Unexpected Need for Addiction Recovery
James had a relatively normal upbringing. He didn’t have any trauma, nor did he suffer from any distressing events; relatively speaking, James was quite normal. James had many reasons, all of them good, to not become addicted to a substance, but that’s the unfortunate aspect of addiction: you don’t have to suffer to be addicted.
Addiction is a Disease
Addiction is having an utter inability to leave a substance alone, no matter how much the person suffering wants to stop. In James’ case, he didn’t want to be addicted to drugs and Alcohol; he didn’t want to turn his back on his family, his kids, and the world.
He suffers from a predisposition of becoming addicted. Drugs took over his thinking, his feelings and his mind, becoming a slave to the various substances that he abused. He would do anything to get his next fix, no matter the consequences. He knew that he had no good reason for doing what he was doing, but he was encouraged to continue using, because of his disease.
Finding Recovery in the 12-Steps
Soon though, the law had caught up with him, and he had to face the consequences. He was offered detox, and he decided to take it. He tried to recover on his own on many different occasions before, but nothing had ever stuck, until he finally had enough and reached out for help.
He knew that it didn’t matter ow he felt, just that he needed to work the 12-steps and have help in receiving them. If something isn’t working, he knew that he needed help and he made sure he got that.
The way James explains his addiction, is that he was never just alright. He was never ok, and he always needed one more. The disease of addiction had made him feel alone, as though no one can ever understand him. It wasn’t until his spiritual experience in the program that he fully realized the message of the program.
He had entered into treatment with a lot of hate and judgement. He explains that his spiritual awakening came while he was working through the 12-steps. James knows that the community helped him recover from his bottom. James has had multiple bottoms, a place where one realizes that things must change, and that enough is enough; where they stop digging.
James has relapsed before, but luckily, he came back. He understands that his addiction is a disease, but one that needs constant work. It’s like diabetes, in which there is no actual cure; one just has to keep working on it.
Focusing on Treatment
James continues to focus on his recovery to this day. Not a day goes by where he is grateful to be free from the prison and confines of addiction. He understands that, although his disease of addiction is still there, still trying to get at him, but he knows that as long as he keeps working at it, he can continue on living a life worth living.
His spiritual experience has lead him to being sober, and for that, he is ever grateful.
