K, a Castlewood alumnus in treatment two years ago shares her success story.
Recovery is the hardest, but best thing I will ever do. It is going to be part of me the rest of my life. Recovery has brought me more happiness than I ever knew existed. I have formed so many lifelong relationships and have made existing relationships so much better. I have found the love of my life and am getting ready to begin a new chapter in my life with him. I could not be more excited and without recovery this could not have been possible. Recovery is not something I could have done on my own. I have such an amazing support system from my therapist to my family to my friends. I was the one who had to make the change, but without the support of these people it would not have been possible. I am so much stronger than I ever thought I could be. Knowing where I was just four years ago, it amazes me how much my life has changed for the better. I questioned if life was worth living, now I thank God for everyday I have and try to live life to the fullest. Not everyday is easy for me. I still have to fight to be where I am. Knowing all I have now with recovery makes me fight even harder. I never want to go back to where I was. I know it is my choice now to stay in recovery and I will do whatever it takes. Life isn’t always easy, but unfortunately that’s life. You have the good and the bad and the good makes it all worth it. Anything is possible if you put your mind to it. Do whatever it takes to recover. Reach out for support and have hope. Pray to God for guidance. Have compassion for yourself and love yourself. Be strong and courageous. These are things I still practice everyday, but now I know its all possible and love has been the key to my success.
Castlewood nutritionist, Deborah Hinds, has a wonderful marriage, beautiful children and a rewarding career. She is committed to the recovery process with her clients because she has been there. In her late teens and early twenties, Deborah was plagued with anorexia, binging, purging and hoarding food. When Deborah went to treatment her experience was one of medical stabilization, very little therapy, and a lack of compassion and understanding. She left treatment with little insight gained, no sense of what she was eating, and negative body image. Deborah said, “I had no accurate sense of hunger and fullness.” Deborah’s road to recovery lacked the appropriate therapeutic approach to understand and treat what lied beneath the behaviors. This is what Deborah works to understand with her clients; what no one initially tried to understand in her.
Deborah has made it her personal mission to make sure that she never allows a client to feel the hopeless despair that she felt. It is a priority for her to make sure each client knows they have her support and attention. It is because of her past that she has such empathetic understanding, and a solid foundation to the successful treatment of eating disorder. She meets the clients where they are and supports them through the many stages of treatment with encouragement from prior experience.
Deborah is a firm believer that recovery is not a pipe dream, but an attainable reality. She was able to commit to the recovery process and prosper. Deborah will be the first person to not only tell you, but prove to you that it is possible. The recovery process is a true reality, she experienced it herself, and she is motivated to help guide her clients down the same path.
It was eleven years ago when Deborah came to work at Castlewood. Deborah has been a crucial part of the treatment team, due in part, to her experienced perspective. “I know that left to my own devices I wouldn’t be here today, I had to learn to trust other people and my body and to invest in myself and be honest with people about who I am, what I think and be true to that,” said Deborah. She continues to evolve and grow because she has a supportive world around her both personally and professionally.
“I continue to check in with my feelings and I learned I never have to be alone again,” said Deborah. During her eleven years at Castlewood she has gotten married, started a family and guided countless numbers of clients towards their own road to recovery.
Deborah feels that her recovery positively impacts her work with clients, “I am uniquely able to empathize with and relate to my clients journey and challenges because I actually have walked in their shoes. This enables me to have a better understanding of their recovery process, “ stated Deborah. She is able to provide what was lacking in her treatment to her clients at Castlewood. During her nutritional counseling sessions and at the table she works with clients to develop accurate hunger fullness cues, to address all maladaptive and ED behaviors, and to address their negative body image. Her recovery process makes her exclusively qualified to meet the clients where they are, provide motivation and assist in guiding them towards a successful recovery.
Castlewood step down clients recently participated in a group about the recovery process. Arathi Srikanta, MSW- step down coordinator encouraged the clients to begin to imagine what they wanted life in recovery to look like: To begin to explore all aspects of a full and balanced life. During this process clients developed recovery haikus to involve the creative process. Below are some of the beautiful haiku’s our clients created.
Continue reading “Recovery Haiku’s” »
A recent Castlewood Alumnus shared her testimonial, art work and poetry with us. We are humbled and honored for our alumni to share their creativity and recovery journey with us.
“Its been over a year since my admit to Castlewood and almost 5 months since I have been home. Castlewood saved my life. I am not cured, but every day I am aware. I am learning to live, to be, to stop and look, and to breathe. It often feels like it is one minute at a time, but the pockets of darkness get smaller. I am learning to embrace the day and all its offerings, to roll down my windows, turn the music up, and laugh. It is h-a-r-d and I wipe away lots of tears. but I raise my head and heart again and move forward, knowing this wild life. ”
Continue reading “Recovery Art and Poetry” »
