I started doing heroin when I was 21 while working in a brewery. I went into my first treatment facility at 22 not thinking I had a serious problem. I told myself "I can control it this time, just take it easy!" That night I got out I started smoking and drinking again and within 3 days I started doing heroin again. Within the next 4 years I lost everything. 5 jobs, the girl I thought I was going to marry, trust and relationships between friends and family, you name it. Overdosed a few times, numerous nights of crippling withdrawal laying completely naked in bed tossing and turning and throwing up bile out of my bedroom window at 5 in the morning. My life was out of control yet I had no urge to stop. Until one day after being caught in a lie by my mother I just had this thought race through my mind that said "what the hell are you doing?! This isn't you!" That's when I decided something needed to change. I moved from central NY to Northeastern PA and was put into a 5 day detox then a 28 day program. I knew that wasn't going to be enough for me so I decided to go to a 3 month extended care program as well. Within those 4 months I really took a good look at myself. I had to completely change the way I was thinking. I'm finally able to enjoy life the way its supposed to! I have a great paying job now, an apartment with a friend, a car and a newly found positive outlook on life.! I've started caring for not only my mental health but my physical health as well!

"‘Calm down, it’s not like you’re gonna see the guy you robbed.’ Well guess what. I walked up to the church, and guess whose face I saw? The man I had just robbed. He was the greeter. I couldn’t get out. I was terrified. I walked up to him with tears in my eyes, and he gave me a hug. 'You are in the right place,' he told me. 'When I was your age, I was doing the same thing.' I had no idea he was in recovery. That I was the first time I believed there was hope for me." 

Ugh. Started with Cocaine, then Oxys, then I got put on Suboxone, and stayed on it for 8 years. Before I went to treatment I was on 16mg of Suboxone, 4mg of Xanax, 60mg IR Adderall, and 20mg of Ambien. I was also doing as much cocaine as I could, along with the occasional MDMA and LSD.

Any type of upper, whether it be coke, MDMA, or methamphetamine. I'm ashamed to admit it, but it is what it is.
My entire life changed! I spent 14 months in an in-patient rehab. After completing the program I became employed and was rapidly promoted. Prior to getting clean, I wouldn't even stay at a job foe more than a few months. My work ethic is top notch, I have an amazing relationship with my family, I actually have money, I'm able to make payments for my vehicle and rent, and most importantly I learned a lot about myself and grew exponentially as a person. These are all things I couldn't grasp and take hold of before. I also must add that I have learned to love myself. I'm proud of who I am, and for the first time in my life I'm okay with who I am. That's the biggest thing that changed.

I am very proud to say that I now have 2 years clean. Some of you are probably wondering why would I ever post a picture like this of myself? Well, if my story helps even just one person to realize that they too can get clean, then it was all worth it.

Hi, My Name Is Wendy And I’m An Addict. This Is What Recovery Has Done For Me In My Life In Just 9 Months

My name is Nicole and I am a grateful recovering addict. I am currently a little over 10 months clean from IV crystal meth! I was 90 lbs, lived on the streets, lived in a storage unit, manipulated anyone I could. I almost died from sepsis and even still continued to get high after. I could not get clean for my kids even after my son was put into foster care. I tried multiple times and failed. Getting high was no longer fun. It was more than a full-time job and it was exhausting. The insanity of my life was very clear. I did not want to die and decided to give rehab another shot. I left in September and I did not look back. I now weigh 160 lbs. I feel and look the best I ever have! I have the mental clarity that I had been longing for. My children have their mommy back. My parents have their daughter back! I may not be where I want to be, but I am one day closer to getting there

