Ep 03: Addiction: Janelle and Regan
Today’s episode features a wonderful story of hope and connection! Janelle and her daughter, Regan, are on the show to talk about their experiences of Regan’s struggles with drug use and her time in rehab. We hear from both our guests around the process, program, feelings before and after pivotal events and where they are at as a family now. Regan opens up about her story, how she started using drugs and progressed to dangerous levels of abuse quickly, leading to her mother sending her to live with her dad. Regan tells us about how, after ending up in a rehab center soon thereafter, she managed to find a sense of belonging that had been lacking in her life and both her and her mother emphasize the power of the support network around the rehabilitative treatment she went through. We discuss the difficult period of transition and the horror of a short relapse that occurred after returning home and the ultimate salvation that Regan has achieved, finding gratefulness and acceptance along the way. The conversation really underscores the need we all have for love and happiness and how their absence can lead to disastrous situations. Regan is now six months sober, having completed high school and enrolled at college, a truly remarkable story of overcoming hurdles! Be sure to join us for all of that and more!
Key Points From This Episode:
- A little bit about Regan’s story and where is she is at with her treatment.
- Janelle’s experiences leading up Regan going to rehab in Arizona.
- Finding the right treatment center and the positive experience at Pathway.
- The period around the transition from hopelessness during rehab.
- What it was like for Janelle during her daughter’s time in treatment.
- Difficulty around the periods of change; new normals and new patterns.
- Regan’s first job out of rehab, attending meetings and finding her way back to her life.
- Relapsing for a short while and then returning, reuniting and leaving home again.
- How Regan got fully clean and acknowledged her powerlessness.
- The support group that Janelle has started at Life-Giving Life!
- Networks and peers; the indispensability of the groups that help each other.
- Healing and gratefulness for the whole experience and the gifts it has presented.
Tweetables:
“It was great, it was very intense. It was absolutely wonderful and I am incredibly grateful that that was where she ended up.” — Janelle [0:11:11]
“Honestly, I didn’t want to go to rehab because I wanted to continue using. But I was relieved.” — Regan [0:13:45]
“I didn’t have any goals for myself, I didn’t see myself getting anywhere at that point. I didn’t see happiness for myself.” — Regan [0:14:57]
“The main thing that I felt I was lacking was love from other people, people that genuinely cared about me. I thought nobody did. I quickly learned that everybody really loves you.” — Regan [0:17:34]
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
Parents of Addicted Loved Ones
HOW TO LISTEN
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