These courageous people share their stories in hopes of helping others get the help they, or their loved one, need.
They have chosen to tell their stories not only to help others, but it gifts them with connection, serenity, and more freedom from the addiction.
My name is Adam, and this is my story
Tell us about how your story started.
My story is not that of abusive or neglect as a child. I came from a normal family. I look at my childhood as a happy time.
In my late teens I started to get lot of insecurities. I hated looking at my photos of myself, everyone photo someone took I could see flaws. When I was about 15, I started drinking. As soon as I drank, I became a different person. To me it was freedom, free of not being me.
In high school I would be drinking with my friends, but I noticed everyone else could binge at a party and leave it alone until next weekend. I couldn’t do that. Why could everyone else stop after the weekend and I was left obsessing about drinking all day every day?
Do you recall one of your darkest moments before you got treatment?
My alcoholism had increased into my college years to the point in which I couldn’t get drunk anymore. The freedom I had once found to escape life had failed me. I felt alone, confused, and broken. I got kicked out of college, I had no purpose, no path and my parents would not let me come home. It was my rock-bottom that led me to surrender.
I went to a therapist and asked for help. She connected me with my sponsor, and I went to my first AA meeting. I had every excuse not to go. But once I got there, there was an overwhelming urged to stayed. I unwillingly kept going. There was something about the people there that I can’t explain, but a connection that kept luring me back.
Knowing what you know now, what words of support would you tell yourself then, at that moment?
This is going to be hard. All your peers are in college partying, making life seem so easy. But you are about to embark on the most difficult but also most rewarding thing you will ever do. It will be worth it, and you will see light again.
What is your story today? How are you coping in recovery?
The challenge for me now is not to fight urges to drink, but to stay passionate about recovery and excited about my new spirituality. Long-term sobriety is about self-reflection, remaining teachable, staying humble, and not compromising my morals.
Thank you, Adam, for sharing.
My name is Peter, and this is my story.
Tell us about how your story started.
My son was a carefree child, full of life and adventure. I can remember all his hopes and dreams of taking on the world and one day producing films. He would film a movie on his phone every day, whether of his sister, or of our cat, but he was always storytelling through video.
Around high school he started to lose that spirit of imagination. His self-confidence of taking on the world was diminishing. He was bullied a lot at school. He had a hard time fitting in with his peers. He would connect with people virtually through online games rather than in person.
He started drinking in college, it happened hard and fast. He was still being bullied and went through several bad relationship breakups. I thought it was just the regular struggles of college life. But he would tell me about how he would punch himself, punch walls, and wanted to punch random people on the street. He would go into detail about how everything that he did was wrong, blaming himself for his unhappiness. He wasn’t the boy I knew. He would tell me how there was no reason to live, how he wasn’t deserving of love and that I should just give up on him. I didn’t know what to do. I felt alone and scared for his safety. This went on for years. I tried to get him help, but he would get angry when I brought it up and threatened to hurt himself if I told anyone.
Do you recall one of your darkest moments before you got treatment?
During Christmas of 2020, after a huge blow out with his sister, they found themselves hugging and crying on the floor and she said to him “I don’t want you to die from this.” My son looked at me and said, “Dad, I can’t do it anymore. I need help?”
Knowing what you know now, what words of support would you tell yourself then, at that moment?
This is not your fault. You did everything you could as a parent. Do not give up on him, keep trying to find ways to get him to surrender because he can’t do this alone. This will keep going like a vicious cycle if he doesn’t get the help he needs.
What is your story today? How are you coping in recovery?
Today my son has a recovery coach and is living with sobriety day by day. I’m so proud of him, and I tell him every day of his unbelievable will and courage to survive. I hope on day he shares his story in film.
Thank you, Adam, for sharing.
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