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
The week before Thanksgiving 2019, I made the longest hour-and-a-half drive of my life to Estes Park and walked through the doors of Harmony Recovery. It was a journey 20 years in the making. At the time, I had no idea that this drive would shape not only the next seven years of my life, but also the lives of my friends and family.
As a natural “connector,” I have always felt blessed with a gift for helping people find common ground. I found professional success at an early age. However, growing up in the Midwest, drinking was a constant part of the culture. Eventually, my work stayed fast, but my life became even faster.
While everything looked great on paper, my life was falling apart behind the scenes. I wasn’t showing up for my marriage, and I was giving only 50% effort to my work and social obligations. What started as a social habit had become an obsession. Drinking was controlling me and everything I did. From the moment I woke up to the moment I went to sleep—and sometimes even in between—it was always about where I was going to get another drink.
Even though I hadn’t faced legal consequences such as a DUI, jail time, or something even worse, I knew I needed help. Still, the guilt and shame associated with rehabilitation made it feel out of the question. I was terrified of what my family and friends would think. I tried to put a Band-Aid on things with an outpatient program, but I wasn’t ready to stop; I was doing it for the optics. Unsurprisingly, that didn’t last, and the disease came back twice as strong. Within six months, with a crumbling career and a marriage in shambles, I realized I needed serious help or I was going to die.
I was looking for something different from the clinical, stale environments I had experienced before. I needed a change of scenery, isolation, and time to think. I found exactly what I needed in the tranquility of Estes Park and in the unique Harmony offered. It was the perfect balance of clinical support and spiritual guidance that finally managed to break through my stubbornness. It didn’t just provide a short-term fix; it gave me a long-term plan.
Today, I am six and a half years sober from alcohol, and my life has grown in ways I never could have imagined. While things aren’t always perfect, Harmony gave me a real fighting chance to reach my full potential. Since that day in November when I first walked through those doors, life has become so much easier.
I have reached new levels of success that I could have only imagined in my former life. I am able to show up—not just for my job, but also for my friends and family. Once I got sober, I felt called to share this gift with others. Over the years, I have been able to bring almost 10 friends and family members through the program. I wouldn’t do that if I didn’t believe in the place and the staff that helped save my life.
I truly believe there is something special in those mountains and in the air up there. Harmony has a gift for helping patients and families find the common ground necessary to beat this disease, one day at a time.
– Tyler W.