A Day in the Life at Ledgehill for Men

tress and lushes near stairs

Few things are shrouded in more mystery than what happens behind the walls of an addiction treatment centre.

While you may have seen a few examples of what treatment centers are like on TV or film, as we all know, Hollywood and reality are two very different things.

For anyone considering our men’s facility, we often see the same few questions.

Is it like school? Like camp? Is it like work?

Well, in short, it’s a little like all those things.

While we offer treatment in a beautiful, tranquil setting, make no mistake: when you’re here, you’re here to work.

Unraveling the complicated web of emotions, experiences, and trauma that foster addictions can’t be done in a day. And it certainly can’t be done without an incredible amount of focus and effort.

While days are carefully carved up into bite-sized pieces, those activities tend to fall into one of five areas:

  1. Mindfulness practices to avoid relapse. The mind has the power to do great things. It also has the power to sabotage your efforts. Everyone in recovery learns and practices meditation as a way to manage and cope with the challenges that each day brings. In our experience, meditation can be an incredibly valuable life skill that helps those in recovery keep calm, cope with triggers, build better mental resilience, and ultimately avoid relapse. We also offer yoga classes that many participants find therapeutic. Legehill’s mindfulness curriculum also includes evidence-based therapies such as Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) to regulate emotions and address problematic thoughts.
  2. Learning and education. Each day, residents dedicate time to read from a curated selection of books that help support their recovery journey. They might also spend several hours a day attending scheduled programming designed to provide them with a better understanding of the issues that feed addiction behaviour. Our programming covers everything from techniques for handling anxiety and how to regulate emotions to navigating complex family issues.
  3. Healing and inward reflection. Every person working through an addiction faces their own challenges. So, every day the men at Ledgehill carve out time to explore inward to learn, heal, and better understand. For some, that might mean covering something very specific to the issues they’re facing, and for others, it might mean group or individual therapy. The men also have time to reflect on what they’ve learned throughout the course of each day, which often comes in the form of journaling or homework.
  4. Keeping active. Sometimes the best way to heal the mind is to leverage the body. As part of our holistic approach, all our patients are encouraged to get out and be active. Especially in the outdoors.
  5. Building positive social connections. During a person’s stay at Ledgehill, there are always opportunities to make connections with others—a key component of recovery. Indeed, positive social connections often endure long after treatment—people will stay in touch for years or longer after their stay. During treatment, breakfast, lunch, and dinner are always served in a group setting, and we have group activities throughout the week.

Of course, there are too many activities to mention them all in a single post, the above points certainly give you a broad perspective on how your time will be spent.

If you need more information, don’t hesitate to reach out.

We would be happy to take you through what Ledgehill would be like for you or your loved one.

We Can Help You

Ledgehill’s two facilities in Annapolis County, Nova Scotia, provide gender-specific treatment for men and women who need to heal in a peaceful, supportive environment free from fear or distraction. If you’d like to learn more about the addiction and mental health treatment programs provided by Ledgehill, enroll yourself in one of our programs, or refer someone else, please call us at 1-800-676-3393.

  • Want to learn more about our programs?