Researchers believe that about half of people with addictions will experience a mental illness at some point in their lives. Similarly, half of people with mental health disorders will experience an addiction. Co-occurring disorders is when one has an addiction concurrently with a mental health disorder. Sam’s story shows how someone can suffer with multiple disorders, and still find lifelong recovery.
Born into a broken family in Phoenix, Sam started life in an unstable environment. She was transferred from home to home many times before the age of 10. At 10, she found the people she now calls her parents. She lived a secure life with them until she was about 22. Although stable and safe, her new home was also quite strict. Her new conservative lifestyle included rules about religion and going out.
Her parents set rigid expectations for how she should behave. Soon, she was rebelling against them. Around the age of 15, people noticed that she was angry and upset. One day, they finally asked her why.
This question required some thought. Even she wasn’t sure why she was so angry. Sam could only surmise that the anger she felt had to do with her childhood abuse.
Click Here to learn more about Childhood Emotional Neglect and Its Effects.
She began to recognize that the mental, sexual, and verbal abuse kept her from connecting to people. Eventually, she found a youth pastor to guide her through her young adult years.
At 22, Sam decided to move out of her parents’ home, go to college, and make her own decisions. It was then that she realized that she didn’t know how to make decisions and interact with people.
The Beginnings of an Addiction
Sam’s goal upon entering college was to party it up and have fun. Because she was a 22-year-old freshman, she was able to buy alcohol. This made her popular amongst her younger classmates. The ability to purchase alcohol gave her instant popularity and a way to connect with people, without feeling insecure.
About this same time, Sam began to struggle with depression and the effects of it on her life. College wasn’t easy; but her constant partying wasn’t really the problem. Sam was “having high highs and really low lows and constantly suicidal”. She couldn’t figure out what was wrong with her or why she couldn’t feel normal.
In therapy, she asked her counselor if she would always feel this way. He didn’t seem to offer any optimism. This was quite disheartening, and it left Sam with a sense of impending doom, given her upcoming graduation.
The uncertainty of what life after college would be like left Sam feeling hopeless. She thought she might end up killing herself within a few years of graduation. Nonetheless, she graduated with a 2.0 grade point average.
After graduation, she moved in with a former roommate and got a job. But it wasn’t long before she felt the burden of fitting in and finding her place. This uncertainty led her back to drinking, despite her concern for addiction. She had previously quit drinking when she realized it was becoming an addiction.
The Addiction Gets Worse
In addition to returning to drinking, she had easy access to marijuana. Her roommate kept plenty of it in the house. At first, Sam wasn’t terribly into using pot but eventually, she began to enjoy it.
She’d get so high that she wouldn’t be able to go to work. This inevitably led to her depression worsening. She had no choice but to take medical leave from work for 30 days. Shortly after returning to work, she decided to start dating.
She met a guy on a dating website. After eight months, they agreed to move in together. The relationship quickly went bad; he become abusive in a very short period of time.
After about a year and a half, Sam realized that the relationship wasn’t healthy, so she got her own place. Living by herself, she began to feel the crushing emotions from the break-up.
So, she drank. She drank a lot. Every day, she drank until she blacked out, and she smoked marijuana constantly.
“I was so incapacitated that people would ask me what was wrong with me.”
Soon, drinking and smoking weed weren’t enough, and Sam began to seek out other substances, including Xanax. She took Xanax to help self-medicate her highs, lows, and emotions.
One night, at the peak of her addiction, she took around seven Xanax pills and drank alcohol. She didn’t think this would kill her but hoped it would. She blacked out and hit her face on the bathroom counter. Her friends saw her fall and moved her into her bed.
When she woke up, she remembered that her firearm was sitting right next to her bed. To this day, she is thankful that she didn’t kill herself or try to drive.
The Road to Recovery
A short time later, a friend of Sam’s convinced her to see a doctor. At 27 years old, Sam was finally diagnosed with bipolar disorder. After the diagnosis, she searched for the proper medication. Unfortunately, after several months of searching with no results, she returned to alcohol.
“I’d rather be manic, at least sometimes I’d feel better.”
After losing her job, she started working at a restaurant. The restaurant ultimately introduced her to fentanyl. It was easy to spend all the money she had on fentanyl. When she had nothing left, she went into withdrawals. The experience was enough for her. She went to a support group meeting and achieved her first four and a half months of sobriety.
Unfortunately, the first try didn’t keep her sober. Sam wasn’t completely honest while working the steps and eventually talked herself into relapsing.
“The obsession [to use] came back and it came back with a vengeance.”
After this relapse, she realized she couldn’t stop and completely lost control for about six months. She got fired from both of her jobs and lost everything. She could no longer ignore that she needed help.
Sam went to detox, then rehab, and was finally placed into a halfway house. Although the halfway house wasn’t where she imagined herself after rehab, it was the place that really changed her life.
One particular counselor took her to meetings. This is where Sam was able to find a sponsor and begin working the steps completely and honestly. She learned to stop yelling and being angry at people, and instead, start showing others compassion.
Sam has two goals today. She wants to give others the same love that she was shown at the beginning of her treatment. She also wants to develop healthy relationships with others. She wishes to continue sponsoring other people in the program, as well. Her biggest goal is to live a life in which people can’t imagine her as an addict or alcoholic.
