My addiction hit an all-time low at the start of the pandemic in 2020. I hadn’t completely surrendered to going to treatment at first as I didn’t want to spend 90 days away from my children. They were only 11 and 8 years old at the time and I had never been away from them for longer than a week.
Thankfully I surrendered to the idea of going to a residential treatment program because I really needed this time to fully focus on myself with as few outside distractions as possible. On July 18th 2020, I entered the residential treatment program at Westminster House, giving myself the time to really look at myself and my addiction. Yes, this meant spending time away from my kids, but I had spent so much time focusing on caring for them and focusing on my husband’s addiction, that I had been completely neglecting all my needs and my addiction only grew stronger. I had “lost” myself and who I was.
At first, I didn’t completely let go and open-up to the staff as I was worried that my best interests wouldn’t be taken into consideration, but I quickly learned that this was not the case. The case workers made such a difference for me in my recovery. Our daily group sessions whether in a large group or smaller group setting always seemed to bring me to realizations about my life that I had never discovered or known before. I was able to connect with a group of women who were also residing at the house, and we became our own “recovery family”. Just knowing that I had women to turn to if I needed support or help felt so relieving and safe.
I continue to connect with the women that I met at Westminster House, as well as the Alumnae that I have met out in the community at meetings. I never feel alone when going to meetings as there is such a close-knit family of Westminster House Alumnae in the community to connect with. I really enjoy dropping by the House for their Alumnae barbecues and being able to connect with the women currently residing in the House, as well as attending the other recovery events connected with Westminster House throughout the year.
Today I am so thankful for my life, family, friends – but mostly my recovery. I have such a sense of peace in my life today which is such a welcomed change from the chaos and drama it used to be filled with. Because of the tools I gained in group sessions and through working the steps, I was able to set a boundary with my husband who was in addiction as well and decided to enter a residential treatment program once I returned home. We are both now living a life of recovery and taking care of ourselves so that we can be present, caring, and active parents to our children. I have learnt the importance of putting myself and my recovery first, so I can be a better mom, wife, friend, daughter, sibling, and employee. Thank you, Westminster House, for showing me the way in my recovery journey!
Tina B.