Beyond Picket Fences

Beyond Picket Fences


Episode #178: Recast: In Memory of Terrisa Noel Rivera-Jones: Humanizing Addiction Part 1 of 2, w/ Alysha Giliberti

November 23, 2023

We are honored to have Alysha Giliberti back at our table this week. Alysha tells us the heartwarming of her sister, Terrisa Noel Rivera-Jones. Terrisa is forever 31 after an overdose of fentanyl. Terrisa struggled with addiction and mental illness for the majority of her life. She was homeless on and off until the day she died. Terrisa was an amazing artist, extremely creative, and incredibly smart. She was funny, witty, and fun to be around (if she liked you). Terrisa worked in the mental health field and had many jobs over the years helping people; from working with substance use disorder to art therapy to assisting homeless veterans, Terrisa enjoyed helping anyone at any time; no matter what she needed for herself. Terrisa also had two girls whom she loved deep down to her soul. All of these things existed at the same time. Terrisa would want her girls to know they are loved beyond measure and they’re capable of loving themselves and others just as much. Terrisa was unapologetically herself and if her story can help anyone out there, she’d want it told. This is part 1 of a 2 part story. Listen next Wednesday for part 2 of Terrisa’s story. This is a recast of a previously aired episode.


 


From: Love, To: An Addict


The saying goes, “We can’t love you more than you love yourself”


But we loved you more than you loved.                  yourself


At times when you just couldn’t


Or the times when you just wouldn’t


We loved you when you felt like you just  


          shouldn’t  


And when your shame took over


And days passed by


And the time between the calls 


grew longer


We loved you more than you loved yourself


The saying goes, “we can’t want it for you”


But we wanted it for you


When you wanted to numb the pain


Or put the voices in your head at bay


And hoped that time didn’t slip away


We wanted it for you 


When you were hurting most


In the state of chaos and confusion


In the midst of your deep loneliness


And, let’s face it, even in your delusions


We loved you more than you loved yourself 


And we wanted it for you


And when your heart said yes but your.                    brain said no 


we wanted to be a safe space for you to.                  go 


And in your shame 


and maybe a little bit of “fuck it” mentality 


ultimately you chose your reality


a reality that none of us wanted for you 


a reality that we would give anything  


to change for you 


 


If only you knew 


how much we wanted it for you 


if only you could see you 


from our point of view 


But we believe you knew


That we loved you more than you loved.                 yourself 


and I promise you 


we wanted it for you


The saying goes “you can’t change the past” but we would give our last breath 


to have you back


And then we realize 


you are a sitting at the Father’s feet 


you’re finally at peace 


and now we speak in your memory 


From: Alysha, To: My sister


https://www.healthright360.org/


(Prototypes rehab that I mentioned. Looks like they have an umbrella company now, but this is the correct one)


(National Alliance for Mental Health) https://nami.org/Home


https://www.211.org/get-help/substance-use


https://copingskillsforkids.com/blog/2016/4/27/coping-skill-spotlight-5-4-3-2-1-grounding-technique


(This also has free coping skills resources, which I printed out and put in my daughter’s room when she was little)


Related Episodes:


Episode 99: I Have Been Sober For A Year and I Love It, w/ Alysha Giliberti


EPISODE #90: YOU CANNOT LOVE SOMEONE SOBER W/ WENDY DUGAL


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The post Episode #178: Recast: In Memory of Terrisa Noel Rivera-Jones: Humanizing Addiction Part 1 of 2, w/ Alysha Giliberti appeared first on Beyond Picket Fences.