Lockdown rehab in the Philippines
 

I'm staying in the Philippines for a few months for family reasons.
I relapsed about a month ago and my wife brought me to the hospital while I was drunk and sleeping.
When I woke up I realised I was in a detox facility. I wanted to go home but they strapped me on a bed instead.
They took my phone, my money, my clothes, everything. I could not use internet nor contact my family. They did not even tell me how long I would stay there.
To be honest the first week there was the worst I had in my entire life: withdrawals, insomnia, fear, anger, anxiety, claustrophobia, depression. I kept on saying I did not give any consent but nobody would listen to me.
The facility was small, bars everywhere and nothing to see but a small inner courtyard (where it was not allowed to walk). It really felt like jail and I almost went crazy...
Finally I was discharged after two weeks. I'm sober now and don't want to drink. But I have to admit I'm still resentful towards my wife and the detox facility. My autonomy was simply thrown away in the trash and I was treated like a convicted felon for having picked up the drink again. Bad experience.

Le suisse

Man, that's a tough experience!! Really sorry to hear you went through such a nightmare. Hope you never have to go through that again. Maybe your wife didn't know what would happen when she brought you there. Hope everything goes well for you and that you can work things out with your wife. John

as my Grand Mother would say Karma follows everyone.. ekekekkeke

Sorry to hear that the rehab experience was so horrible lesuisse. Some parts of the world have different ways of doing things than others and it's unfortunate that you had to go through all that.

On the flip side of things you are now sober and it's also entirely possible that your wife had no idea what might have happened, she could certainly have been only interested in helping you get better. I hope you can have an open and honest conversation with her about your goals now that you are sober and not hold resentments against her for things that were most likely well beyond her control.

kind of a crap way for that to be handled. and that totally sucks. I'd try not to focus on the crap aspect of it tho as that could be a trigger but rather focus on the fact that your 2 weeks sober now and can charge forward with that sober time under your belt. your past day 1 etc.. your doing good. Sure the route coudl have been better but its done its over with just move forward.

I know this is easier said then done. if someone did that to me my immediate reaction would be to go drink just to spite them but i'd only be hurting myself.

If this kickstarts sobriety for you, she did you a big favor and helped save your life.

An enabler is so much more deadly.

Hi and welcoem lesusse.

I'm glad you're sober now. I hope you and your wife can get past any resentment - no doubt she thought she was acting in your best interests.

D

Ph
 

I have been to the Philippines for several extended trips. Both of the trips I was a raging alcoholic. Oddly enough the PH was one of the only places on Earth that my behavior was treated as completely normal. They also have close to zero idea of how to treat addiction. If you are watching the news lately their method is closer to a bullet wound than an enlightened cure. I know that is a generalization but I have spent significant time over there and it is fairly accurate. That being said the people are surprisingly kind and generous.

In California, we have the infamous 5150, that I got once. If a police officer or a counselor feels you are a danger to yourself or others, you can be locked up for 72 hours and you have no say in the matter. At that point, you can be held longer, up to 14 days on a 5250, but you have to be ruled a danger by a judge at a hearing. Honestly, I've never completely forgiven my wife for having me dragged out of bed in the middle of the night by cops with flashlights and sent to a hospital and then a psych ward against my will, but I do believe she was doing what she thought was best at the time.

Wow. I assume you asked your wife about it? Did she know?

Be grateful you got out and have another chance at sobriety.

What you experience was a taste of the inevitable conclusion of the alcoholic journey. Those that aren't lucky enough to die go insane and end up permanently locked up.

Your wife absolutely did the best thing for you. What were her alternatives? Get treatment for you, enable you, or leave you. Which would you have preferred? And spare a thought for the misery you have been putting her though.

You are through detox, the withdrawals are over, your head is clearer, you know where your disease can take you. Aren't you now in the best position ever to take action on a recovery plan?

Your wife has done you a very big favour which might just save your life..