Ask An Alum: Chris’s Story

September is Recovery Awareness Month, an opportunity to talk about substance misuse, eliminate the stigma associated with addiction and encourage people to ask for help. A lot of the time, at first, those who need help don’t think they have a problem. Here is one of their recovery stories.

Treatment Gave Me Hope

Even though Chris’s life was in disarray, he didn’t think it had anything to do with drugs and alcohol. He was separated from his wife and close to losing his job.

“I felt that I was fine and everyone else around me had a problem.” To be honest, I didn’t want to get clean and sober.”

It was finally his sister who had someone from American Addiction Centers call to speak to him about treatment.

Chris says when he got that call everything changed. “He talked to me, calmed me down and I started to feel understood. Life here was miserable, I was done with everyone, and everyone was done with me. So, I decided to go to treatment.”

Struggling with a 40-year addiction to alcohol and marijuana and 20 years of misusing cocaine and meth, Chris knew his road to recovery was not going to be easy. “Having the opportunity to go to treatment gave me the best chance to fight this disease.”

For the first time, Chris says, he was able to be brutally honest with himself. “Going to treatment helped me figure out who I was and they taught me to quit playing the victim.”

His advice for those considering going to treatment: “When the drugs and alcohol quit numbing the pain when it doesn’t silence the voices in your head and you’ve just had enough. Do yourself a favor and go to treatment.”

Chris is dedicated to his aftercare plan which includes zoom meetings through the alumni program. “I’m on there every week they have an alumni app that we use to share our experience when others are struggling and to share our milestones and accomplishments.”

Now, Chris is 3 and a half years sober and for someone who had no interest in getting help, he credits his life to treatment.

“’I’m happier than I have ever been. My wife says I’m a better man than the one she married.”

If you are struggling with addiction and looking for rehab near Miami, Recovery First Treatment Center can help. Our admission navigators are available 24/7 .