I’m a winner, moving forward, and a lot to live for!

 

R.H. sat across my desk with a big smile on his face. It was his “exit interview,” completing his two-year treatment program.

Looking back, he shares the following insights in his last face-to-face meeting with his counselor.

What was your life like when you were drinking?
“It was tiresome. I didn’t like waking up in the morning not feeling good. Looking back, I thought it was a lot of fun. It wasn’t.”

What brought you to Follman’s?
“A DUI.”

What were your expectations when you first came to Follman?
“To get cleaned up and get sober. To start another chapter in my life…A sober one!
I’ve got too much to live for. I have great parents. I have a great job and I don’t want to be looked at as an outcast.”

What was the hardest for you in the beginning of your treatment?
“That I did this to myself. I can’t blame anyone. I had to admit that I drank way too much and got in trouble.”

Who helped you during the time of your treatment?
“My parents. My work. I realized that a couple of people at work stucked their necks out for me.”

What are your life goals now?
“I’m not going to let my parents down. I don’t want them to think that their son is a loser. I’m a winner. I’m moving forward and have a lot of life to live for!”

 

R.H. “graduated” from Follman Agency. He embarks into 2016 with sobriety, self-confidence and a deep smile of satisfaction.

Surprised by the Joy of Sobriety!

 

What was life like when you were drinking?
“I always considered myself to be fairly responsible at the time. At least a day or two a week I would feel like crap being ‘hungover’. I did want to do the best work but I’d missed work periodically. I also argued with the wife a lot.”

You got a DUI over a year ago and decided to go into treatment at Follman Agency. What did you expect treatment to be like?
“I wasn’t too sure what to expect. I thought it would be more like an AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) type meeting. There would be a bunch of people sitting around talking about their issues, Instead, it turned out to be more instructive and enjoyable. My counselor was never boring. He was entertaining and did a good job.”

Now that you are 18 months clean and sober, what is life like?
“I lost 30 pounds just from stopping drinking. I started exercising. I don’t eat junk food which I did when I was ‘hungover’. I actually have a plan now in life instead of just living day-to-day. I now have a plan in motion to buy a house and leave something for my wife and kids.

I thought a year in treatment was going to take forever. Instead, it went quickly. I also thought I didn’t deserve a DUI. In a funny way, I’m glad it happened because I would have continued what I was doing. It’s made me open my eyes how enjoyable it is to be clean and sober!”

 

F.A. completed his treatment program at Follman Agency on December 9, 2015. He was surprised by the joy he found in sobriety.

Life Recovered!

 

“I lost everything in the five years I spent using drugs. That didn’t stop me from using.

My family didn’t know what to do.

I lost custody of my son.

I ended up homeless.

I tried many times to quit. Nothing seems to work.

At that point, I lost the will to live.

Before going to another inpatient treatment, I spent the whole night shooting up meth before my Dad and son took me to rehab.

As I hugged my three-year-old son good-bye, he said, “Dad I don’t love you no more.”

In the next 28 days at inpatient, I accepted the fact that I didn’t have all the answers and was willing to change.

Going to outpatient at Follman after inpatient was when I truly learned to live. After seven treatment attempts, something worked here at Follman.

He taught me how to want a better life for myself.”

 

S.D. found a better life. He is fully involved in his son’s life who loves him. S.D. has a new career and spends time giving his message of hope to others who desperately seek the answer as he once did.

I am worthy!

 

When J.L.’s business failed, it turned his existence upside down. If life was going well he felt that he was a worthy human being. However, when the economic recession struck, he lost more than his livelihood. His self-worth, tied up with his business success, also disappeared. Two thoughts haunted him. “I’m not good enough,” and “Why me?” kept repeating in his head. After twenty years of being clean and sober from alcohol, he relapsed.

“I was my worse enemy. I beat myself up. I drank so I would no longer have to think. I was living in a fog. I was no longer living in reality. I drank until I coughed up blood and still continued drinking.” Along the way, from 2012 to 2013, J.L. also received two Driving under the Influence charges.

“I was an emotional and physical wreck. I had no money and no job.”

When J.L. hit bottom he admitted himself to an inpatient treatment center for a month. J.L. then came to Follman Agency next for the outpatient phase.

“I neglected my son and granddaughter when I was drinking.” In time, J.L. restored the relationship with his family. With his sobriety came the trust back with those he loved.

 

“The best thing that ever happened to me at Follman was regaining my sense of worth.”

The Husband Who Came Back!

 

A year earlier, J.T. sat across the desk in my office. His employer sent him–another positive drug test. In a company that had a “zero drug tolerance” for its employees, J.T. had three strikes. Many of the managers wanted to fire him. The company president decided to give him one last chance.

J.T. reached down into his life’s resources. He found his foundation for the recovery he desired. Through those 12 months, he found the spiritual strength, wisdom and perseverance to abstain from drugs. In the process, he reclaimed his career, hope, and relationship with his wife.

J.T’s wife said, “Thank-you for giving me back my husband!”

 

J.T. completed treatment, resumed his career and embarked on a new life venture. With him is his wife who “got her husband back.”