REAL LIFE STORIES: ABOUT DRUG ABUSE
“My goal in life wasn't living...it was getting high. I was falling in a downward spiral towards a point of no return. Over the years, I turned to cocaine, marijuana and alcohol under a false belief it would allow me to escape my problems. It just made things worse. I had everything, a good job, money, a loving family, yet I felt so empty inside. As if I had nothing. Over twenty years of using, I kept saying to myself, I’m going to stop permanently after using this last time. It never happened. There were even moments I had thought of giving up on life.” —Peter
“It started with the weed, then the pills (Ecstasy) and acid, making cocktails of all sorts of drugs, even overdosing to make the rushes last longer. I took copious amounts of these chemicals every day for as long as two years until I had a bad trip one night and went into toxic psychosis. I prayed and cried for this feeling to go away, I had voices in my head, had the shakes and couldn't leave home for nine months. I became very withdrawn and thought everyone was watching me. I couldn’t walk in public places. I couldn’t even drive. “I ended up homeless and on the streets, living and sleeping in a cardboard box, begging and struggling to find ways to get my next meal.
“I asked myself if this is rock bottom, and I believe that it was. While observing these homeless people I decided that I had had enough. Yes I wanted drugs, but I realized that I could want life more.” —Joseph
OVERCOMING CRYSTAL METH:
"I have been an addict since the age of 11. It first started as fun, trying to fit in and trying to be cool, and I never thought it would lead down the path of addiction. I used all throughout high school and college. I used every drug in the book but my drug of choice was crystal meth.
Once I found crystal meth at 24 years old, it led my life into the brink of disaster. After five years of chronic meth abuse, I found myself in the hospital on suicide watch after an attempt to take my own life.
When I was in the hospital, I came to the conclusion that recovery was the only way out. When I got out of the hospital, I started going to 12-step meetings and started being active in recovery.
I have had my relapses. I have probably had four or five relapses. Crystal meth is one of the most powerful and addictive drugs. A lot of the experience and knowledge I have gained has come from to different 12-step meetings that include people who struggle with different addictions but all are focused on recovery. Every time that I have relapsed and have come back, the one thing that I felt was missing was my spirituality. Without a doubt that is the one thing that sticks in my mind. I try to go back and figure out what went wrong and what happened it all comes back to my spirituality. Now I pray in the morning and evening and meditate to keep myself in check with my addiction.
Advice I would give to those starting in recovery is to never give up. In the time that I have been in recovery, my life has been full and rewarding. I have done things I never would have done. I have traveled the world, learned to scuba dive, and have hiked through national parks. I absolutely learned to love life. Never give up and keep coming back to recovery!"- George
