2019: Matriculated. Was put on a medical leave of absence due to issues with alcohol about 3 months in.
2020: Returned to school after a 28 day stay at what was essentially an extended detox center. Had no grip on recovery at this point. Did not stay sober despite contract with physician health program. Completed MS1 & MS2 (did about average sometimes above average on everything). Was eventually caught drinking, was not forced to leave, but was required to take a pause a get a psych eval at which point they determined I could continue school while doing IOP. But, because of the pause, I had not been enrolled in enough credits to get loans, so i was forced to withdraw for financial reasons in 2022 (i know this was a direct effect of etoh im just stating what the final straw was - back then i would've kept chugging along if I had the financial means).
2023: Finally took sobriety seriously, went to rehab. Got sober. Stayed sober.
2024: Returned to school. Have been clean since. Done well on everything, good grades, good evals, research in addiction psychiatry, no hiccups, nearing step 2 and then will submit apps for psych residency in Sept.
My "why" for psych is pretty obvious. I went through years of addiction and relapse. I'm eager to help people like me. So when I write my personal statement/interview/etc. should I be upfront about my journey? Or is disclosing a SUD a terrible idea? I think everything i've been through and all the people I've met and lived with through detox/rehab/sober living has made me equipped to tx pts with SUDs (end goal is addiction psych). And it's definitely my motivation. Not sure how to make a strong case for myself in psychiatry while beating around the bush and saying "was gone for mental health reasons".
Any and all advice would be helpful, hoping some residents who've been thru something similar see this post. Thanks!
Full timeline is
8/19-10/19 in school
11/19-07/20 out of school
8/20-05/22 - in school
6/22-7/24 - out of school
8/24-present - in school