True Stories of Addiction: Zach
Zach’s earliest memory is watching his father leave his mother. He didn’t understand why his father left he just knew how it made him feel. As Zach grew older, he felt out of place because all of his friends had what seemed to be a perfect family life and he couldn’t relate because his parents split when he was so young. His family life bothered him so much, he hated being at home. So, Zach started playing sports to escape his personal life. Using sports as an escape didn’t last long. He was soon introduced to drugs and Alcohol, which worked as a better outlet to help him not feel emotions.
The first drug Zach was introduced to was Marijuana. He was at his old elementary school and when he took the first hit, he finally felt comfortable in his own skin. As his Marijuana use progressed, Zach’s cousins introduced him to not only using more drugs but also selling drugs.
He loved his new life, made money, had many friends and an amazing girlfriend. There was nothing that could make Zach feel depressed until he was in a terrible car accident where his girlfriend was killed on impact. Zach was immediately taken to the hospital in a helicopter and is lucky to be alive.
He ended up staying in the hospital for a long time, where the doctors would keep giving him pain medication because they didn’t know Zach had a past with abusing drugs. After 10 days in the hospital, Zach finally realized he lost his girlfriend and his heart was broken. He didn’t understand why something so cruel could happen to such a wonderful girl. Instead of dealing with the emotions of his loss, he kept popping the pain medications the doctors prescribed to numb his emotions.
Doing Drugs to Numb the Pain
After some time of Zach using the pain medications, the doctors cut off his script because they felt he had a problem. The doctors were right, Zach just couldn’t see it. Because of the trauma he lived through, he was willing to do anything to feel better about himself and his life. He ended up going to a party and decided to do some Cocaine. When he snorted his first line, he believes he set off his addiction for the next ten years of his life.
His addiction progressed and Zach ended up getting arrested in a prescription fraud ring and was charged with a class three felony, attempting to acquire Narcotics through fraudulent means. Because it was Zach’s first change, he got a slap on the wrist and was ordered to go to drug treatment. Zach complied, went to treatment, many times, but couldn’t seem to stay off the drugs.
Because Zach was charged with Narcotic charges, he couldn’t get doctors to write him prescriptions anymore. So, he started using Heroin intravenously. The second he picked up Heroin, he couldn’t put it down. He was now a slave to the drug and he didn’t think there was anything he could do about it. His addiction progressed, he tried to move away to different states, which didn’t work. He always ended up homeless, with a needle in his arm where ever he went.
Finding Treatment for Drug Addiction
Zach went to detox to try to find a better way of life. He got his first taste of sobriety but didn’t stay sober. After a few weeks, he ended up going to a halfway house to try and clean up his act again. In this halfway house, he noticed that everyone around him was happy and he wanted that. He was tired of looking for a way out. His addiction got to the point where he wasn’t just looking for drugs on the streets anymore. He was looking for a gun as well to end it all. He was done having those negative thoughts and knew it was time to listen to these other men in the halfway house and ask them for help on how to stay sober.
Zach was told to work the 12-step program as honestly as he could and that is what he did. He got a sponsor, worked through the 12-steps honestly and started working with other guys in the program. A weight lifted off Zach’s shoulders and his obsession to use drugs has been removed from him. He is finally free and feels like he can live a normal and happy life. There is nothing he wouldn’t do for his sobriety and is blessed he found a way to escape the miserable life he was living.
