See how Ambrosia Behavioral Health Has Changed Lives

My addiction started with smoking weed with friends or an occasional party on the weekend, but I quickly became interested in harder drugs, especially pills and psychedelics.

Within a few years, my life had become a living hell. I would do anything to get money for the next high, even putting my life on the line. My actions tore my family and my relationships apart. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t be there for anyone I cared about. I let everyone I knew and loved down for years. The end of my spree resulted in a domestic violence charge and jail. Something had to change.

“Eventually, I found myself out of options.”

I bounced around from rehab to rehab trying to get better, but sobriety wasn’t sticking. I would make some progress and build things back up just to tear them down again. When things got bad enough, I made the decision to head back to treatment for the last time and do things the right way.

Immediately, something was different. For the first time, I admitted that I didn’t know what was best for me. I immersed myself in the program and took every suggestion that my counselors and my peers gave me. I no longer had a choice. I was desperate to figure out how to manage life without drugs and alcohol as a crutch, and I was willing to do whatever it took to get there. Only then did I start seriously working on myself. Going through the steps and getting in touch with a power greater than myself is the only thing that got me out of the mess I created to where I am now.

“I could never have imagined being in the position I am in today.”

My life is amazing. I have finally found a purpose and I have solutions to negative feelings other than getting high. Now I’m able to show up for family and friends and be an example. My relationships with my family and friends are completely different now. I’ve been able to right many of the wrongs that I did while I was using. I truly feel like I’m not the same person that did those things in the past.

“I have found inner peace.”

One of the best things I can do now that I am sober is to help others recover like so many people helped me. It’s the only way I get to keep what I’ve gained along the way. I recently went back to school to become a drug and alcohol counselor so I can pass this knowledge to the next person who needs it.

My goal is to continue down the path of recovery and go back to school for my psychology degree so I can be more effective to others. Today I have real friendships, sponsees and relationships with people that I thought would never speak to me again. I had to fall hard to get back up, but I wouldn’t trade anything where I am today.

When enough was enough, I knew I needed help. I came to treatment completely unmanageable and feeling broken. The worst part was that I wasn’t present in my daughter’s life. I knew it was time to stop making excuses and start making a change. Being in treatment gave me time to heal and come to terms with the damage I had done to myself and my family. After I got out, I kept going to meetings and started working a 12-step program every day. That’s what helped me get sober and what helps me stay sober, one day at a time. The best part about the program is getting to see the process work for other people. When it happens, you can see and feel the transformation.

“It’s a miracle seeing the light return to someone’s eyes.”

So much has happened in my life since I have been sober. Sobriety is like a completely new adventure. I recently got married for the first time and my husband is also in recovery. He’s been clean for two and a half years now, and together we’re able to help each other stay accountable. I’m able to be present for my friends and family on a regular basis and I am overwhelmed with gratitude when I think about how much has changed.

I am currently working on my certification to become a Certified Recovery Support Worker, which I should be finishing up by the end of 2019. I live in New Hampshire, where there aren’t a lot of resources available for addicts and alcoholics. I want to get into the treatment field and use my experience to help people find a new life, the same way people helped me when I needed it.

My biggest piece of advice is to stay away from people, places and things where you drank and get active in a recovery program. Getting sober isn’t always easy, but it’s the best decision I’ve ever made.

“Find a power greater than yourself, get a sponsor and surround yourself with good people who can help you. Most importantly, just don’t pick up.”

I started putting myself in dangerous situations that I would never have dreamed of. Eventually, my friends and family cut me off because of all the pain and heartache I was causing them. I always thought I was only hurting myself when I was in active addiction. I never realized that my family suffered the same amount of pain and heartache that I did.

“I was willing to do whatever it took to prevent myself from going back to that lifestyle.”

