Shannon’s Chrysalis School Testimony

I went to boarding school after a wilderness program in Utah. They told my parents it was best because I was quote a troubled child and needed extensive help unquote. After surviving the wilderness program that made you march miles a day, varying more than I weighed and not getting to eat if I didn’t bust a dire with sticks, in got sent to Montana. I was never allowed to speak to my parents alone. When they visited it was made clear I’d get in trouble if I said anything negative and would loose privileged. There was a level system and I was on level 1 over a year because I have social anxiety and didn’t feel comfortable talking in groups settings. My room was on the top floor and I shared a bathroom with the owner. He’d go in there while I took showers and also make me sit in this lap in his office while we were talking. Made me very uncomfortable. If I did something quote wrong, I’d be sent out in the horse pasture in the cold Montana weather for hours. Or the garden in the heat without water allowed. If I also did something quote wrong, the owner wouldn’t talk to me , a firm of gaslighting and that has hurt me in past relationships BC I have anxiety and PTSD. Of someone doesn’t text me back, my mind would go from 0 to 20p and wonder what I did wrong. Finally when I told my father to please bring me home the owner wrote horrible letters, to schools I was applying to. They all denied me BC the owner said I was unstable and aggressive and had major mental issues. Reality, he was mad he wasn’t getting that tuition money and I tried to speak up. I had nite mares for years and still do about that. It truly impacted my life when I came home. I did not know how to be in a regular school or socialize, so I would at a young age drink to fill holes in my heart. I also noticed alot of people there were adopted…connection…maybe. I became a heroin addict and thankfully I’m sober almost 3.5years. Every breath into in Montana felt like knives stabbing my chest. I felt abandoned unloved and thrown away. I still get that way but thankfully with hard work and real therapy not what they called it at school, I’ve been working on those issues. I witnessed favorite and people being treated differently if the owner simply didn’t like the girl. I can only imagine how that felt. Any  questions feel free to ask. Congratulations and keep going survivors. You are worth more than you may believe and are here for a reason that may not be revealed yet. You are not a screw up. It was a scam.