Recovery Proves a Better Way of Life

True Stories of Addiction: Nathan

Nathan was just 13 years old when he started experimenting with drugs, alcohol and cigarettes. He loved the way the drugs and alcohol made him feel. They took him out of reality and allowed him to be the person he wanted to be. When Nathan was loaded he was funny, confident and felt he knew how to handle whatever life threw at him. Without drugs and alcohol, Nathan didn’t understand anything and felt so out of place in his life.

Nathan felt when he was getting high and drunk he was a better person so he did it, in the beginning, with his neighbor as much as he could. The first time Nathan got totally inebriated was when him and his neighbor friend had a sleep over. Their plan was to get drunk and have fun, however, it was not just alcohol they were planning on taking. They both took Vicodin while drinking and Nathan got so intoxicated he couldn’t pick himself up off the floor. This would usually scare someone into not doing Vicodin again but not Nathan. He was in love with the feeling Vicodin and alcohol gave him and he wanted more.

Drugs and Alcohol

Nathan was always using some sort of drug and alcohol to get him by, it wasn’t every day, but he was addicted to the way the substances made him feel. It was his first heartbreak that triggered him into using drugs every day. He knew pills came with a cost, so he would tell doctors he had anxiety and depression so they would prescribe him medication, like Benzodiazepines, to get him by.

Nathans mother was the one taking him to his doctor’s appointments and realized there may be something other than mental health issues going on. The drugs the doctor gave Nathan were never strong enough for him but his mother saw how the drugs made him act. He was finally okay with what he was taking when the doctors put him on a high dosage of Xanax and Klonopin. He got the high from the drugs he craved and thought life was going to be perfect from that point on.

Things weren’t so prefect for Nathan though. He graduated high school with no intention of going to college because he didn’t think he was worth any further education. He decided that working a crappy job was more suitable for him because he lacked self-confidence.

One day after graduation, Nathan was hanging out with a friend who offered him Heroin. Nathan didn’t bat an eye because he has taken Opiates before and didn’t see the problem. When Nathan tried Heroin, euphoric feelings of Heroin gave him a spiritual experience.

It only took two weeks for Heroin to bring Nathan down. When his mom called him out he admitted to her he was using Heroin and felt scared and lost.

Trying Out Recovery

After he broke down to his parents, he went to treatment, tried a maintenance program, vivitrol and everything he could possibly do to get sober and nothing seemed to work. Nathan thought he was hopeless and decided he would be better off dead. He told his mother he was going to kill himself and he overdosed on drugs to try to take his life. His parents noticed he overdosed and called emergency services which saved his life and brought him to the hospital where they put him in a psych ward.

After the psych ward, he went to a treatment center where his perspective on life changed. There, he figured out that there was a better way of life and he just wasn’t ready to change. He moved away from his hometown and for the past two years he has been in and out of rehab.

Understanding Recovery

Nathan went home for Christmas and ended up suffering from a fatal overdose. He went straight back to using and the Heroin wasn’t giving him what he needed anymore. He was willing to try treatment again, left his hometown and has been clean ever since. He is now proving to his family he has changed and was able to show them he is a changed man when he went to visit recently.

He is living in a sober living, works on his recovery daily and is even able to go back to school to try and better his life. Nathan believes he shouldn’t be alive today and he has a purpose to live. He is beginning to love the person he is and can see recovery is a better choice of life. If you are struggling with addiction, give us a call. We are more than happy to help you figure out your worth in life. Our number is: (866) 578-7471