Being Truly Heard: Vicky’s Story
If you were to imagine the worst place on earth, that is where I was. It was dark and lonely and unimaginable to ‘normal’ people. It is not anywhere you would choose to be. It got worse and worse, and in the end I was just waiting for death. My drinking was a day-long activity. Towards the end cocaine came into the picture, just to level me out enough to take care of my kids. I spent 13 years living with my tormentor, facing physical and emotional violence that kept me locked in a cycle of addiction. It was hell. I’m free of him now. I’ve got my life back and he hates it.
In January 2024, I tried to kill myself. Blacked out and when I came around I had some kind of epiphany. I didn’t want to drink any more. Three days later, thanks to my Key Worker Nerys, I was sitting in a MOIMR Group. I was soon able to speak again, to offload. I had found a community that listened to me, where I could be truly heard. I started joining in with the activity days. I can’t explain the euphoria I feel at being outside, at peace with nature, with people who understand.
I have a brand new life! I am a proper mother again. I have plenty of good friends. I run, I play rugby, I love reading, I just enjoy my life. I now facilitate the MOIMR group in which I started. I have my job as a carer back, and I would love to become a Mental Health Nurse. That is my aspiration for the future.
At Peace and Contented: Mike’s Story
In 2015 I was 35 years old, just getting ready to leave the Army after 13 years’ service. This is where my relationship with alcohol began to sour, and my life started its steep decline. It was six years later when I crawled back into rehab, my third stint in three years. With brief periods of remaining dry in-between, I just couldn’t stay stopped. During my final stay, I reached my rock bottom, a place of emotional turmoil. I was just a shell of a person, not knowing who I was.
I ended up staying for five months in the treatment centre, but the problem of having no money, no job, and nowhere to stay was going to be problematic staying sober in the outside world. When one of the counsellors mentioned a residential recovery programme at Penrhyn House in Bangor, North Wales, I knew this was where I wanted to be. To start building a sober life and becoming part of society again, after so long out of it.
North Wales Recovery Communities not only gave me a place to live, but also gave me the platform to grow into a new life, a sober one that I could never have imagined. One that I could never have managed on my own. It really is a community. I never feel alone anymore, not as I once did. I have support and facilities all around me, no matter what time of day it is.
These days I am a working man. I have a place to call home and a car. It was thanks to NWRC that my job is something I am passionate about, working and learning as a chef in the restaurant that was created by NWRC. Every day still has its challenges, but my sobriety is still the most important part of my life. My life is so much simpler these days. I am more at peace and contented than I ever was.