Addiction Advice

@jesusredeemedme2425

While I don't personally have an addiction, I have been around it, honesty is vital, talking about your feelings and struggles, getting to the core of what you are trying to blank out and replace with the addiction. People can feel shame and don't want to bring the addiction into the light, but don't struggle alone, you are not weak, you are not alone, there is support, and you matter and change is possible 💜🥰

I have been in recovery for 15 years. I am an alcoholic and opiate addict. 

1. You CAN recover. 

2. You CAN get through anything in life without your drug of choice. 

3. You CAN have just as much of a good time sober as you can with drugs and alcohol. Maybe even MORE of a good time since you're not inebriated and can actually remember your good time!

4. You CAN repair relationships that have gone to the wayside during your addiction. 

5. You DON'T want to leave us. Not only will you be leaving this planet (and I don't care who you are, we NEED you HERE) but you will be leaving a lot of people with heartache and unanswered questions. I did not realize the strength of this until I lost friends. It's not just the drugs and alcohol that will take you from us. It's the things that happen as a result. If my Dad's best friend wasn't drunk, he wouldn't have left us. He would've called my Dad instead. If my friend stopped drinking, she wouldn't have drank herself into end stage liver disease. If my friend wasn't driving drunk, she'd still be with us today. If my uncle Mike wasn't hit by a drunk driver, he'd still be alive today and that's one less brother my Dad would've had to bury. I think you get the point. 

6. If you are an opiate addict, no matter where you are in your addiction, PLEASE GET SOME NARCAN. A lot of us don't use alone, and a lot of us don't watch doses. It is so easy to overdose on opiates. Carry it wherever you go. It may save your own life, or you may be able to save someone else. Even though I'm sober, I still carry it, and I attach a tag to my purse that says I have Narcan on me. 

7. If you are truly ready to get clean and sober, TRY, TRY, and TRY AGAIN. Rehab doesn't help everyone. AA, although it helped me, is not for everyone. Keep trying. There are tons of people out there who want to help you. 

8. You can be completely and utterly broke and still get sober. There is help for everyone. My first sponsor knew I didn't have a car and would pick me up to bring me to meetings. There are residential treatment options for people who can't pay for a private rehab stay. 

THERE IS HELP. YOU ARE IMPORTANT. SOBER LIFE IS AMAZING. PLEASE STAY WITH US. 

Oh, sorry, I didn't see that you asked for ONE piece of advice. I gave 8. I'm a little passionate about recovery.