Drugs in High School
Chris’ drug use started young and continued for many years before reaching his path to addiction recovery.
What first started with Marijuana and Alcohol soon turned into prescription pills, Amphetamines, and depressants that he would steal from his mom. Before long, his drug abuse progressed into Cocaine use.
When he was 5, up until he was 13, Chris went to the doctor and received shots 3 times a week for severe allergies. For this reason, Chris was no stranger to intravenous needles.
Heroin and Compulsive Behavior
Chris first became addicted to Heroin when he was 17 years old. He describes himself as a “very compulsive addict.” Whenever he felt the urge to experience the rush and high of using drugs, there was no stopping him.
“Once I got the feeling for getting the rush, I wanted more and more.”
Once was never enough; he always needed more and more. About four to five months into his Heroin use, he started doing things he’d never done before in order to support his habit. Chris began stealing from his mother.
He explains that he stole her checks and forged them, but his mother never put up with or enabled his behavior. Instead, she called the police and had him arrested.
Consequences of Drug Abuse
Facing prison time, Chris was offered a chance to go to a drug rehab program. Agreeing to go to treatment, he was sent to a program called Waldon House in San Francisco, California.
Chris spent 14 months at Waldon House and explains that he learned a lot of great things. However, he states that it wasn’t enough to stay clean and his drug use continued.
Because he violated his parole, Chris went on the run for a year. His consequence for getting caught was that he returned to Waldon House.
Committed to staying clean and sober, he completed the program and started working for the program. Unfortunately, Chris’ second time through the program still wasn’t enough.
Addiction Recovery or Death
After Chris’ second relapse, it was a number of years before he gave recovery another go. Due to the amount of time that passed, Chris expressed that he was afraid to get clean.
Moreover, he tells us that he didn’t think that getting clean and sober would make him feel good about himself. Until one day, Chris was faced with the reality of living in active drug addiction.
One day, he remembers being picked up by an ambulance and rushed to the hospital, where he was later put into a medically induced coma. That day, the nurse told Chris that he was going to die and that if he wanted to live, he was going to have to fight for his life.
A few weeks later, Chris woke up from the coma and took full advantage of his second chance at life. As the old saying goes, third time’s the charm, and for Chris, that couldn’t be truer.
He returned to Waldon House and jumped into working a 12-step program. Today, Chris is happy—he has a beautiful life with a family and more than he could have ever have dreamed of.
Drug addiction claims the lives of many people every day; however, there is hope and a way out of the suffering. To talk to someone about getting clean and sober for good, give us a call at (866) 578-7471.
