Dear Friends,

Today I want to feature Elizabeth, a good friend and AFH resident that will be graduating this evening. I asked her if she would be willing to be interviewed for the blog, and she graciously agreed. Below are my questions, with her responses in bold.

Q:  You’re graduating today. Looking back, were there ever times you thought you might not? If so, what got you through those times?

Looking back at my time at AFH, there were some times when I thought I was going to give up and go home. Surprisingly, more in months seven through nine. During this time span, I was doing fairly well with my issues and it was becoming harder and harder to comply with the rules.  Not being able to go on walks for as long as I wanted, and not being allowed to have scissors in my room seemed stupid to me.  I knew I wasn’t going to do anything to harm myself and I was frustrated with having to comply with all the rules.  Coming to AFH and having to not only give up all my unhealthy coping skills, but almost all of my control, is one of the hardest things I’ve had to do.  One can only last so long before they start to go crazy having to show respect to staff at all times and such. (continue reading…)

Dear Friends,

On Wednesday night, one of my very good friends here will graduate and move back to her home state. I will definitely miss her presence in the house, but I am very excited for her and I can’t wait to hear how she is doing out in the “real world.” She has grown so much just in the time that I have been here, and though she is technically my junior, I look up to her in many ways, and she exudes wisdom far beyond her years.

I recently realized another benefit of the length of the program here. In other facilities that might last 30-60 days, it is much harder to see a great deal of growth in people. Although these shorter programs can be beneficial, people just kind of come in and out. As a newer resident, I didn’t really notice much difference between me and the people who completed the program. I think the opportunity new residents have here to witness people graduating is incredibly inspiring. It speaks volumes about the possibility for true change, if we are only willing to put forth the effort and be receptive to the help we are offered. (continue reading…)