For background info read this here.
I wrote this letter to the director of the detox place I went to about 8 days ago. He responded with one sentence about an hour later saying, “I am pulling together information and will send you a detailed response.”
The subject line from me read: “I hope you respond to this, I really do.”
I’ve not heard from him. Interesting, huh? What do you all think?
Director,
Someone in (your town) reads me everyday. Maybe it’s you, I don’t know. (it’s a small town)
In the event that it’s not you I think you need to know what you did. I think you also need to know I’ve encountered others who went to (your program) who went through what I did too. Psychotropic drug users that were treated like drug addicts (who I don’t think should be treated like shit either, by the way) and when things went south your staff pulled the “you’re drug seeking” bullshit on them. You cause trauma.
What you’re doing is criminal Director. You can choose to change that. You can actually choose to be what you claimed and deal with individuals as individuals. Your sales staff promised me that and that is not what I got. I, for now, am giving you the benefit of the doubt…that your incompetence comes from ignorance and not intent…but intent is not enough and once ones intentions are proved misguided if one does not do things to change, well then, you proceed with knowledge. And then there is criminal intent as well.
It’s clear the members of your staff are well-intentioned. You, I simply don’t know enough about.
I think I should get my money back and if you actually care about people with histories like mine you might take heed of what I’m saying.
There is no evidence in what I’m presenting to you here today that I’m a drug seeking drug addict. You find something that shows me that. I lay my soul bare on these pages. You can scour the whole blog…you will find a consistent message about getting off drugs safely and sanely. Both things your center failed to do for me.
You people fucked with me. You hurt me. The woman I’ve encountered that you did this too was much more fragile than me and the fallout much greater. I have massive amounts of inner strength, but many people who have been through the psychiatric system DO NOT…and you treat them like you did me with great risk.
How many others have you done this to? I shudder to think.
I’m also in communication with another of your graduates who is grossly ill. I’m not telling this person it’s because of how you managed their withdrawal. That would be unhealthy for this person right now and I care more about her well-being than blaming you guys.
Like I said if you actually want to learn something I’m willing to help you not do this to others. I would be delighted to hear from you. I’m allowing myself to believe this was not intentional, but frankly I don’t know how much you’re motivated to just get people out because otherwise no one could pay you what you needed to run the place safely and sanely.
And taking short cuts like mixing glutathione with Vit C…well, that’s sloppy. And not in the best interest of the clients. Not enough staff to do timely glutathione pushes? Is that why your formula has hardly any C in it, in the hope it won’t kill ALL the glutathione before it entered our bodies? I don’t know the answers to these questions but I’ve noticed a whole bunch of things of that nature…oh, like, why the hell didn’t the doctor talk to ME when I went into crisis?? That’s sloppy too, Director.
I had a bunch of ex-drug-addict young men interpreting my experience when they simply did not have the experience to understand what I was going through. That’s on your head, not theirs. They simply and honestly had not a clue what they were doing. I’m letting you know now in the event you really don’t.
If you haven’t already read these entries you should:
The proverbial light...(no thanks to him)
I’m angry and I know I sound angry. But honestly if you showed me you actually wanted to truly serve people like me and give them what they need I would let go of the anger in a minute and help you help people like me. As it is now you’re hurting us
Gianna
sounds like a typical ‘disease model’ management type…what possible reason they would have for conflating regular drug addiction and its terminology and treatment rubric with the addiction many of us have to drugs we never ‘chose’ to take or wouldn’t have if we had been given real ‘informed choice’ about the risks and effects…to me it shows the general lack of applicability the reductionist biomedical model has for either addiction or mental illness. Great letter btw and I hope the dude at least does some reflection on his actions…who knows maybe he’ll change his policy.
Wow, I hope he takes you up on it, but I don’t think he will. SO GLAD there are people out there like you who will speak up for others who don’t speak up, or can’t….
it’s been 8 days…he’s not likely to contact me at this point…no surprise unfortunately.
Well put. I would like to know his response. Most of the people I know with “mental illness” experience the mental health system as the biggest problems in their life.