Harmony Recovery has been providing addiction healthcare services in Estes Park since 1969. We would like to offer these stories from our alumni to show the humanity, strength, and perseverance of those working to recover from addiction. Often stigmatized and misunderstood by society, people on their path to recovery are managing a chronic illness which is a unique journey for each individual. Here is one such story. – Shane Hudson, CEO, Harmony Recovery
My name is Isabel, and I am an alcoholic. While those who know me today may see a leader, community advocate, and mentor with a thriving career and vibrant support network, my life could not have looked more different just four short years ago.
I had just turned 13 when I experienced my first overdose—a deliberate attempt on my own life following a series of acute and very public traumas. Shortly afterward, I began what would become a decades-long double life. I started drinking, smoking, and taking whatever drugs were available while simultaneously juggling a high-achieving high school schedule filled with honor roll grades, cheerleading, musical theater, competitive speech and debate, and the remnants of a social life. High school was a blur of several more suicide attempts, multiple instances of sexual abuse, and a steady escalation of my substance use.
Then came college, where not much changed except that my extracurricular activities were replaced by two jobs and much more socially acceptable substance use. I continued to experience trauma and abuse, often as a consequence of my insatiable appetite for substances, and my life deteriorated further over the years. I cycled in and out of crisis units, dropped out of school every other semester, and then the COVID pandemic hit. At 20 years old, scarcely able to envision a future for myself beyond a few more years, I suddenly had the perfect opportunity to become a 24/7 drinker.
As my roommate graduated and moved on with her life, I remained stuck in my fifth year of an undergraduate program that I was fairly certain I would never complete. I moved into a dingy attic apartment with my dog, entering the final phase of my alcoholism. Completely isolated, spiraling into a state of filth, desperation, and illness, I was dying.
In the summer of 2021, I was diagnosed with yet another mental health disorder and had bloodwork done to prepare for medication. I was told I had developed cirrhosis and absolutely needed to stop drinking. I ignored them. By October, I had gained almost 100 pounds in just 10 months—a consequence of my failing liver and body—and I knew I was at death’s door. At just 22 years old, I had dug myself into a hole so deep I saw no way out. Yet, the idea of putting down the bottle felt completely unfathomable. Alcohol was my solution, my lifeline—the only thing that made life feel tolerable.
Then one day, I was struck by a realization: without me, my dog would likely starve to death due to my isolation. I couldn’t bear the thought of that fate for her. For the first time, I had a thought I’d never considered—I needed treatment. On November 13, 2021, I walked through the doors of Harmony Recovery, and I haven’t had a drink since.
Harmony taught me everything I didn’t know I needed. They cared for me like family and treated me with a dignity I had never experienced. The staff, most of whom are in recovery themselves, gave me hope for a future different from the one I’d always known. I learned about the long-term effects of trauma and how to cope. I discovered Alcoholics Anonymous and found the 12-step program that has saved my life every day for the past three and a half years. Harmony Recovery gave me the tools to start over and figure out—after almost a decade of alcoholic torture—who I was meant to be.
My case manager helped me get set up with sober living and intensive outpatient therapy, as well as helping me plan a schedule of 12-step meetings, spiritual resources, and creative recovery events tailored to my specific interests. I stayed in a women’s structured sober living home for the next 20 months, eventually becoming a house manager and finishing my undergraduate degree while living there. I also completed 3 months of intensive outpatient therapy and went to a recovery meeting every single day of my first 90 days of sobriety. I was told that if I wanted to be successful in my recovery, I should put as much effort into getting well as I used to put into getting drunk. I have been following that advice every day since, and it has paid off in dividends.
Today, I am proud to say that my time at Harmony sparked a passion for the substance use treatment field. I’ve gone on to serve on the boards of various nonprofits dedicated to helping those in recovery in Denver and Northern Colorado. I work at a treatment center where I bridge connections to recovery for people daily, and I’ll be pursuing a master’s degree in social work this fall to continue on this path. Most importantly, after almost two years in sober living, I got my dog back and have had the chance to be the attentive and loving dog mom she always deserved.