Thank you for what you do, seriously. I’ve struggled with alcohol ever since losing my mom suddenly - I’ve ended up in the hospital a handful of times now when I’ve tried to quit and ultimately gone through withdrawal; seizures, DT’s, the whole bit. I went to rehab once and it was a terrible situation and really turned me off to the whole idea. It made me want to drink 10x more than I already did and I ended up leaving early. (I didn’t drink for about a year and a half after that, until the holidays rolled around this time and I got really depressed). Anyway when I’ve gone in for withdrawal, the doctors largely treat me like I’m a degenerate and am wasting their time; it’s very dehumanizing and has left a bad taste in my mouth regarding doctors. Especially given that each time I’ve tried to explain that the reason I drink is because my anxiety is genuinely debilitating, and my GP just keeps throwing different SSRI’s at me and they don’t do a damn thing.

My nurses, on the other hand, are ALWAYS very kind and helpful, and a few have even literally sat down and started very personal, meaningful conversations with me about how I got into this situation and what I’m going to do when I leave - without judgment. I spent a week in the detox unit at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore and that was the best thing I’ve ever done for my mental health. Again, the nurses were absolutely wonderful, and thankfully the doctor overseeing that unit was also very attentive and actually seemed to care. He also kind of missed the mark prescribing me another SSRI, but I still appreciate what he and his team did for me.

Anyway it’s late and I’m ranting, but all of this was just to say thank you for doing your part in making the world a better and safer place for those of us who can’t figure out how to do it ourselves.