The Roots of Addiction
Addiction grows from the soil of societal. People learn addictive behaviors and their addiction grows with them. This was the case for Aline.
She was born to a 15-year-old mother and her father was abusive. She gravitated toward drugs and alcohol to offset the tension of growing up in such a household.
Aline was suspended from school her junior year for Marijuana possession. They made her go to an alternative school and she was living with her dad who had taken custody of her. Shortly after she ran away, into the arms of her boyfriend and his Meth house.
Running away violated her probation and she was sent to jail.
“That’s where addiction takes me: terrible situations and jails,” Aline said.
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While in jail, she discovered that she was pregnant. She was released and a bit later ended up having her baby on her living room floor. Her mom delivered the baby.
Up to that point she wasn’t smoking weed, but she tried to call TASC (which is a behavioral health program) about four months after his birth, but it had moved so she started smoking again.
And, like other times, the bad situations followed.
She had a domestic dispute with her boyfriend that led to him getting arrested. Her boyfriend’s mom wanted to get back at her for the arrest so she called child protective services to get the kid taken away from Aline since she was taking drugs.
This sent Aline into a spiral. She overdosed on spice, woke up in a hospital and upon release got high immediately.
“I woke up on the side of the street with some chick knocking on my window,” said Aline. She woke up and was driving with her friends when a cop pulled her over for a flat tire.
Pulled Over, Pulled Out of Danger
Getting pulled over high with her friends was a wakeup call, because it was then that she realized she could have killed someone and she didn’t want to keep living like that. After that, she feels everything changed.
She went to a funeral with her family the next day and she started crying as she thought it could have been her family mourning her.
There was a gathering after the funeral, but she didn’t partake. “I didn’t know how I did it except by the grace of my higher power,” said Aline.
One day she was at the park and she told her that she wanted to go to meetings. In a strike of grace, the same lady began taking her to meetings.
Finding a Better Life
After going to meetings, things began to change. She got a job, she got a car. She was in NA and her life was beginning to feel better.
She was able to get a supervisor position at her job and eventually got her son back two days before his third birthday.
After her one year, she started going to meetings every day. “I learn the skills so I don’t need to go get high. I don’t need to do these unhealthy behaviors … A lot of the people who I used to hang out with when I was younger are active users or are trying to get clean. It’s crazy because I was like, I have been hanging out with addicts my whole life.
“[Recovery] is my life because it saved my life,” said Aline. “That’s why I’m of service, so I can give back.”
1 comment
Good for u girl my wife had the same situation but she had a miscarriage before my son Eric jr was born. She had to quit bc she felt the pain. And irony of going through miscarriage and the quilt of carrying that so she quit everything and I was so proud but I continued the drug usage and always used the saying u had to quit drugs for our son I didnt and I didnt. But I wish I was I. Her shoes bc now I. Battling trying to keep my son and be apart of his life but I got DV. Charge and an on the run for time I already serves but was forgot to be ran concurrentl. But every day I battle with her bc I wanna get high and she wants a better life.