Bruce is a former client and now the House Manager at Open Gate, a recovery program in Milwaukee.

Well, actually, my views have changed somewhat. The nature of my views, based on information that I know now, that I suffer from a disease. It is similar to being HIV positive. There is no known cure for it. I can’t just go to the doctor get a shot or cure for it and be better. It stays with me forever. That’s really- I just thought, in the beginning, okay, I’ll clean up my act in five or six years and then I’ll be able to handle having a drink. Since then, my views have started to change- that I can never take another drink as long as I live.

A lot of people look at drug and alcohol addiction as just a mind over matter thing. I guess for many years I felt that way, too. “I can quit anytime I want to.” The reality was that I couldn’t. No matter what I tried, I just couldn’t quit. I guess when you talk to people that are not in that circle so to speak, you get, “Gee, why did you do that? You shouldn’t have done that…” Stuff like that. I think a lot of the stereotypes are due in the way people treat drug addiction and alcoholism in this country is based on pure ignorance.

There are studies that say that maybe 1 out of 10 or 2 out of 10 will ever achieve long term sobriety once they leave treatment. I think it takes time, it takes longer for some of us. There are people that come to treatment one time, you know, go out and never use again. There are people like myself that have to experience this 3 or 4 other times based on the fact that I wasn’t ready at those times. It was just basically, I’m gonna run around. It’s up the person himself. Some guys come in here ready, or they think they’re ready, but they aren’t able to do what’s necessary to stay.

I guess the hardest part is dealing with 10 different guys, 10 different personalities. Actually, to have the patience, and to realize that I still have issues that I am working on. Sometimes it’s, in the beginning that was really hard. But I’ve learned to separate- that these guys need to let off some steam. That that’s what these guys are doing half the time.