Anne’s Success Story
I’ve never been happy. Even as I child. I just don’t remember ever feeling comfortable in my own skin. I looked happy, some would even say I was blessed by life. But I cried for decades. Years of therapy did help me lay out everything I was sad about on the table, but it never really gave me the tools to stop being sad about it. Then I went to Dunham House.
‘I think I need to go to rehab’ I told the emergency nurse between sobs on July 12, 2020. Saying it was so hard, almost physically difficult to get the words out. But saying it put in motion a team of professionals at the hospital who gently led me into to the caring arms of addiction specialists. Everybody was so kind, so gentle with me. I felt safe, loved. I now realize that I should have asked for this help when I was 13. I’ve needed help for so long. Eight words and a little bit of courage were all I needed to be saved.
The next day, July 13, is my Day 1, but a week or so after arriving at Dunham House is when my recovery really began. For the first time in my life I was happy, truly happy. I looked forward to the future and I was finally ok with leaving my past in the past. I felt strong enough to look right in front of me. I finally believed in the joy of the present and the possibility of the future. I stopped needing to constantly relive the pain from my past. ‘I am light and my future looks bright’ I wrote for a song we built as a group.
I spent two incredible months at Dunham House and it had a profound effect on me, my depression and my will to live. I am a completely different person now. I am happy, content. I am proud of myself, finally, after decades of struggles, shame and so much sadness.
Was it the daily workshops led by incredible and knowledgeable counselors? Was it the love from other residents always ready to listen, hug and encourage me? Me helping others? The one on one therapy? The group sharing? The amazing staff and their incredible belief in your capacity to succeed? The daily walks, the yoga, the art classes, the music or the tons of books made available to everyone? The camaraderie? The great outdoors? There is so much to love about this wonderful place and the people who make it what it is.
If you are hesitating about going, please don’t. Dunham House changed my life and it can change yours too.