Drug & Alcohol Rehab Centers near Friday Harbor, WA

The Clearing

Throughout my life, I believed depression and anxiety were inherent and immovable forces. I had operated from a space of self-loathing, anger, and overwhelm since childhood and I was skeptical that there was a productive, healthy life in my future. Isn�t it na�ve to assume that life can be joyful? Where do people get off having inner peace? My accomplishments and accolades felt empty and only in over-working, over-exercising, food restriction, and self-harm behavior did I feel some semblance of control in the chaos. Of course, control was fleeting and damaging on all levels of my being, but even a temporary fix seemed necessary to continue the uphill battle. On many occasions, the bleak future of discontent and fear led me to feel that dying would be a gentle kindness. When I made the decision to dedicate 28 days of my life to concentrated healing, I was expecting some coping tools for how to handle my depression. I owned the idea that I was beyond help, a victim of the culmination of my life�s events and culpable for every failure or mistake, defined by my ability to �do�, frustrated with my inability to �get over it and carry on�. I viewed psychology as a soft science of speculation and readied myself to be inundated with dogma and fluffy breathing techniques to handle my panic. Never once did I expect to find my heart�s center, to learn to love myself for who I am at the core of my being, to release my attachment to external control, and to release the hurts I held inside that made me defensive, fearful, and withdrawn. I didn�t expect to find my purpose, to feel confident in leaning into my passions, or to thrive in a world in which I save and honor myself and care for my life�s journey with tenderness, compassion, loving, and grace. The environment at The Clearing is bright, warm, and loving. Every accommodation is made to allow each participant to fully focus on their internal journey. Meals are divine, the cookie jar mysteriously refills itself, the coffee pot bubbles all day, and the beds are piled with blankets. I was never a patient, but rather, a family member treated with love and respect. I was surrounded by like minds- people who actually wanted to be there. The staff is authentic, humorous, kind, dedicated, and compassionate- giant hearts walking around on two legs and practicing these tools in their lives daily. I immediately felt safe and held in loving, which was instrumental in allowing years of emotional baggage to be explored and healed. Each lecture in the workshop was intuitive, but also informative and evidence-based. The experiential learning cemented the concepts into memory and the tools I learned empowered me to rescue myself from my fears, insecurities, pain, and traumas. While the idea of being personally responsible for my feelings felt a little intimidating at first, it turned out to be exactly what I had been seeking- a form of internal power and emotional security. All of a sudden, I was in control of my joy and it was boundless and overflowing. Six months after the completion of the program, I realized I had not experienced a single day of immovable depression. I had not experienced a single panic attack. I used my tools frequently (and still do), rebuilt damaged relationships in my life, removed myself from that which did not serve me, and finally learned to share my voice with confidence. This is what a healthy life felt like. I am overwhelmed with gratitude for my experience. I consider The Clearing staff my family, always and forever. And what do they say when I express my gratitude? �You did this. You did this for you- we just gave you the tools. You�re the one that rescued yourself.� And I did. I am my own lady-knight in shining armor. And I will continue to live a life of peace, practicing awareness, dedicated to sharing a beautiful truth: Depression can be temporary. All beings are worthy of love. Even you. Supportive Staff Evidence Based Methods Life-Changing Awareness Safe Space. It can be difficult to wait to enter the next session, but it is so worth going to a place where there isn't a rotating door policy to distract from the actual curriculum.