It’s Harmless Right?
Michael’s addiction started with something that most people see as socially acceptable, he started drinking Alcohol at 16 years old.
For him, this quickly escalated from social dirking to getting drunk on a regular basis and smoking marijuana. After this became a normal thing to him, he started adding harder drugs.
“I started using harder drugs, like pills, Cocaine and different things of that sort. I never really thought that I had a problem, I thought that everything was just a lot of fun,” Michael said.
At this point, he didn’t think that his actions were affecting anyone else.
“As time went on I slowly started to see the effects of what I did.”
Crashing into the Truth
After spending all night out binge drinking and partying, Michael decided that he wanted to drive to a friend’s house.
“I remember making a left turn and the next thing I know; I woke up after hitting a parked car.”
He tried to drive away but his car was too damaged to move. This is when he realized that he would have to deal with this situation. It was the first time that he had to face any consequences.
“I didn’t really comprehend what was going to happen, I had never really been in trouble with the cops before – But I knew it was going to be a big deal this time.”
When the owners of the car came out they were more worried about him than they were about their car. Michael thought this was odd since he had had just totaled their car, but he hadn’t seen the cut across his forehead or noticed the blood running down his face.
“In the state that I was in, I didn’t care. I didn’t want anyone to touch me I didn’t care about myself at the time, I was more worried that I wasn’t going to have a car.”
Click here for more information on addiction and the legal system.
The cops arrived and wanted to do a field sobriety test, Michael looked at them and said he didn’t want to waste their time or his and admitted that he was drunk.
The cops told him that considering the situation, he has very coherent. He responded that this was his normal state.
“At that time, that’s what I thought. I thought that that was my normal state, that I had to be that way all the time in order to function.”
When Michael was at the police station and finally took a breathalyzer, he was three times over the legal limit.
That night, while sitting in a cell he remembered his parents telling him not to call them if he got in trouble. So that’s exactly what he did – Not call.
Unbeknownst to him, one of his cousins worked at that jail and he called Michael’s parents.
“That was God working for me because otherwise, I would have still been sitting there the next day.”
Getting in a car crash and receiving a DUI was the first time he came to terms with how much he drank and partied.
Admitting it to his family was one of the hardest things he had to do. Michael had moved out of the house when he was 17 so they didn’t know how he had been drinking.
“That was the first time they understood how bad it was. That was the first time my dad told me how much he understands, he had been in my shoes at a point in time in his life.”
Even thought he was still in active addiction he began to understand that he was not alone.
“That’s what really, really helped me out that night and helped me to get through.”
Michael Did the Work
A year after his DUI Michael decided to was time to get help.
He went a year without being able to get his license or his car back. Getting drunk and high was more important than taking care of the things that he needed to.
“I was really hurting myself more and more each time until I just could not take it anymore. I finally reached out to my mom.”
He told her that he needed help and he did research to find a treatment center that he felt was best for him. Michael ended up going to a rehab in Arizona and he hit the ground running.
“I started to take suggestions from day one. They told me to get a sponsor, I got a sponsor. They told me to start working the steps I started working the steps.”
Right away Michael could see the difference that taking these suggestions to heart was making in his life.
He was in treatment for 120 days, then moved right into a sober living, where he stayed for around 8 months. In that time frame, he saw a lot of people come in and out of the program.
“As I was leaving they asked me what the difference was between myself and the other guys that came through and I told then what it came down to was I did the work, I put in the time, the effort. I made those late phone calls when I wasn’t doing okay.”
Michael went back to working in restaurants and soon realized that it was not what he wanted to do. He wanted to help people find what he had. So he got a job in the recovery field.
“I get to watch … the light turn on in their eyes and that’s an awesome experience.”
He never thought that he would be able to really enjoy life, or be happy sober, but 16 months in he is, and he’s able to share that with other people who had the same worries as him.
Even now when he’s feeling the pressures of life he can still call the guys he met in the rooms, and not he has the ability to help others who are having a hard time.
“If you’re feeling lonely, miserable like you just don’t want to go on anymore, we’ve found something that is absolutely amazing. There’s hope, there is peace.”
If you or a loved one is struggling with addiction we can help find the treatment center that can give them a chance to get their live back on track call: (866)578-7471
33 comments
Seeking help at the right time in the very right place. Thanks for sharing this intriguing post. Driving under the influence of alcohol is not a good thing.
Wow,this is so touching. Micheal really did a good work realizing he needed help, bailing out of home isn’t best for any kid, you end up regretting most times.