36 comments
I wish the best for Sam! Many people with drug addictions have mental illness… actually all of the people I’ve known with drug problems have some sort of mental illness.
It’s Really Good to know Sam recovered and is Willing to help others going through same challenge.
The Rehab is effective,Thanks to Detox.
I am happy that Sam could recover from the addiction. Life challenges are there to make us a better person, I like the part where she promise to live a life in which people can’t imagine her as an addict or alcoholic and to give others the same love that she was shown at the beginning of her treatment.
SO MANY addicts I know are self-medicating. Depression, bi-polar, almost any mental illness puts you at risk for depression. I’m glad Sam is recovering…such a tough journey, but a sober life is a life worth living.
Sam’s case is in no way different. There’s always a trigger from the start and then it gets built on till ruin almost comes. I’m still happy for her irregardless, because she didn’t get drowned in that phase of life. Kudos to Detoxtorehab for helping out too.
Depression is not supposed to set aside, not giving importance. If you are depress you cant think anything, all negatives thoughts comes to your mind, so some turn into drugs just to forget being depressed. Depression is a silent killer .
This is quite a nice informative post about how some sort of health aspects leads to addiction. It is quite motivational.
Depression makes people to engage in unthinkable act. I bless God for her recovery.
Am glad sam is making recovery after so much addiction with drugs. Drug addiction isn’t a good thing as it’s negative effects are sọ much
I understand perfectly well Sam because I have been there and done that. It isn’t the right way though especially with depression it gets even worse after a time.
We should stay away from mental stress, it leads us to intoxication. we should always be worry free. Depression is very bad.
I totally agree with this article . The moment depression sent in you start thinking about wierd things, sometimes it seems like one is alone in the world leading to thoughts which cab destroy ones life.
Avoidance of depression saves lives while its allowance kills. Thanks God you alive. I congratulate you.
Atimes tbe pressure and expectations parents set on their wards is really high and this makes those kids result into drugs. It’s a miracle for someone with many disorders find life again. Really fascinating
The truth is been born into a broken comes with its own depressing factors. But we just have to be positive to walk through it. It will be a lot better that way.
When people are not to good inwardly, it is better to visit the therapist for assistance. Thanks God you are recovered.
Living all to God the maker and owner of all things makes people to be at peace with themselves and others. Thanks for sharing this story.
Most times people’s start to using drugs is as a matter of depression and that’s why I always advice people going through depression shouldn’t try engage in using any drugs or substances. This really is the case here, and it kills eventually
A while ago I stumbled a vid saying along the lines of circumstances do not matter? I get that but I disagree because of these. At times life happens and yes ultimately it is a choice but the thing that leads into that matters too. In this depression.
People uses drugs to combat depression, now it gets so worse that she can’t even go to work because of this same drugs leading to more depression. You see why doing drugs isn’t the way at all
Using alcohol to solve problem doesn’t end well at all, it kills ones inner man. Imagine having to drink to the extent you find it irritating and people around you can read between the lines. Just grateful she later found help
Depression is toughest phase of any person in life . Only cure I found , just start spenting time with family otherwise It gonna disaster.
Sam had it rough while growing up which led to depression and addiction to alcohol and drugs, her childhood abuse and neglect really affected her, thank God she found recovery after all the trauma. Detox to rehab thank you for sharing this wonderful story of recovery.
when you grow up in an unstable environment, the likelihood of getting hooked to drugs is high..I feel really sad this lady struggled with depression in college..and then her addiction to alcohol and then marijuana almost destroyed her life…I’m glad Sam walked the road to recovery and I’m optimistic she will regain all that she has lost
This is a very touching story. Sam’s depression got the better of him which led to his addiction. Glad and happy that he took the 12 step program to recover from his addiction.
Truly depression is one of the causes of drug addiction. As much as possible, people should not allow challenges of life to lure them to drug addiction. It will only complicate the problem.
He was born into a broken family and got addicted to drugs at an early age but now he’s doing well amd I’m so glad he his now.
So complicated of this story,have been treatment but in halfway she relapse,I think if that people not really deep in touch on that 12 program it’s useless otherwise the honesty Will bring bright future to get sober
He was born into a broken family and got addicted to drugs at an early age but now he’s doing well amd I’m so glad he his now. Well done detox .
It is not easy to deal with depression, and most people that experience depression ends up on the wrong path. Sam thought doing drugs could change things for her but it only made things worse. Going to rehab was the best decision she could have made.
This is a pathetic and touching story.
However, people should not give in to depression. They should not subscribe to drug addiction because it will worsen the situation.
Depression can lead one to anything, and one thing that happens when one starts taking substance is that they feel they can control it until they start having the craving to try more stronger substance. Glad she found her way out from all the mess.
The negative effects of drug addiction is many; bipolar disorder, mental illness, depression etc. It is a great thing Sam was able to retrace her step back to living a drug free life.
I wish the best for Sam! Many people with drug addictions have a mental illness. Thanks to detox for helping Sam.
So happy for Sam’s recovery. Addictions can really be so destructive. Thanks to Detox to Rehab. I wish you the best Sam. I believe life will get better for you soon
Really feel sorry for Sam. Glad that he was able to find recovery.