Page 16 - SilverLinings Issue 5
P. 16

SILVER HILL HOSPITAL
Eventually, the drugs and alcohol demanded a larger part of Anthony’s life. It became a prison, he says.
“What started out as seemingly harmless partying was now getting dangerous,” he says. “Instead of doing it because I liked doing it, I started doing it because I needed to do it. For the last nine months leading up to November (2003), I was taking an overdose of pills and alcohol pretty much every night. I got severely addicted to Percocets and OxyContin.
I had to find other connections to get drugs and that led to harder drugs like methadone.”
Despite working full-time, Anthony found himself spending an increasing amount of time and money on drugs and alcohol. His mind was consumed with where he was going to find his next supply and how he was going to pay for it.
“The last two or three years before I went to Silver Hill, I hated my life,” he recalls. “By age 48, I just wanted to isolate with my bottle of wine and pills and zone out in front of
the TV. I drank and drugged myself into not wanting to be around anybody. In a strange way, I think that helped in my recovery. There was no romantic life to come back to where I’d need to drink or do drugs.”
At discharge from Silver Hill, one of the recommendations was to attend 90 meetings in 90 days. Anthony did that and then some. He attended a meeting every night for three years. Instead of drinking every night, he went to a meeting.
He became a better employee and received promotions because his days were not consumed by trying to find drugs. It took a while, but he regained the trust of his wife. Even his golf game improved because “I wasn’t playing on 12 Percocets.”
“Everything got better once I got sober,” he says.
Eventually, however, Anthony stopped going to meetings altogether and had a close call with a relapse. While at the hospital for knee surgery, Anthony said “no” when asked if he was an addict and received a prescription for 20 Percocets. He knew this would lead to a downward spiral and put him back where he started. He found the strength to make an important phone call. “I called my sponsor, and we ripped up the script,” he recalls. He started attending meetings again and realized that sobriety and the people and places that support it are gifts.
Anthony now comes to Silver Hill every weekend on a 16 voluntary basis to help others. He hopes he has a similar
impact on others as that group leader had on him so many years ago.
“Silver Hill was a safe place for me to be. It was a place to feel comfortable and talk to people about what I’ve been through,” Anthony says. “I feel that when I left here, I had a chance to save my life. All these years later, I truly believe this is the place that saved me. That’s why I want to come back and do what I’m doing. My true hope is that someone hears something that makes them stay sober for the rest of their life.”
His advice to those currently at Silver Hill being treated for addiction? “Soak up as much knowledge as you can get here about staying sober. Listen to what everyone tells you and realize they have your best interests at heart. Don’t leave here without a plan for once you leave the safety of these walls. Take everything that this place gives you and take it out into the world.”
    Handled with Care
 “I have this little plant that I planted when I was on ACU. It is the only thing that I took with me. I don’t have a green thumb, and I planted it and cared for it, and I am still caring for it. It’s kind of a metaphor for my sobriety and recovery. And I want to keep caring for it every day. It’s still doing well and so am I.”
FORMER STEWARD HOUSE PATIENT SHARING DURING A GRATITUDE GROUP SESSION

















































































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