My story isn't so different from how many others started. I started using with my ex-husband. Just partying, then more partying, you know the drill. Then the divorce because we were young, stupid, in love and on drugs. Cue the dark times- losing friends, jobs, totaling cars, myself esteem, the list goes on. - AKA active addiction.
My family tried everything to help, but I thought I knew better. Who was I hurting besides myself anyway?
You know what they say, hindsight is 20/20. Being an addict was the hardest thing I have ever done. I cannot be more clear when I say I wish I had gotten -scratch that - accepted help sooner.
The last time I got high was the same day I was called out on my BS; by someone close to me. I was honestly more relieved than anything...I was just given an opening to finally confess.
Recovery is not happily ever after, but it's pretty close. Even when I have a bad day these days, 10/10 would recommend.
Please, accept help if you are an addict. Alternately, please do not give up on a loved one if they are in active addiction. Accepting help or reaching out is the first step of recovery, and it's okay if you/they have to take the first step more than once.

The photo on the left was taken after I’d l relapsed yet again back in 2017. I threw all my hope, all my inhibition and my self worth right out the window for heroin. I was doing every drug available and a regular at the ER and jail, and it only took me fighting to get sober before I realized how badly I was hurting not only myself, but all my loved ones, too. In 2017, I still hadn’t reached my rock bottom yet. I put my body through so much pain, so many overdoses, car wrecks, numbing myself carelessly so I didn’t have to feel the pain that I brought with me no matter where I tried running away from it to. I recently hit my 200-day mark and I’m now happier than ever. Do I miss it? Some days I still do. But what’s changed the last six months is that I still won’t go back. There are still tough days, which I wouldn’t be able to get trough without my fiancée letters and daydreaming about our future, or my mom who spreads positivity everywhere she goes, the newer friends who always answer when I need them. I never thought I would live long enough to celebrate my 20th birthday, let alone the 24th birthday I celebrate this year. But no one can do this on their own, I tried over an over. Reach out. You can do it. If there’s even a glimmer of hope, hold on to it

I weighed 89 pounds. My skin was grey. I had chemical burns on my mouth from smoking dope. I ate maybe once in a two week period. My reality was so distorted that I didn't even recognize the house I lived in for 3 years. My morals had deteriorated to the point I was ready to hurt someone over the 40 dollars they owed me. I was dead mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and almost physically. There were days when I had to ask myself, "When is the last time I fed my kids?" THAT is a hard pill to swallow as a mother! I got my kids taken December 6th, 2017. I got arrested on a couple felonies January 2nd, 2018. I spent time in jail, went to treatment, and busted my butt to get my babies back. December 26th, 2018, I had one day clean. I got my kids back that day. These things aren't easy to admit to but it’s the first step to making a change. I pray for the addict that is still using today. My name is Jackie and I am a recovering addict.

I Cannot Believe It’s Been One Year Today Since I Almost Lost My Life. It Was Without A Doubt The Most Challenging Yet Rewarding Year

We Got 3 Years Clean On January 18!!

12 years of meth addiction. Last 18 months of hardcore daily iv using. No rehab. No praying to anyone. No meetings. No therapy. No other faith than in myself... One month of sobriety.
All you really need is really, truly want to recover. You must believe it's possible. You can achieve anything you dream of.
Stay strong.
You'll make it. 

First picture was when I was using, second picture was the day after I was admitted to the hospital, third was when I was ~3 mos clean (still in a nursing center) & last pictures are pictures of me and my fiance a month or so ago.
For a long few years I spent addicted to opiates, presciption and otherwise that at the time seemed hopeless and it felt impossible to be able to start a new life. Unfortunately I was injured on top of having chronIc pain, CP & syringomyelia, and after years being put on and off of string narcotics (think fentanyl +oxycodone), I ended up getting into using heroin. I tried over and over to get clean, when suddendly, 3 years ago I wound up in the hospital, going into septic shock from MRSA. I was close to dying that first night but luckily I pulled through and was hospitalized for the better part of a year. I went from bed rest and oxygen, to learning to walk again with and without oxygen, months of routine IV antibiotics, and countless hours in physical therapy, weened off of fentanyl and oxycodone with the help of gabapentin, and eventually was able to leave the facility.
Fast forward about a year when I meet my fiance. He helped me through months of weening off of the extremely high dose of gabapentin I had been on, dealing with many painful muscle spasms that kept me from sleeping well at all. It was almost as difficult, because at this point I was working almost full time. A few months ago I got a procedure where they injected botox into my leg muscles to help with pain and now I'm walking more normally and am the closest to being pain free and drug free as I have ever been in my life. Now I only take muscle relaxers, that I'm starting to ween off as well. With hard work, strong will & the support of my loved ones, I feel as if I've overcome something that years ago seemed impossible.
Back then I felt like my life would never have a purpose, but now I realize my purpose of struggling through all of those years was so that I could give hope to others struggling with addiction. It's never too late for a change. If I could make it this far, everyone else can. Just stay strong and believe in yourself!

