Rehab

I don't think the stigma surrounding rehabilitation programs will ever go away, but fortunately neither will the good that they do. When someone checks into rehab, either willing or not, they're starting a period in their lives when they turn a corner. Whether they're fully aware of it or not, it' a crucial turning point that will spell out the path that their story is going to take. However, the programs can only do so much. The success that may or may not follow is nearly entirely up to the individual that's in the process. In the past on this website, I've made very personal revelations that show deep into the state that my life is in, and I'm not going to stop doing that. The reason I show so much of myself on here is because I believe that it serves a crucial function, and that is keeping me accountable. If I make my activity public, I have no choice left but to stick by what I say, or face the ramification of being a complete hypocrite in regard all that I've done up to this point. I think by now you can piece together why I'm saying that in this particular entry. I look at rehab as a purgatory of sorts in many ways. It's a place where people step back from their active lives to take a tally of all of their actions. It's a place where people look at all their vices and virtues that have brought them to this point and ask themselves where they will go from here. "Will I change, or will I just go back to how I was?" is the main question those in rehab are presented with, but it's far from the only one. There will be many questions one will ask themselves in rehabilitation, usually pertaining to their own particular situation, and many of the answers are incredibly elusive, making it no simple task. Rehab can be frightening. When you enter it, you're haunted by the notion that you've failed as a person. On some level you believe that the reason you find yourself in this situation is that you have made all the wrong choices and it's some sort of punishment, but that's not the case. Rehabilitation isn't prison, it's not a sentence. People who are in it are there to reshape their lives into those of functional individuals. In many ways, rehabilitation centers serve the purpose that I wish prisons did. Unfortunately when someone leaves rehab, it doesn't mean they're cured, it just means that they now have the tools to combat what they're going through. Whether they succeed or fail falls on to them, meaning the real test comes afterwards. You'll meet all sorts of interesting individuals throughout your life. You'll meet people who seem to be utterly perfect and have become masters of the domains that are their individual lives, you'll meet people who you know with every fiber of your being that belong in the custody of the legal system, you'll meet artists, you'll meet athletes, and you'll meet all sorts of manner of others that fall into categories you can't quite name. In rehabilitation programs, you'll encounter all of the above. It's an experience that paints a vivid picture of what is really going on behind the scenes in peoples lives. It's very obvious that we all want the world to see us in our best light. We don't want our flaws and mistakes to be known and will go to great lengths to conceal them, but in rehab, the idea that mistakes have been made is just a common assumption, making for an environment where everyone looks at each other with a degree of judgement despite their own circumstances. It's a bizarre and uncomfortable environment, but many times, that's what growth is; bizarre and uncomfortable. Challenges are not an optional part of life. They'll find you no matter how hard you try to avoid them, and sometimes, they'll get the better of you. The inevitable frustration that you'll encounter with this can only be countered with the knowledge that while often times you can't control what the world throws at you, what you throw back at it is entirely in your hands. Every experience you have will add something to you, but only if you let it. Growth is a process that requires voluntary participation, and rehab is growth. It can be excruciatingly uncomfortable, but again, most growth and change is. A caterpillar doesn't just wake up one day as a butterfly, there is a process. Before it changes into it's beautiful new form, it goes into a chrysalis where it completely breaks down and transforms. In a way, that's what rehab is.