"I needed help and received it."

I attended Lives Lived Well for alcohol dependency. I went in extremely anxious, scared and felt so low. How could I be in this position? Especially at my age.

When COVID began, I quit my fulltime job as the pressure was leading me to drink every night. Not knowing the impacts of the virus to society, I found myself with no prospect of a new job and stuck at home getting more and more depressed. I ended up drinking every day, all day and lost my relationship. I was in a huge depressing hole, yet I've had tough times before but I felt done, burnt out. 

At Lives Lived Well, I found new lasting friendships with other people similar to myself. It was a relief to be surrounded by others that understood. They really do become like family and I actually miss the place. The administration staff were lovely and would assist in any way they could. The meetings we had, I found most to be extremely relevant and inspiring.

For me though, it was my counselling sessions with Janelle that I gained the most and really looked forward to. I've been to counsellors over the years and felt I achieved nothing and wasted my money. Janelle picked up on things/issues I had and was able to get me to understand/relate and comprehend very quickly. For example, I spent my adult years getting depressed at a certain time of the day. I would just feel so low and sad and never could understand why. I hated it! I hated the feeling! Felt something was wrong with me!

Janelle worked it out after just 3 sessions with me! And to me, that was a huge light bulb moment to get out of my shadows. I will be forever grateful for her genuine, caring nature, ability and skills to truly help me gain knowledge and overcome things that tormented me for many, many years. I only wish I could have continued seeing her once I left.