Day 10.

6.30 Wake up.  Medication is still the same.

I felt today has been a turning point in my recovery.  I now feel very settled in the castle environment and around my peers.

Continental breakfast again!

One of my peers I have still had issues bonding with since the start.  Mainly because they are quite disruptive in various sessions by over-talking and diverting the subject of the sessions.  This peer I have felt this way previously and spoke to a member of staff about this.  This peer though has calmed down now and I have understood within myself that even though we are all in here for the same reason ‘recovery’, we will all take different paths to reach our end goals.  With this in mind, I made a conscious decision to sit with this peer today and chat.  As such, I have bonded more with my peer and put my issues to rest.  This made me feel good inside as now I speak to all my peers.

I shared my life story in the group session today.  This was very emotional, but it felt good to finally let my group understand my past and what has led me to come to rehab.  The group were very supportive and provided some thought-provoking feedback, mainly that I am holding onto my past, and many could relate to my life story in their own way.  This was reassuring as I felt that I am not alone and shared similar experiences with my peers.

We had a house meeting today, which allowed all peers to express issues and concerns to the management.  One of the issues raised by management, that I did not agree with, was that the clean down of the tables, after eating meals, was not being done, and the next group in were always complaining about this.  Many times I have cleaned down the tables after our group, so I expressed this, and it felt empowering to have my opinion expressed and listened to, with many other peers agreeing with me.  It felt good to be accepted by other peers.

I was slightly worried today as I had to contact the insurance company about what my plan covers.  It was a relief and a big weight off my shoulders to be told that I can get a 17-day extension and aftercare treatment, covered by my insurance.  This news made me feel happy and hopeful inside as I want more time in recovery, as I am feeling the benefit of being around other peers, expressing myself and finding myself on this recovery journey.

The extension will also allow me more time to process the 12 steps so that I can make my outpatient journey more effective in preventing a relapse.

A peer also gave me gratitude today at the end of day reflection, for helping them with their daily tasks.

Overall, I am feeling more hopeful about my future recovery.  I hope that once my therapist provides the insurance with my extension, it is accepted.

I see the great benefit of being in the castle and I hope my stay is extended as I feel this will further empower me on my recovery journey.

The future of being abstinent is becoming clearer and the aftercare treatment will help me in early recovery to continue the path of sobriety.

Time to focus more on my recovery – one day at a time