I used to think drug addicts were uneducated people who stood on the street corners and begged for money and just didn't know any better. I learned that wasn't the case. I didn't become addicted overnight, but once addiction took ahold of me, my downward spiral was fast and...

I have struggled with a Substance Use Disorder from a very young age. I started drinking and smoking weed when I was 10 years old. I was being abused outside of my home and because my home life was so chaotic I didn’t have anyone I could turn to for help. My father was an addict...

My story starts 20 years ago, when I was 10 or 11 years old. I remember this feeling of being inadequate, that I was never be good enough, smart enough, etc. I have always held myself to a standard and felt that somehow I needed to be punished. So, as drugs were introduced to me...

Tonight makes the fourth time that I've sat down to tell my story. Every story has a beginning, and for me to narrow down my addiction story to its origin is difficult. The first time I got drunk I was 18 years old and light years behind other kids my age when it came to...

I’m Brooke, and I am a person in recovery from drug addiction. I have suffered from addiction for 10+ years. I have been addicted to meth, opiates, and heroin within those ten years. They say addiction takes you three places: jails, institutions, and death… I have been to all of...

About ten years ago, I thought I was destined to die an alcoholic and drug addict; and I was ok with that. In fact, I was proud of how much I could drink. Then I found meth and lived in a drug-induced psychosis; I was the center of attention and the life of the party. Or so I...

My name is Erin and I am a women in long term recovery from substance use disorder. What that means to me is that I have not found it necessary to use any mind altering, mood changing substance since November 10, 2014. A lot of people would ask...ok? So what's the difference? By...

I don’t write as someone in recovery from addiction. I write as one in recovery from my obsession with someone who has struggled with addiction. I write as the affected family member. I am the youngest of six. Four of my older siblings were born into my parents’ violent...

I’m Catherine, I’m an addict, and I am many other things as well. I am a mother, a step-mother, and a wife. I am a daughter, a sister, and an aunt. I am an employee, a counselor, an advocate, and a human being. For years I was afraid to publicly acknowledge my reality of being...