September 12, 2016 – My Story by Peter Ruggeri

In November of 2014 my demons, both personal and professional, almost became too
much. I had a plan and what I thought was a way out of it all. Fortunately my “plan” didn’t come to fruition. I instead entered a treatment  program at a hospital in Vermont. While I was there I kept a journal and hope you will share the following short passage I wrote on one of my last days in treatment. There is hope, healing and peace to be found

   …………I’ve come to realize a lot of things here, I have a lot of work left to do, but I’ve realized that I can’t ever run from this. I’ve realized  the thoughts that were in my head in recent weeks don’t have to come to fruition. I’ve seen that the feelings don’t have to rule my existence. I’ve learned that there is no despair deeper than what we create for ourselves. The past is simply the past and no amount or type of emotion can change that. We have to accept it and move forward making a better future for ourselves. I realized that there is a way to heal and a way to find peace, self compassion and self love. It takes time and it takes work. I’m glad I did this on my own terms, it had a high price in many ways, but the difference in how I feel was worth the cost. I won’t miss the 13 hour days or the 6:00 AM wake up/work out but I will in a sense always miss this place and this time in my life.