building a stairway to heaven addiction and recovery
This is my story of addiction and recovery. I write about this to inspire anyone who is addicted or has family that is still suffering.
When we are all kids and are asked what we want to be when we grow up no one says " A drug addict" but it does happen. If these people are not willing to make major life changes most do not recover at least this has been my experience. Id like to think i had a normal life well until drugs became a significant part of it. As the song says " we are all prisoners here of our own device" i must admit I put the drugs into my body that lead to my addiction. I did not know how bad it would get.
At the age of 13 experimenting with weed and alcohol I thought it was cool and used to to escape fights between parents when i was young not knowing how it would change my life. By the time i was 17 i was smoking every day and had tried pills and hallucinogens on occasion. When i was 18 I broke my hip in a car accident i see this now as a catalyst to my addiction 7 months of not walking and tons of pills became my answer to all of life's problems . I was caught in the grip of a opiate addiction that got worse before it got better. Its like a long dream and you are watching yourself but not able to stop. When you wake up in the morning you have to use or get sick. In 2007 I burned 19% of my face and body I was blessed it was only 2nd degree and after a year it healed. Overdoses over then next few years, car accidents the list goes on and on.
In 2011 my family had sort of a intervention in a gas station of all places. I went to detox and rehab hoping to get them off my back and not really believing life could carry on. After a month in rehab i went to my first NA meeting, I still didn't believe it could help I still gave their suggestions a shot. My life changed. After a few months of meetings, working on the 12 steps and following what others had did I was on a pink cloud. I was happy just to not have drugs control my life but i wanted to become a productive member of society. Got a job saved for a year to get a car and kept up with my meetings, then i got a better job and kept moving forward.
Around 3 years i was doing good but felt stuck bouncing from relationship to relationship I followed some suggestions and " let go and let god" work in my life. Several months later I met a wonderful girl we have been together for 3 years and it is the healthiest relationship I have ever had. Next month will be my 31st birthday and i will be clean from drugs and alcohol for 6 and a half years. I will have to post up some before and after picture so you can see the difference.
I write about these things to hopefully inspire someone and share hope that people who don't know how to break free can find a way. I will be working on myself for the rest of my life and i am grateful for a second chance . Any addict can break free of the self made prison but it is rarely done alone and it takes work. My life is amazing today i have hobbies i love ,passion for life and the freedom to grow and help others. One day at a time.