Drug & Alcohol Rehab Centers near Whitehall, MI

I first began using drugs as a way to cope when my parents divorced when I was 15 years old, it first began while I was in school hanging out with the wrong crowd and I began to experiment with weed. It was just something for me to do that at the time helped me relax and not deal with the fact that when I went home my parents were not together anymore. After about a month or so of smoking the desire began to fade away and I began to start researching other drugs and going to parties and drinking, When I began drinking I would become this other person who would forget about my problems at home and I would just be around my friends and they seemed to always be there so I did not feel like I was in fear of them leaving too. Before I knew it I was turning 16 and I was smoking and drinking at least every couple of days. I gave up on school, sports and my family as I felt that they kind of gave up on me as well. With that being said hanging out with my friends constantly in doing so we all were doing the same things on a daily basis and soon we began to take it up a notch and meet new people and while doing so that opened up a whole new world to us. Who knew that we could buy pills off the street or by drugs on the corner from someone who knew someone. After a while I looked around and realized that I was now 18 yrs old, that\'s right 18!! I failed to complete high school and graduate, I gave on sports and football, and I had not made any contact with my parents in about 8 months. They had no idea what I was doing where I was or what I had gotten myself into. I began using heroin and my family had not idea I was able to keep it a complete secret from everyone that I had fallen off the deep end so bad. I remember getting a voice mail from the hospital one day saying that my mother had been taken by ambulance because she was having heart trouble and she asked them to inform me. About 5 minutes before that phone call I had just got done shooting heroin in my arm and I told myself there is no way that I could go to the hospital and have my mother see how bad I had gotten and how bad I looked. That was my wake up call, I could have lost my mother that night and because I was so high on drugs I was not able to show my face in a hospital or be there by her side. I could have never seen her again. After a few days my mother was released from the hospital and I called her to see how she was doing, Being a typical mother she said she was fine and not to worry but that she was worried about me, she said \"the son I raised would have been by my side, so I know that something is not right with you because I know that you wanted to be there with me and something kept you from coming\". I will never forget that, I asked my mother to meet me and she agreed. Once she saw me she could not even speak, she just embraced me in her arms gave me a hug and would not let go. She said what have you don to yourself and why have you not called out for help. I had track marks all up and down my arms I looked as though I only weighed about 90 pounds and my hygiene was awful, My mother already knew that I was having a problem with drugs and because she is my mother she already had some place set up for me to go to. I said how did you know? She said baby you are my son, I gave birth to you and a mother knows when something is just not right with their child. I just cried and told her that I was ready to go. She sent me the the A Forever Recovery program and from the moment I got there and walked in the doors I felt like I was in the right place. Everyone was very welcoming and they all seemed to have a really good grasp on what each person needed as not everyone is going through the same issues. I was able to do one on one counseling witch for mo was great because I was very reserved and I did not like talking in the first place and I had always felt judged. It was hard enough to open up to one person let alone a whole room full of people. Slowly I began to see the reason for my addiction and I was able to see a pattern with my behavior and why I was acting out. I was at the program for roughly over a month and I remember seeing my mother out in the seats at my graduation and all I could do was smile and cry. My mother gave me hope that day and the A Forever Recovery program save my life. I will never be that person again, I will never let a drug or pill or drink dictate my life and take me away from the person that gave me life. This program is without a doubt a life changing experience and I am forever great full to all of the staff that was involved with my recovery process. I encourage anyone that is having a problem with drugs or any other substance to reach out to someone and get the appropriate help needed so that you can be the best version of you that you can and that you deserve. Life is short and there is no need to waste it on something that just takes all of your feelings away and your meaning for life.

- blake

4.7 out of 5

Battle Creek, MI