Real-life Stories

"Throughout college I had always said no to joints and E's. I thought it would never happen to me. But then my mother died suddenly, and I turned to cocaine to try to ease the pain. I somehow thought I could control it. But it controlled me. For me, treatment required addressing my past and my feelings about my mother's death and the void she left behind."   -University graduate, 24

"Treatment allowed me to clean out my body and straighten out my mind. The insight that I gainned from the counseling sessions have equiped me with the tools I need to overcome the problems in my life. It gave me newfound respect for my body. These days I smile and happiness abounds. "   -Former Sex Worker, 38

"For two years my husband had been using heroin and marijuana behind my back. When he finally admitted he had a problem, my first thought was "What kind of wife does that make me?"   -Lawyer & Wife, 40

"My husband and I sat down with our children and we explained the process that my husband went through battling his alcohol and drug addiction, beginning to end and how horrible a disease it is including heredity tendencies because of their father ? and, of course, they agreed with everything that we said: ?We?re sorry, we were only trying it out,? it was not as big of deal as we were making it out to be. As all parents do, I want to believe that because they were very apologetic about the situation ? because all of my life that was not something I was not going to allow in my home. For this to come up, I mean, I was angry, and I was mad and I was very upset and they knew that. My children were using a lot more than what they said they were doing, and I just didn?t want to believe that. Not my children."   -Mother of Two, 50

"Medical treatment enabled me to heal all the facets of my health, not only my addictions, and being treated as an intelligent adult, and not as a victim."   -Unemployed, 43

"My sister seemed sad all the time. I tried talking to her but she pushed me away. She started acting like a different person. Finally I told my parents that she had been smoking crack in her bedroom when they were at work. They found her a treatment program. It was a hard decision to make, and she vowed never to speak to me again. Seeing her in treatment was painful, and at times she expressed her anger toward me.  But now, three years later, we are the best of friends. I am so glad I had the strength to get her the help she needed."   -Student, 19

"It's a real parody- drugs can make you feel like the most powerful person in the world. I worked in a fast paced environment and I started to need to feel powerful all the time. Yet when the high wears off, I was exposed for who I was: empty.  It took me a while to admit my addiction and seek treatment, and taking the first step was the most difficult. I've been clean for six years now. Sobriety suits me just fine. "   -Stockbroker, 37

"Freedom is a precious gift. All the things we learn when we seek treatment will help us live a free life.  I now value myself, my freedom, and my family. When I look at my wife and my two kids, I feel like the luckiest man alive. Recently, after the funeral of a family friend, I thought to myself, "that could have been me in that box". I know that treatment works because it saved my life."         -Chef & Father, 41