If you’re trying to kick a drug or alcohol habit, you know how painful and grueling it is. Addicts who have succeeded in finding and maintaining sobriety will tell you it’s one of the hardest things they’ve ever done – if not THE hardest.
Yet, it’s also one of the most rewarding. There is a wealth of addiction recovery stories that attest to this. So, if you’re struggling to find sobriety and feel like throwing in the towel, we’ve gathered five different stories to inspire you to stay on the path.
Brett’s Story
Like many addicts, Brett never knew how to be in a social situation. So he drank to navigate social interactions. But it wasn’t just casual social drinking. His alcohol consumption was excessive and his life became a series of blackouts, messed up relationships, and many many apologies.
He continued to live this way for 10 years without giving it much thought until he woke up one day and realized he didn’t know who his friends were. He wasn’t even sure he had any friends. So he decided to try quitting with a program.
Today, he is confident about the people he calls his friends. Through the program, he’s learned to filter out the people in his life who aren’t supportive or who are just plain unhealthy.
He’s proud to speak of his sobriety and how he’s connected with life in a way that he never thought was possible. He’s no longer missing out on important relationships and experiences. And he understands that sobriety is a lifelong process.
But he has a community of support to keep him on the straight and narrow. And that’s priceless.
Jeff’s Story
Recovery is an option at any age. Jeff was a retiree when he started going to Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). He actually went with a neighbor to support her.
Jeff had been a lifelong drinker. It was a way of life. His sons were following suit, with one of them getting a DUI. Even though he’d normalized all of this, something in him had grown tired of drinking. And what he found in that AA meeting was so interesting that he decided to go to another one.
Six months later he was regularly attending meetings. He noticed he was sleeping better and just dealing with life more effectively. Even though he was in his 60s, he felt better than he did in his 40s.
Being in recovery gave him a new outlook on life. He tells those who are new to the program that the longer they stay in recovery, the more they’ll want to stay in it.
Andrea’s Story
For Andrea, the drug of choice was heroin along with various pills. Her addiction took the wheel for ten years. She landed in jail a few times and in and out of various institutions in hopes that she’d find sobriety.
She was certain she’d never find the strength to get off those drugs and leave her familiar surroundings. But she knew the addiction was killing her. When she was finally in enough pain, she boarded a plane for detox and rehab.
It wasn’t easy. At first, she was resistant to the recovery process and refused to do any work. She wanted to return home, but her counselor and parents knew she’d only return to her old ways and they convinced her to go to a program.
In rehab, she found the structure she desperately needed to succeed at staying clean. She got familiar with the 12 steps – which forced her to take a cold hard look at her past and her behavior.
She learned how to make new friends and build relationships. But even more importantly, she learned the steps and behaviors she needed to maintain for long term sobriety.
Today, she has a job, a condo, and her own car – proving that finding hope after years of addiction is entirely possible.
Kim’s Story
In more than a handful of drug addiction recovery success stories, you’ll find that one time through a program may not be enough.
At 23, Kim was going to court-reporting college. She was a good student, but her progressive drug use began hindering her sleep schedule and she wasn’t making it to classes. Her family encouraged her to attend a 28-day program.
She managed to stay sober for eight years. The problem was, she assumed it was the drugs that were ruining her life. She hadn’t yet grasped that the problem was her thinking.
It didn’t take long before she was addicted to a new drug. A few years later, she went back to the 12-Step meetings to sober up. She stayed clean for 10 years.
Feeling confident she’d learned everything she needed to know, she convinced herself that she could have an occasional drink and be fine. She was soon back in meetings and finally able to acknowledge she was an addict and she had a disease.
Kim’s now been in recovery for over 28 years and says that not being in recovery is actually harder. She’s quick to remind people that relapse during recovery is not unusual. And it doesn’t make you a bad person. You just have to stay vigilant and work those 12 steps.
Dani’s Story
Dani’s is one of many alcohol addiction recovery stories.
In her case, alcohol was the medicine she thought she needed to numb the memories of a traumatic childhood. But she knew she couldn’t keep jeopardizing her life and her health by drinking away the pain every day. Even if her drinking wasn’t terribly excessive.
When she was finally able to admit she was powerless and her life had become unmanageable, she knew it was time to seek help.
She hadn’t realized that she was using alcohol to numb and to forget those tragic events. It took her sobriety for the memories to finally surface so she could address them.
Once she stopped drinking, she had more time to think clearly and start caring for herself in all aspects of her life. People comment on how healthy she looks now and ask her what she’s doing differently.
She considers offering to take them to an AA meeting.
There Are Hundreds of Thousands of Addiction Recovery Stories
If you’re struggling with addiction, just know that the above addiction recovery stories are a minute sample of what’s possible. You CAN recover and maintain sobriety. And soon, you’ll be able to tell your story too.
And for more informative articles on achieving optimum physical and mental health, keep checking back with us!
