Name withheld
“Some are sicker than others,” it is said. When Alegria’s team arrived on the scene, it would be fair to say I was sicker than nearly everyone. I was trapped in the vicious cycle of addiction: Stretches of compulsive using with nearly lethal consequences followed by brief periods of sobriety with varying degrees of sincerity. The intermittent heavy drug use only served to exacerbate my pre-existing mental illness, leaving me simultaneously depressed, manic and paranoid. I was angry with myself, the entire world and everyone in it. Factor into to this already volatile equation that I had previously attained nearly 20 years of continuous sobriety. After relapsing in 2015; I spent the better part of a decade being educated and “rehabilitated” at over seven of the country’s top-rated treatment centers. I considered my experience unparalleled and egotistically believed I already knew everything there was to know about recovery…I just could not seem to stay sober, even to save my own life (which seemed less and less worth living.) Any sobriety I could grasp had been short-lived as I repeatedly found myself making self-destructive decisions and sabotaging both my recovery and my happiness. In short, I was a frustrated, rehab-fatigued, jaded client.
Joy and Dia’s team at Alegria were unfazed. They walked me through the turmoil. Rather, they walked with me; I still had to put one foot in front of the other, but I was not alone in the journey.
My first companion helped me get settled in a new living space, repeatedly folding loads of laundry (unprompted) while reminding me to take my morning medicine.
Another companion dropped comprehensive knowledge about addiction and brain chemistry while helping me polish my silver.
A third companion graciously suffered through an “up” mood which featured me belting out show tunes in her car at the top of my lungs, later offering to instruct me in a personalized yoga session. (Hard pass, at the time.)
A fourth played impromptu marriage-counselor with my husband, who had (justifiably) filed for divorce.
Yet another helped me create a multiple-tennis ball game with my rambunctious but dim puppy. (They mostly just bounce off her face.)
Circle back to the first, who found my current house for me and continues to help me organize 4,000 square feet of belongings into a 1,200 square foot home. She has made at least half a dozen trips to the Salvation Army on my behalf.
Alegria’s companions finessed the details so I could focus on the big picture: Maintaining long-term sobriety.
Each member of the team embodies the qualities one seeks in a great sponsor:
Accountability; knowledge; empathy; and endless patience. Almost more importantly, each individual also embodies the qualities one seeks in a great friend: Discretion; honesty, sound judgement and good humor. They reminded me to breathe. They held space for my (often erratic) feelings. They reframed the seemingly insurmountable challenges wrought by my troubled past into practical goals for a brighter future. As they helped me prioritize and realize these goals, they insisted on celebrating each little victory, one day at a time. The message was less “You can do this!” and more “You are doing this!” They led by example. They loved me until I could love myself.
My life is unrecognizable in the best of possible ways: Where there was once chaos and calamity, there is peace and serenity. Where there was unmanageability, there is order. Where there was hopelessness and despair, there is faith and Joy and Dia (and many others.)
Recovery doesn’t happen in a day, but each day counts. Likewise, a single person does not hold the power to heal another—The remedy generally comes from the group and from within (and the Great Beyond.) But when it comes to the countless people it can take help a gravely ill person get well, some are more helpful than others. Allegria Companions are squarely in the former group.”
-Name withheld