Addiction beat me down, but fortunately, I had people looking out for me that got me into treatment. I went to a meeting my first day out and raised my hand. The other men at that meeting took me under their wing and gave me suggestions along the way. I surrounded myself with them all the time, even outside of the meeting. Sometimes they would play golf or go fishing, and anything that they did I was right there with them. After I went to a few meetings, I found someone that I could really relate to, and I asked him to be my sponsor. As he took me through the twelve steps, the obsession to do drugs was slowly removed. It wasn’t easy, but it meant that I didn’t have to rely on a chemical to get through the day.

“Take advice. Let somebody else make the right decisions for you until you can make them yourself.”

I’m not a millionaire by any means. I still have rough days and deal with life’s problems, but it’s nothing that I can’t handle with help from my sober support. By next fall I plan on going back to school to study marine biology. It’s something I’ve always been passionate about, and now that I live in Florida I have the perfect opportunity to pursue it.

I’m included in things today, like going out and doing fun activities with my friends. When I was getting high, I was such a toxic, shady person that nobody wanted anything to do with me. I have been rebuilding my relationship with my mother, and I’m starting to gain back the trust that I lost over the years. Now I spend my days helping other people who are struggling in the same situation I was. It’s unbelievably gratifying because it’s a constant reminder of what life was like back then.

“The best part about being sober is being able to sleep at night without constant fear and worry creeping over me.”

“Addiction was a ball and chain. I couldn’t go anywhere or do anything if I wasn’t high. I was constantly tied down to the drugs.”

Active addiction was the most miserable time of my life. I would lie, cheat, steal, and manipulate everyone in my life. I knew what I was doing was wrong, but I didn’t care. All I could think about was my next fix. I was living that lifestyle just so I wouldn’t be sick and so I could function throughout the day.

My drug use tore my family apart. As much as they loved me, they had to distance themselves. My addiction was making them sick and destroying their lives. After a while, I had no friends left either. It wasn’t until I was completely broken down that I decided to get help. I knew I was going to die if I didn’t put all my effort into recovery. I had to do it for myself, or nothing was going to change. I was ready to accept whatever help I could get.

“For once in my life, I was a free man.”

After treatment, I dove right in and got a sponsor. Going through the twelve steps is what saved my life. For once, I stopped trying to run the show and just listened. I hung around people that had a year or more and knew how to stay sober, and they showed me how to do it. It was simple, but I always made it so much more difficult than it had to be.

About six months into my sobriety the obsession to drink and use drugs went away. Now, I can go anywhere and do anything without being tied down to a substance. I have this peace and calmness about me, and it feels unreal. Never in my life did I ever think I would have that peace of mind.

Today, I’m back in school and studying business administration. Eventually, I would like to get my master’s degree and start a business of my own. Plus, I get to work at the treatment center where I began my journey. I don’t know where sobriety will take me, but I do know my heart lies in helping others.

“I find the best gift in life is to give back, and that is what I want to do.”

The day I finally surrendered at an alcohol rehab in Florida, I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. That was the day that my life changed. After years of being unavailable to my spouse and children, both emotionally and physically, I was finally ready to make a change and free myself from the slavery of denial. That single decision saved me from a lifetime of misery and unhappiness. It sounds backward, but addiction is the only fight you have to surrender to win

“To me, recovery is unconditional freedom and belonging.”

Getting clean and sober helped me realize that I am not a bad person. I have a disease that tells me I don’t have a disease, and it does not allow me to drink without severe consequences. Once I accepted that fact I was able to forge ahead and create a new life that is second to none.

If you go to meetings, get a sponsor and don’t pick up a drink, things will get better. Finding a support network helped me get out of my head and start to enjoy the process. Recovery isn’t always easy, but it’s simple if you follow suggestions. And like anything else, you get as much out of it as you put into it.

“As long as I am vigilant about recovery, the sky is the limit.”

After 26 years of continuous sobriety, I can earnestly say that my life has never been better. I get the opportunity to help people find their way to the miracle that is recovery. I am proud of the relationship that I have with my family, and I lead by the power of example.

If someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, reach out and be the helping hand that they need. Always remember that addiction has nothing to do with a lack of willpower, they are suffering from a disease that they cannot cure themselves. There is always hope, and there is always help if they choose to accept it.