hendo saved my life

I could write an enormous essay on what the hendo did for me but ill try and be brief. i went in there in 2001 like some hellish cross between amy winehouse and britney spears and when i finally got to read the notes from my admission interview i found i got in by one vote after a re-vote because people thought my drug problems were insurmountable and i was just too wild. i will spare the details but after 10 months i was voted to be allowed special permission to 'graduate' early as if i had completed the full years treatment as this meant i would be able to begin a university course (which i completed with a pretty good grade) as the community and myself felt that I had reached the holy grail of mental stability. I will never be a conventional person, but i have now found my niche in society as a 'new age traveller' and while its a hard life every day is a an adventure. although its still hard to get work with the stigma of my past I am about to embark on a series of vocational courses and am determined that I can prove to society that full recovery is possible. although i my personality may still be as mad as a balloon people now mean that in the sense that im a lot of fun to be around these days. I now consider myself to be in fantastic mental health and despite a couple of wobbles a year i know how to deal with it sensibly, ask for help if needed and have not self harmed or used heroin in 7 years. I also trained as a tattoo artist and had a friend tattoo over my worst scars with a beautiful piece of art. What more can i say. i didnt get brainwashed, im still me, i just dont feel any desire to behave in a self destructive way any more. The country needs more of these units not to be closing them.