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Essay on visiting a rehab clinic

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The first thing I notice when I walk in to the center on an early Monday afternoon is the smell, that acute smell of spray-on cleaning solution used in hospitals. Everything is completely static clean, and the entrance lobby reminds me off my dentists’ office. Tasteful blue chairs and maroon couches surround a large waiting area in full view of a receptionists’ desk on the side. The magazines on the coffee table are of the inconsequential type, stuff like “Parenthood” and “Popular Mechanic.” A couple people are casually waiting; pleasant, normal looking people. The whole effect is of a pleasant doctor’s practice, and on first look you would never be able to tell that this is the waiting room for a chemical dependence treatment center. A …show more content…

The hall is discretely pleasant, with framed pictures of flowers around the room mixed with posters proclaiming short mantras of positivity like “One Step At A Time…” and such. She pointed to a closed door and told me we have to be quiet because there was a group meeting inside. I could see them through the small ported window in the door, a group of about ten people sitting in a circle in deep discussion. She leads me past the door to a small office, her office, and I begin the interview.
Lora tells me about her background. She is a recovered alcoholic. She began drinking at the age of thirteen and was a heavy drinker by her standards by high school. She then dropped out of school and married her now ex-husband, who, on top of being an alcoholic was also addicted to gambling. She tells me that being married to someone with the same addiction made it impossible for her to see it herself. It wasn’t until her husband lost eight thousand dollars in a single day and sold her watch, a gift from her father, to help pay off a debt that she decided her relationship was not good for her. I was really surprised at how candid she was being about the details of her life, but she explained to me that she believed because of everything she went through she is able to connect with others who are seeking help more easily. “People will trust you if they believe you’ve already walked the same path.”

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