Real people sharing real stories about their experience with substance abuse and mental health.
During my twenty-five year career in substance abuse treatment, I’ve frequently heard family members (and clients) insist that "Alcohol isn't his/her/my problem - drugs are!" and "Alcoholism isn't his/her/my problem - addiction is!" as if the same principles of recovery from chemical dependency don't apply to any dysfunctional situation where alcohol either isn't present or isn't present enough to be identified as the primary drug-of-choice.
Read more
I was raised in Tyler, Texas—formally known as the Rose Capital of the U.S. But to anyone who lived there, it was football country. It was the land of pick-up trucks, church on Sunday, and Friday Night Lights.
I wasn’t the only NFL player to c
Read more
A few months ago, I got the pleasure of being in my sister’s wedding. Before we got to her big day, all the bridesmaids got together and threw her a bride-to-be party. The party started with high energy, and one of the bridesmaids poured shots for
Read more
I recently got the opportunity to attend the Treatment Professionals in Alumni Services (TPAS) Collaborative in Malibu, California and was asked to share my experience. Allow me to break down what an amazing time it was.
First off, I got invited t
Read more
In early recovery, I really struggled when looking back on my past. All of the errors in judgement I had made, the people I had harmed, it seems every choice I made was followed up with one that was worse. My own family called me the “dumbest smart
Read more
Imagine that you suffer a heart attack and collapse to the floor. Paramedics rush to your side. Examining you from head to toe, they find can’t find a pulse or breath.
From the way your wrist lies twisted on the floor, it’s clearly broken.
Read more
“God is love, and God has no limits, therefore love has no limits.” – Anonymous
My disease took my hand and strolled alongside me long before I took my first drink. As far back as I could remember, I had always felt out of place, as though eve
Read more
It has been about almost eight months since I received a scholarship from the Mark Garwood Share Foundation. Returning to school to finish my bachelor’s degree has been a dream of mine since I first got sober. There were times when I thought it wou
Read more
Many people thought I was a hopeless case. To be honest, I was convinced I was. You know, they say it is our past that makes us who we are today and I embrace that philosophy. Instead of being resentful of some of the things that happened in my past
Read more
Moving here to South Florida in 1994, my plan was to go where I knew no one, and no one knew me, in hope this would help me stop using. Did this work? Yes for about four months. But being the addict that I’m, I know where to find what I’m really look
Read more
