I first tried drugs when I was 12 years old and by the time I turned 18, cocaine had become my drug of choice. It remained that way for 30 years. To be honest, it felt almost as though my addiction crept up on me. When I started using cocaine, it was just once a … Continued
Everyone’s “bottom” is different. For Patrick, his came one day in April 2020, after a culmination of many unfortunate events, including the end of a relationship and coming close to homelessness. Patrick would have sought help sooner, but it was the stigma associated with addiction that kept him from taking the steps he needed to … Continued
It can be tough for someone to imagine exactly what depression feels like, especially if they have no experience with the illness. Renascent’s Cynthia Langill describes exactly how it felt for her, “Life was very, very dark – without any joy or laughter. There were days when I simply didn’t have the wherewithal to get … Continued
If you ask anyone who works at Renascent how the organization views addiction as it relates to the family unit, they’ll let you know that we recognize and treat addiction as a family issue. This means that Renascent works toward supporting the recovery of every member of the family unit – from the person who … Continued
By Michael LeBlanc, Addictions Counsellor, Renascent’s Paul J. Sullivan Treatment Centre Step 9 requires is to be willing to go to any lengths to make amends. Step 9 is an action step and a step where you must take responsibility for your actions. This is the step where you must become accountable for your actions … Continued
By: Sunil Boodhai, Manager – Family and Outpatient Programs Resilience is: a how a person navigates through adversity using internal and external resources to support healthy adaption, recovery and successful outcomes. learned throughout a person’s life — we are always building resilience. not something anyone is born with. Everyone can build resilience to deal with … Continued
By Alex Pley, Addictions Counsellor, Renascent’s Punanai Treatment Centre There is an abundance of recovery resources available to anyone at all times in our modern world, but very few have left a lasting impact on me and my own personal program of recovery. I considered sharing certain books I read throughout my education or 12-step … Continued
Andrew M. fondly shares some of the misperceptions he had about sobriety. “I thought choosing sobriety meant that I was choosing to live a life without fun and I thought 12-step programs didn’t work, but boy was I wrong,” he says. Having started treatment at Renascent’s Punani Treatment Centre in March 2020, Andrew began … Continued
By Jasmine S., Graham Munro Treatment Centre, Alumni I want to show my gratitude toward Renascent and the continuous assistance they provide me. I am also grateful that I have been fortunate enough to experience this endeavor called recovery, as some people are not as fortunate. I was at my lowest point; not being able to … Continued
Portions of this article are excerpted and adapted from the upcoming book Hope Against Hope, authored by Renascent’s Clinical Director Michael Lochran and consulting Psychotherapist Laura Cavanagh. Hope Against Hope’s anticipated release is in 2022. A Brief History For more than 40 years before Bill Wilson founded Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), alcoholism was considered to be … Continued
