“After 15-year stretch of sobriety, I had a relapse in May of 2017,” says James, a Veteran-in-recovery from San Diego, California.
“Initially, I had gotten sober with the help of an Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP), friends and family support, and AA groups and sponsor,” he continues, “ but my relapse led to isolated and ‘black out’ drinking, after which I knew I needed professional help.”
James enrolled in the Veteran’s Administration Addictive Disorders Treatment Program (ADTP) in July of 2019, which was a once a week, in-person, group counseling program at the VA. “At that time, I really attempted to reduce and control my drinking behavior, even to the point of hiding my drinking, lying and continuing to manipulate what people thought about my actions and behaviors.” However, the rotating nature of participants and the transition to remote (ZOOM) appointments during the pandemic led to him to become less involved in the group’s meetings and to isolate from his family and drink even more
“I would behave in a Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde manner,” says James. “I could be ‘normal’ during the week as I worked and focused on family, but then the weekend would arrive and I would isolate, make long errand trips (which would be an excuse to leave to drink), return home noticeably intoxicated and claim I only had one or two drinks.”
Eventually James had a motorcycle accident, and he escaped serious injury, but he was charged with a DUI. “The DUI was a very large red-flag in needing to seek more intensive professional assistance in my recovery. My VA counselor went to his supervisor and requested that I be put into an in-person IOP group, and they referred me to Jay, the Program Manager at Confidential Recovery. I was able to meet with Jay on April 29th, 2021 and became an active nightly participant with the groups and counselors.”
Confidential Recovery was able to welcome me into a very receptive group, comprised of both Veterans and civilians with very similar stories and experiences. As we shared very private, sensitive, and emotional stories, we were able to bond over the tragedies and losses, commiserate over our past, and cheer each other on with each success and proven progress. Some were celebrating sobriety for the first time in their lives, some (like myself) were trying to recover after a relapse, while others were just feeling out what recovery meant and ‘testing the water’ of the recovery group at Confidential Recovery.”
James was impressed by the counselors and process at Confidential Recovery: “The counselors at Confidential Recovery work hard to provide a dynamic ‘workshop-style’ environment to support our personal recovery. It’s not the outdated style of lecturing I’ve experienced in other outpatient recovery programs, but an approach to recovery that introduces new concepts and stylized ideas blended into the traditional methods that really helped me to explore what makes sense to my self-realization and what it takes to make me whole again.”
This camaraderie with other recovering Veterans at Confidential Recovery was great for James and helped him maintain sobriety and pursue recovery. “I made life-long friends during these recent years at Confidential Recovery, and that includes the awesome staff. I was able to completely abstain from drugs and alcohol, heal with my family as we go through therapy to repair the damage from my past behavior and actions. I have also successfully completed all the assigned DUI courses and court appearances, and once again become an active member of the AA community.”
When asked if he would recommend Confidential Recovery to others in need of recovery James had this to say, “Absolutely. I think Confidential Recovery is a very effective treatment program, especially for Veterans and first responders. I feel more comfortable with my recovery this time compared with any time in the past due to the participation and programs started at Confidential Recovery.”
To learn more about substance abuse treatment for yourself or a loved one, visit Confidential Recovery’s website or call (619) 452–1200.
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Confidential Recovery
(619) 452–1200
4420 Hotel Cir Ct., San Diego, CA 92108