After 30 days at a recovery center outside Nashville called Discovery Place, I thought I would be welcomed home. Fortunately, my family said “no.” I stayed at Discovery Place and went through the long-term recovery program. This was a blessing, since I am sure I would have relapsed had I returned home after 30 days. In the LTR program, I finally realized the futility in a life filled with drugs and alcohol. For the first time, I fully accepted that I could no longer expect to live a meaningful life and abuse drugs. My mind and body were afforded time to heal. With the fog lifted, I resolved to do whatever the staff advised. For a guy who spent his whole life doing things his way, this was a miracle in and of itself.
It took time and effort, but today my body and mind are no longer bound by the chains of addiction. I enjoy a fulfilling life, free from the bondage of heroin and opiate addiction. I work for the facility I credit with saving my life. I decided not to return to my hometown of Nashville, TN, until people I trust tell me I’m ready. For now, I live just outside Nashville in the small town of Dickson. I own my house and live with two great roommates. I have a group of friends from my “homegroup” (home recovery meeting) that mean the world to me. We get together almost every week and live life to its fullest. Today, my life means something because I followed the direction of staff and committed to a program of recovery. I am still sober over one year later, and I would like to tell anyone who is struggling with heroin addiction and/or opiate addiction that it can be done. The days of despair, frustration and loneliness can vanish if you have the willingness to change and stick with it. It won’t be easy, but it will be worth it. Your life will mean something at last.
I wonder, given the disturbing statistics cited in Harvard and Columbia University’s academic research, how many others are out there who are desperately trying to find freedom from heroin and opiate addiction.
