My name is Roni L.  I have suffered from bulimia and alcoholism since the age of 13.  I used alcohol as a way to escape from my memories of past abuse.  At the beginning, bulimia was a way for me to lose weight for sports.  Soon, I noticed that I was drinking two fifths of booze to get through the day.  Then, I was binging and purging four or five times a day to handle my self-hatred.

I started to go to AA mtgs. over the summer—it was great to handle the alcohol abuse but the bulimia became more severe.  Finally, I arrived at ATMC (Alternative to Meds Center).  Here, I found a reason for my behaviors and an effective method to care for myself and gain some self-esteem. Also, I was able to safely taper off of 7 psychiatric medications!

During my time at ATMC, I have been working with a nutritionist who had overcome bulimia.  She has helped by talking to me as well as doing extensive testing to see where I was nutritionally deficient.  She found that I was lacking many nutrients that could cause bulimic tendencies to continue.  I have been taking supplements to boost my neurochemistry and to improve my nutritional state.  It was much easier to stop my body from having the need to purge yet it took about 3 weeks for my emotional being to stop the negative thoughts.

The ATMC staff helps me on a daily basis.  T.J., a Chef and Estates Manager, taught me how to choose and prepare healthy alternatives in the kitchen.  Cassie, the Sauna and Supplement Supervisor, has been there for me to talk to.  She helped me deal with the pain associated with the pain and emotions of being an abuse survivor.  Isaac, the Program Director, helped me face my fears resulting in more self-confidence.  Emily and Mark have taken me to AA meetings and been there when I needed to talk.  Jason, the Course Supervisor, has taught me about the vitamins and supplements I take and how they work to rebalance my brain chemistry without the risk of side effects.  Also, I now know that proper nutrition and exercise can positively affect my overall condition and view on life!   Because the staff members have overcome similar issues they can relate to me and are always available for one on one help.

I am so happy that I came to Alternative to Meds Center—I no longer want to be “6 feet under” or to plain just disappear!  I want to live– happy and healthy!  I learned the life skills here to do just that and I am going home with the absolute confidence that I can be healthy and succeed in life!—Roni L.

My teen-age daughter was forcibly incarcerated in a mental facility and placed on psych drugs. I witnessed those drugs very much change her for the worse.

I have spent over 20 years professionally helping disabled individuals become employable and secure employment. I have worked with the products of our mental health system, and returned them to work. The direction the mental hospital had my daughter going was to turn her into a schizophrenic vegetable whose highest aspiration would be to possibly become a dishwasher (and whose wildest dream would be to be able to keep such a position, given negative public attitude toward the mentally ill).

With the help of the Alternative To Meds Center, my daughter is being freed from the harmful effects of the drugs she was forcibly put on, and being returned to her normal, bright self. Her aspiration, and always previously a very realistic one, is to become a nurse so as to help others. This goal will now again be obtainable, thanks to ATMC and no thanks to the drugs forced on her by the mental facility.

As an individual who has worked with the victims of our mental health systems, I would note that we are in desperate need of programs such as Alternative To Meds, and any others like it which may have the gumption to come along. This program is much more effective than the government funded programs. It is giving me back the daughter I raised, that she might be a productive citizen and not the zoned-out zombie and future state ward the government facility was turning her into. We very badly need just such effective means as offered by the Alternative To Meds Center to handle this very big problem.