This is the typical mindset ” It is HARMLESS” that is perhaps true in the start until everything comes crashing down. The sad part is it not only affects you but everyone around you!!! The illusion that addiction makes huh.
We should learn very valuable lesson from Michael’s life story. Which is we must stay away from alcohol and drugs. Because once we try to drink or use it, this is when you start destroying yourself.
The accident is the very bad experience of life. And, inviting the accident from driving on being addicted is deadly.
Tell me about one of the fastest way to die, this is definitely one. Just another eye opener. Lesson learnt, ways changed too.
What an inspiring story. Hope that Michael is doing better and is in a safe and loving environment. I agree that there is hope in everything! Never give up and always remember to never drive under the influence of drugs or alcohol since not only are you going to ruin your life but also someone else’s.
It’s 16 years old but you having drug and alcohol,I see so pitty on this situation parents must to protect and teach their children since baby and child to understand to avoid bad habit and give their example so they Will understand
Michael story is helpful for many people ,Drugs and alcohol is not the solution of any problem , People should fight with different and difficult problems and try to solve that, Alcohol is very harmful for our body.
Drug addiction causes a lot of trouble in any aspect of your life. It really doesn’t give you any good for the long term. People must seek help spiritually and professionally to be healed and enjoy life back.
This type content should seen globally . Every country youngsters facing this problem. Hope this subject become hot topic.
It very bad and annoying. I see no reading why anyone should drive under the influence of drug abuse or alcohol. He’s definitely putting the life of other road user in to danger all because of some self addiction.
Oh! I am glad that Michael supass this kind of problem, addiction. And yeah, if you love your love ones that is struggling too, never doubt to help them. Yes it is scary at first but after that, you will find peace in you and into them.
More awareness should be created on addiction. It is doing so much harm to do society in general. This is well detailed and well ilustrated .
Driving under the control of alcohol is very much disastrous, it has caused lost of accident. Federal ministry of health worldwide kicked against it. Thanks for enlightening me more with your great contents.
Driving under the influence of alcohol is dangerous and harmful. It is very absurd seeing people when the are drunk. If they didn’t kill themselves, they will kill others.
Driving while intoxicated is a bad Idea. So, my advice is that people should not drive whenever they are under the influence of alcohol.
We should not drive drunk. Drunk driving can result in loss of life and property of others. Drunk driving is very wrong. i’m against it. Thanks for sharing this blog.
Most of the accidents are caused by drinking alcohol. This is quite a serious problem. The government has to pay special attention to this, only then some reform is possible. This is very important information.
Hitting a parked car is one out of the many unpleasant things that could happen to somehow driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Michael is lucky to be alive or better still not turned into a vegetable for the rest of his life. I thank God he sought help and I hope he doesn’t go back to drugs again
Michael really tried, addiction is a really bad thing and thanks to this information they can get help they need
Every young and tender aged youth should be sensitized about the consequences of dealing with drugs and it’s consumptions. Thank God we have living witnesses of revived souls.
Most people think they can never become addicts, it usually starts with very little things and before you know it you are hooked. It is great to know you are better now.
Michael’s case is quite sad but at the end it was really happy and encouraging. Driving under the influence of drugs is really bad. Thank God for family and friends and the encouragement from them.
In life, they say that experience is the best teacher coupled with self discovery. Am so happy for Michael because he eventually discover his purpose in life. It can only get better if people in such condition have close associate to help out. Doing drugs is bad, combination of drugs is deadly.
Reading and learning the first hand experience of the person linked to the subject is an eye opener. We really need to understand that DUI is a serious offense and not mentioning, it can cause a great harm to the people around us.
This has claimed alot of lives and still doing. I think drug tester should be available in all check point to reduce this issue in our society.
This testimony is awesome. Sometimes we just have to learn the.hard way to realize we have been in the wrong. Good that Michael learned his lesson and living better now
Some face consequences of driving under the influence of drugs even at the first time, so deadly. My friend almost lost his life to this act, later resulted into amputation.
Michaels story is like what most of us face, he was lucky like us too. But many aren’t lucky, the lost their life to this influence. Let be guided.
It is always good to seek for help when experiencing addiction of any kind. Those around such people should also encourage them to seek for help.
Very interesting piece. I’ve seen firsthand how drivers, (especially young ones), think they’re on top of the world and can do anything behind the wheel without consequences. Really glad Michael made a full recovery and found a sense of community through rehab and helping others with similar circumstances.
Effort is much needed to make a change. One should accept change for change to take effect.