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A
Personal Journey into Addiction and Recovery
Hi everyone. The following
story is from a woman named Gail who lives in Michigan. She
battled her demons for years but with faith in a higher
being and support from her family, she now lives a
productive life and aspires to be a writer. Gail writes:
"
Hi everyone. Thanks for giving me a chance to share
my story. I'll try to keep it fairly short.
I am now forty-nine years old and clean going on two
years. I
started using when I was sixteen years old. It started
with beer and wine and then came marijuana, hash,
mescaline, uppers, downers, LSD, and the list goes
on.
I came from a dysfunctional home; my father was an
alcoholic and my mother was terribly co dependent.
They both died the summer before my senior year of
high school and I was an orphan at the age of sixteen.
Drugs and alcohol helped numb the pain of my loss.
I believed I was the cause of their deaths and could
not process so much trauma at such a young age.
I did go to college for several years but had a
hard time settling on a career. I moved a lot and
managed to find other drug users wherever I was. My
boyfriends were always users so I had a constant
supply. Even though I experimented with a lot of
different drugs, I ended up dependant on marijuana and
pain pills. They were the cheapest and easiest to get
and I liked the calming effect they had on me.
When I was thirty-four, I became pregnant from an
alcoholic
and ended up raising my son on my own. Five years
later, I
became pregnant from the same man and had a daughter.
My children's father got clean when our son was four.
He
has helped me alot in my recovery. We started to
develop a close relationship a number of years ago and
it was him who saw how far my addiction had gone and
told me that he would not allow me to use around the
kids. He also talked alot about recovery and shared
his experience, strength and hope. Today we are
working on building a healthy relationship and trying
to be good parents.
I owe my life and my recovery to my belief in a God
that loves me and wants the best for me. Before I
could get better, I had to surrender my will. There
are
times when I still struggle and want to lose control
but I
realize now that when I do this, I lose my serenity.
In recovery, I have met some wonderful people. I have
a
sponsor and try to attend at least two meetings a
week.
Today I have hope and a chance to live a life that I
can be proud of.
To those who still struggle; please take that leap
of faith and find a God of your own understanding.
Don't quit before the miracle happens! "
Yours in recovery,
Gail S |
You can write to Gail at
iluvmyjob2003@yahoo.com Good luck Gail in everything you
do. I chose to publish Gail’s story in hopes that it will
inspire other women to take their lives back and get the
help and support that they need. Take care...
Tracy
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