West Ridge Academy

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Christian

A True Story of Recovery

Christian was placed in West Ridge Academy by his parents over five years ago.  His story is one of personal struggle, and triumph.

When he was placed in treatment against his preference, his parents knew very little of the whole story. As is common with many addicts, Christian was able to keep most of his problem hidden.  His parents knew that something was wrong and that he wasn’t getting any better.  They didn’t know how deep the problem was, but they eventually went with their instincts and sought treatment at West Ridge Academy.

Years later, we now have the great opportunity to learn from their successes and their failures.

During this podcast, you will hear some rare honesty.  Christian and his parents give you an insider’s look into their family and relate some important lessons they have learned about recovery.

I have an idea, that I would like you to try.  If you will, stop reading now and listen to the podcast, then come back for the rest of this blog.

Okay… Now that you have listened to the podcast, I was hoping that we could get a discussion going.  I would love to hear some of your “takeaways”. What did you think, when you learned about his relapse after treatment?  What did you think about parents who kept reminding themselves about “tough love”?  What role does accountability play in recovery?

I would love to hear from you.  Just post your thoughts in the comment section.

Here are some of my thoughts:

• Hold your children accountable.
• Even after treatment, a person who is addicted may still relapse.  It is important to not rescue them from the consequences of their choices.  This may help them hit rock bottom, which may provide the necessary motivation to change.
• For Christian, even though he relapsed, therapy at West Ridge was still an essential element to his eventual recovery in three ways:

1. Christian told me something outside of the recording session that I wanted to share with you.  Had it not been for the sobriety and success that he had at West Ridge, he would not have been motivated to recover when he did.  He missed the success he had while being sober.  Often with those who start abusing substances, once they start losing control, have no experience of prolonged sobriety. They don’t realize they are missing something.  Since Christian was in treatment for enough time to sober up and have some success, he wanted it after he relapsed.  This actually provided the motivation to have a better life when he was ready, which brings me to my next point…
2. When he was finally ready to change, he knew how.  During his experience at West Ridge, he learned about recovery and how to be sober.  Those tools where ready for him when he finally decided to go to work.
3. Therapy helped Christian’s parents change the way they dealt with Christian’s addiction and this eventually became essential support.

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