- Mental Health
Angie started our conversation with the words, “I’m a survivor.” She is in recovery after sexual assault by her stepfather led to multiple problems in her life. She was only 12 years old when she was first assaulted, and it went on for about four years. Her family refused to believe her.
When Angie was 14, she was dating an 18 year old. Her father brought her to a psych ward and told them she was suicidal in an attempt to terminate this relationship. You couldn’t smoke cigarettes in hospitals, but you could in alcohol and drug treatment, so Angie told everybody she had a problem with drugs and alcohol to get switched over. Later on she got in trouble a lot, and every time it happened, people decided it must be because of alcohol and drugs and brought her back to treatment. By age 18 she has finished three inpatient treatment programs for drugs and alcohol. Her parents lost custody of her, and she ran away. She was on the road close to a year before her parents got custody back.
Angie did not disclose her past sexual abuse until she was 17. Therapists contacted her parents, but her stepfather denied the accusations and told people that Angie was mentally ill and couldn’t be believed. However Angie’s therapist still believed her and helped her to find herself. She returned home before moving in with a friend and then going to college.
Of her past Angie says, “I put it in another box until he died three years ago.” Angie wants to tell young girls in similar situations to, “Try to find your truth! There is nothing wrong with you. Surround yourself with people who believe in you. It does not have to stay a negative thing in your life, you can turn it into something that makes you strong.”
The troubles in Angie’s young life and her closeness to people with drug and alcohol problems made her want to work in the recovery field and help even more find the right path. Her mother-in-law had severe alcoholism and bipolar disorder, and this encouraged Angie to start doing interventions in 2008. She considers this the best decision she ever made. Angie would like to tell all the ones still struggling with drugs or alcohol that “It never gets better. It will always progressively get worse. Help is never gonna hurt you. You won’t regret trying to get help.”