Achieving Success in Sobriety

I struggled with heroin addiction for several years, leading me down a path of loneliness and despair. I was arrested for drug distribution and had lost a full ride science scholarship at a university, but that wasn’t enough to make me stop. I was unable to hold a job and was completely alone - my friends and family couldn’t trust me anymore. Finally, homeless and unable to kill myself, as I woke up after each intentional overdose attempt, I had to succumb to the fact that I was powerless over drugs in order to be willing to take advice from others and finally ask for help.

In admitting that I had no control over my addiction, I had to humble myself by asking for help because I couldn’t get sober on my own. I made a phone call to a local hospital and ended up in a treatment center in Florida, USA with only the clothes on my back. I was thrown into group, individual, and dual diagnosis therapy to treat my addiction and underlying mental health issues. I was diagnosed with depression and my therapist made sure I found the proper medication to treat it while providing me with relapse-prevention/relapse prevention counseling and support.

Addiction was an extremely isolating disease for me, so it was essential to surround myself with people in recovery. This made loneliness vanish and allowed me to get involved with women who understood my struggles. One woman in particular called me each night simply to ask how my day was - which meant the world to me.

These women were better friends than anyone I had in active addiction. They weren’t just there when I had something to offer them, they were there to listen and support me. I was living in a halfway house without a vehicle, but they were always happy to drive me where I needed to go. I followed them around like a lost puppy. They told me they were going out to eat, I went. They told me they were going to a meeting, I went. I was willing to do whatever they told me to do.

Drugs were more important than my well-being in the past, so I began to focus on improving my health. I was constantly fighting crippling anxiety, so I began to do yoga classes in the morning because it helped alleviate my anxiety. I began eating a healthy diet, consisting of the vitamins and nutrients my body needed to thrive. I had lost weight in my addiction, but by making these healthy lifestyle changes, my cheeks filled out and my skin began to glow.

The most rewarding aspect of sobriety is my ability to help others. Before I got sober, I stole from and lied to the people I loved to get what I needed. I felt hopeless. I saw no possible way of breaking the chains that bound me to a bag of heroin and a needle. It was only by listening to others who had overcome addiction share their experience that I saw a light at the end of the tunnel. I had faith that by trusting others and taking care of myself, I would be able to recover.

I believe that my purpose in life is to share my experience with others, in hopes that one less person has to die from addiction. I aim to give back to those who are suffering just as my support group did for me. The most rewarding experience is seeing the light come back on in a woman’s eyes as the obsession to use disappears.

Cassidy Webb is an avid writer from South Florida. She advocates spreading awareness around the disease of addiction.