“I started drinking when I was about 14 years old, and from that point on I had to drink to feel normal. As I got older, my drinking got worse and worse until I couldn’t function unless I was drinking. I ended up in the hospital the first time after I had seizures and was in a 5-day coma and I woke up in the hospital not knowing where or who I was. That incident didn’t stop me from being a regular at hospitals, detoxes, and rehabs from then on. I was the type of alcoholic that would stash a bottle in my truck for when I was discharged from the hospital. I tried everything to quit but simply could not. When the pain became great enough, I reached out to GateHouse Treatment for help. It turned out to be the single decision I have ever made in my life, and it truly saved my life.
“WHEN THE PAIN BECAME GREAT ENOUGH, I REACHED OUT TO GATEHOUSE TREATMENT FOR HELP.”
I attended meetings, got a sponsor, worked steps, and most importantly, I became willing to change myself. It all paid off well. Today I am a National Park Ranger at Yellowstone National Park. Every time someone asks me how I became I Ranger in Yellowstone the immediate response I have is “I quit drinking, I got help, and worked a program.”. I have now lived in Wyoming as a Ranger, Montana as a dog musher, Washington at a tree nursery, and California at the San Diego Zoo as a horticulturist. The program allowed me to do all these things and more and I know that if I were to pick up a drink or a drug again, it would all go away. Thankfully, the foundation I built at GateHouse and the AA fellowship will always be with me, wherever I go.”
Peter M
- The Relationship Between Childhood Trauma and Addiction - June 7, 2023