Left side is me about 12 years ago in active cocaine and alcohol addiction. On the right side it's me today, in recovery and helping others to recover through my work as a counselor

First picture is right before I checked myself into rehab for drug addiction in july 2017. As part of my recovery, I've started taking care of my body.

I can still remember how hollow I felt on the left not even being able to function without a substance in my body. I had no idea how I was going to get clean or what that would look like and then I found Narcotics Anonymous and it saved my life and shortly afterwards I found Celebrate Recovery where I felt at home all this to say if your struggling its ok to not be ok. But ask for help you don't have to fight alone. Thank you God for one more day.

For the better part of my life I spent Sunday mornings coming down from massive amounts of intravenous cocaine abuse. Mornings like this were spent with my ear on the cold tile floor of sleazy motel rooms as I stared underneath the doorway stuck in a prison of paranoia. My forearms littered with injection sites forming track marks that could trace the low self-esteem of this addict all the way back to his childhood. When I was finally out of money or my ATM card would shut me off I would slam a bundle of heroin to tranquilize my appetite for more cocaine. Housekeeping would always knock at the door on mornings like this. They’ve been trying to get into my room since I checked in on Thursday with that first 20 bag of cocaine. Since then I’ve only opened the door to fetch more narcotics. As they’d knock I’d close my eyes knowing that the door latch protected this junkie from anyone seeing me in my current state. I would spend the next 8 hours nodding out only to be woken up intermittently by my cigarette burning through the comforter. Outside that motel room people were living. They were running errands, they were going to church, they were hanging with friends, and they were getting together for their Sunday dinners. Inside that motel room I was dying. This Sunday morning I am free. For years I would go in and out of recovery forgetting how bad it was out there for me. I don’t allow myself to forget today

I spent over 25 years filling my body, spirit and mind with some kind of substance. I lost everything that meant anything to me, including my children. On January 16, 2013 I changed my life. I was able to hold on a tiny bit of hope and ran with. Once I was able to stop drinking and using, I was able to grow. My life had changed tremendously! 

Today I have been sober for 2 years, have gained my family back and have an amazing job working as a peer support specialist.

Pic to the left is first day of my second time in treatment almost 5 years ago. You can live happily without drugs or alcohol. There is hope. I am proof.

"I waited daily for the phone call that would tell me my daughter was dead. I planned her funeral. I did not sleep the entire night for years - always waiting for the ring of the doorbell. 18 months ago, she was living in the dumpster area of Taco Bell. She had sold her car for drugs. She weighed less than 100 lbs. Mariah celebrated a year sober yesterday. I am one of the lucky mothers. I did not have to bury my child. I have my daughter back. Do I trust her? Not fully. But she is sober. She is productive. She is happy. For today.” Mom of an addict says ‘heroin is not picky,’ she still ‘breaks down sobbing’

During 22 years of drug and alcohol addiction Keith spent his life trapped between sleeping rough on the streets and prison. Hit by a family breakdown and the death of his daughter, his road to recovery was tough. But with the help of local homeless and addiction recovery charities, today Keith is four years clean and in full time employment and working as a relief worker at Julian House in his spare time. He now uses his own experiences daily to help those around him.⁠