Archive for July, 2008

The Power of Gay-Friendly Rehab

July 25, 2008 at 3:44 pm · Filed under

I?m a gay man recovering from narcotics addiction. My drug of choice: heroin. I first sought help from this drug so prevalent in the gay community about three years ago. After being at a healthy weight of 200, I was down to 145 and a shell of my former self. I looked into traditional rehabilitation facilities and spent time in two separate programs, thinking I was cured I went back into my lifestyle of gay bathhouses and the club scene, leading to a quick relapse and all night heroin binges with unprotected sex and many partners.

Finally, a little over a year ago my friends that I had originally abandoned for dope, a common nickname for heroin, came to my rescue by way of an intervention. They provided me with information about Gay-Rehab, which referred me to a gay-friendly rehab facility at Lakeview?s Freedom Rings in Florida. I was definitely skeptical because of my past two failed attempts at recovery but the promise of a facility where I wouldn?t be judge by my sexual orientation sounded promising. .

During my first week at the facility, I soon realized that this wasn?t going to be the same process I was used to at other clinics. I knew immediately that this was a place with people who understood the pressures in this world for being an openly gay man. I learned through this center that the use of snow isn?t prevalent throughout the entire gay community but mostly in the gay party scene. I was provided with alternate activities that would take me away from the parties and still allow me to meet other gay men that share my similar interests.

Through the center, I was able to get to the root of my problems and see that there wasn?t any reason for me to feel ashamed of whom I am. After I first came out in early 1991, my parents stopped speaking to me and since that time I have been on my own and the counselor showed me that this longing for acceptance was the root of all my evils.

Lakeview showed me I wasn?t alone and that other homosexuals have been grappling with an array of substance abuse problems as a way of retreating from their demons. As an HIV positive male, I became well informed as to just how devastating dope is on the body. The facility informed me that my weight and heightened stress levels enabled the virus to run ramped throughout my body.

Lakeview also provided a restoration of dignity to the self, something I hadn?t experienced in a long time. I felt less like an addict and more like a human being again as I learned to control my urges through constructive activities in a nonjudgmental environment.

Anyway you look at it, the treatment process is always more effective when surrounded by people who understand exactly what you?re going though and what it means to live a homosexual?s lifestyle.

LGBT Drug Treatment Blog

Archive for July, 2008

The Power of Gay-Friendly Rehab