I’ve been putting off getting help for my addictions for years. I kept telling myself I could sort it out later, but later just kept getting pushed back.
I’m finally thinking about contacting Eastern Health’s mental health and addictions services. I’m nervous about being judged and not really sure what the first step looks like. I’d like to hear from anyone who has used their addictions support. Was the intake process fairly straightforward?
Samantha, making the call was the hardest part for me. The intake was more straightforward than I expected. They asked about what I was using, how often, and what kind of help I wanted. It felt more like gathering information than being judged.
One thing that helped was writing down my medications, substance use, and a few questions before calling. My mind went blank once I got nervous, so having notes kept me from minimizing things. If you’re not ready to explain everything perfectly, you don’t have to. Just being honest about needing help is enough to start.
@Ashley_Tucker, writing things down before the call helped me too. I tend to downplay how often I’m using once someone asks directly, so having dates, amounts, and medications on paper made the conversation much more honest.
I also wrote one sentence about what I wanted help with. It kept me focused when I got nervous and made it easier to answer the intake questions without trying to explain my whole life at once.