- We continually optimize for search terms. Watch us climb!
Today's happy smile follows a torturous recovery that's somehow all been worth it
My name is Thomas Rees. I was just one more guy out there fighting for my piece of the shrinking pie, so to speak, and I lucked out and had it all. After a successful career on Wall Street and a popular radio show, I had a house at the top of Bel Air, CA and all the “stuff” by the early 2000′s in my early 40′s. I guess for the rest of my life I could have just been the shallow Joe who cared mostly about how much of that pie he was getting and how many toys he was going to die with. But along the way God had another plan. My once very colorful life completely faded to a dull gray, and I soon found myself bored with everything amidst a serious clinical depression. I started to drink and use prescription pain pills to try and feel better and function “normally”, but to no avail. I ended up quitting a good job of 20 years and a bad marriage of 10 all in the same month, thinking life would have to be different and had to get better — but it only got worse.
After finally being diagnosed as suicidally depressed with bipolar 2 and anxiety disorders, as well as being chemically dependent, I entered treatment and set about “recovering”. Over the 18 months while I worked with my treatment team on getting my mood stabilized, I was a tortured soul. I couldn’t relate to any happy, grateful people and I couldn’t understand for the life of me why I felt so awful. The 4 things that saved me were my dog, Senny, the computer — which allowed me to research everything I could get my fingers on that related to depression, anxiety, and addiction – operating two sober living homes which made me feel needed, and my ever-supportive sister and parents.
I learned enough to finally understand what was happening to me physiologically, and after operating the sober livings for several years, I began to feel much better. Since then and in the ensuing years I have come back to life — better, spiritually full, and happier than my old self, I’m pleased to say. I have tried to communicate some of what I have learned over the years on Depression, Anxiety and Addiction.
I have resolved to dedicate the rest of my life to helping others, and God led me to a fulfilling project to work on. In part it is the website at soberlivingsearch.com, to which this blog is attached. I spent 18 months and a chunk of resources building a team and the largest database of sober livings and halfway houses in the world (that I am aware of), and we brought the site to life online in October 2010. We still have work to do as we climb the Google ladder and input 8,000 houses, but you are looking at the premiere site on the internet to find sober living or halfway house, with pictorial and descriptive results unlike any other. Type in “search for sober living” or “search for halfway house” as one measure of progress. We will soon be optimized for every major search phrase used.
The site caters to prospective people in need of recovery housing, and it delivers results that will take the fear out of people and enable them to get a comfortable feeling about where they need to go. It enables managers to show off the best qualities of their homes, and will give them the highest visibility they can get — anywhere. Residents in need and their loved ones finally have a well-organized, centralized database with a search engine that functions as though it were out of a search user’s or house-owner’s dream. The site also allows Google to index your house page individually by house name, city, and zip code — so that you have another independent door through which residents can enter, or to which you can attach your website for a tremendous traffic boost.
I’m a walking, talking, productive message of hope for anyone else who like me, found themselves empty and feeling lifeless at some point, wondering if the world might be a better place without them. Let me tell you if wonder whether too much time has slipped by to find yourself a happy, fulfilling, meaningful life — it has not. And you can. Last of all, if you have a mood disorder, getting it treated properly is a key to success. I suggest reading the article below that critiques Tom Wooten’s model, “Bipolar in Order”. As always, I welcome any comments.
Related articles
- What Not to Say to a Depressed Person (psychcentral.com)
- Anesthetic Shows Promise for Bipolar Disorder (webmd.com)
- You: Depression Linked to Circadian Rhythm Gene Activity (psychcentral.com)
- Student Health Blog: Tips to Beat the Winter Blues (smudailymustang.com)
- Bipolar Disorder: 10 Subtle Signs (huffingtonpost.com)
- On Tom Wootton and Bipolar in Order (psychologytoday.com)
