Faces of TCC: Mychael
An interview with Mychael, Alumni of The Counseling Center
I wanted to be like the people that I came to when I was having a crisis.[...] I wanted to be that person for those girls too.
–Mychael
Q. How did you get connected with TCC?
My first contact with The Counseling Center was back in 2014. I came in for all the wrong reasons, to get my family off my back. I came in, completed, and went out and relapsed. So I stayed out for a while. I've been to treatment 14 times - 10 times at TCC.
Q. Why was your 14th time different?
My 14th time, I was like this is my last time, my addiction has never led me up to this point of this rock bottom, with my OD in front of my child. The last time I put dope in my body was July 6th, 2019. I woke up to EMT and my son screaming and his scream still haunts me. Your child's fear of losing their parent, it's terrifying, but it's my motivation. The last time I came into TCC, I was put in a new house. I had never lived there any other time. Whenever I had come into TCC before I always went to the same house. That's my house. That's where I go, but I always left. I completed and I didn't have a lot. I was tired, and I'm still tired of it. I will never get to that point of not being tired of getting high. It broke me. I put my son through enough trauma. My son is seven years old and I had him for the first two years of his life then after that, he was taken to my grandparent's. So it was time for me to get it together.
TCC helped me gain my mental health.
I have a mental health diagnosis and they helped me get into people that helped build my mental health back up, build my self-esteem and my self-worth. They gave me a purpose again. I went to transitional, completed inpatient, October 10th, 2019.
By December 13th, 2019, I had a job with The Counseling Center. My first job was in Food Service serving lunch with Ms. Pam. I was in food service until about April when I got a call. I had been applying for housing. I wanted to work in housing. That was my goal. I wanted to be like the people that I came to when I was having a crisis. When you come into treatment your first time, you have no idea what's hitting you in the face. You don't know what you're about to feel. You don't know how things are about to work. If it wasn't for the people that were there for me, in all the times I've been to treatment and all the experiences I had ... this last time I was either going to die or I was going to get it. I was at my wit's end. I wanted to be that person. So I became that person. I set goals and I accomplished them. Recently I got a promotion. I'm the evening time case manager. I just started that job in August. So today my life is pretty full - I have a Sponsor, I work steps, I have Sponsees, and I have my son every weekend now.
We encourage you to follow us on Facebook and Instagram as we continue to share our thoughts and practices in the business of Mental Healthcare. If you or someone you love is in need of behavioral treatment of any kind–reach us at 740.354.6685 or 24/7 on the Crisis Hotline 740.354.1010.
💣 💪 💪 💯