. All of these things made my transition from rehab into real world situations a lot more comfortable. The houses provided a safe, clean, community for this hopeless alcoholic. As the result of getting a sponsor, I was taken through the steps and the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous brought me to a solution that could solve all my problems. That solution is God. I lived at Healing Properties for 8 months and it changed my life in a way that I can‚’t describe in words. I always thought that if I could just stop drinking, I would be happy.
If I could just lay off the drugs, I would find peace and serenity. The difference today is that I have found an incredible happiness, unending peace, and a contentment I thought I never deserved, and because of these things, I do not drink, and I have no desire for drugs.
