First Round of Drug Abuse
Steven first experienced mind-altering substances when he was in the sixth grade—he started drinking and smoking weed. He grew up in a nice suburb of LA. He was smart, but didn’t apply himself in school, and he was always drawn to the wrong crowd.
In high school, Steven was introduced to harder drugs, like Cocaine and Methamphetamine. When he tried Meth, he knew there was an attraction there even then. He struggled with Attention Deficit Disorder and the Meth seemed to help him mellow out.
In high school, Meth was mostly a weekend activity for Steven, but after he graduated, his use started to get out of hand. With no real future plans or college aspirations, he started to use Meth on a daily basis. He lost a lot of weight and his family became concerned, but he wasn’t ready to admit he had a problem.
Eventually, he decided to completely change his life, thinking that his surroundings and friends might be part of his excessive drug use; he joined the Marine Corps when he was twenty years old.
Meth Addiction Lingers in the Background
In the Marine Corps, Steven was able to stay away from Meth and actually give some attention to his life. He got married, started a family, and went to college. He had never addressed his addiction problem before, though, and it was lingering in the background.
For a while, he was a disabled vet and he moved back to the town he was from and started doing IT work. Unfortunately, in the old community, an old habit came out of the shadows, and he started regularly using Meth again.
This time, he tried to move away from it and went to Arizona with his family, but his addiction followed him.
Addiction Peaks and Everything Falls Apart
For a long time, Steven had justified his drug use—he was holding down a great job and supporting his family. The picture looked fine from the outside: nice house, kids in private school, wife stays at home. In the inside, though, he felt empty and out of control.
Eventually he was arrested and charged for drugs and he lost his job, which required a clean record. This is when everything started to fall apart. Without the job to keep him focused, he started using Meth all the time. He experienced a lot of drug induced psychosis, often staying up for days at a time.
His family tried to intervene, but he didn’t want to get help. His wife had to work to take care of the kids, and they moved to a smaller house. In a drug-induced haze, Steven decided to start robbing buildings of their copper wire and sell it to make money. This only made things worse, because it resulted in burglary charges and the possibility decades in prison. But every time he was released from jail, he would just go back out and do it all again.
He lost everything. His wife had to get an order of protection against him. Even then, his mom reached out and tried to get him help, but he still refused.
Rock Bottom and Choosing Rehab
Steven received divorce papers and court paperwork that said he wasn’t allowed to even see his kids anymore. This was the last straw for him. He was at rock bottom, couldn’t keep a job, couldn’t stop robbing and using drugs, getting a divorce, and couldn’t even see his kids anymore. He wanted to change, and he finally decided to go to rehab.
In rehab, Steven learned a lot of new tools, worked the program, and got clean off drugs.
While he was starting to clean up and see clearly again, he was still facing prison time and a lot of damage in his personal life. So, upon getting out of rehab, the judge gave him an amazing deal of 2.5 years. When he got out of prison, he started the slow and arduous work of rebuilding his life.
Rebuilding Life in Recovery from Addiction
He had to start from the bottom, working at McDonald’s and digging ditches. He struggled through work like this for years, slowly addressing the damage he did during his addiction. He had destroyed so many relationships along the way that he now had to earn back.
It took years for Steven to finally convince his wife to let him see his kids again. After a lot of hard work and time, he is working in IT again. He can see his children without supervision. He knows, though, that he owes the opportunity to start again to rehab and that first decision to get help.
Despite all of the destruction that addiction caused, Steven loves his life now. He remained clean and is routinely going to meetings, helping others. Thanks to recovery, he has good life now and makes a difference in the community.
If you are struggling with Meth addiction and you want a second chance, you can do it too. Call (866) 578-7471 to talk to someone who will listen to your own story and help you find the support you need.
