I believe there is a person with the same tattoo!

If you’re thinking about stopping, you don’t need a reason.
Curiosity is enough.

One year.

She’s Really Here

My 20 year old daughter is a heroin addict and has chosen to live on the streets for two years. She texts with me occasionally and vaguely but rarely wants to see me, in spite of us being so very close.

Y’all....she wanted to spend the night!! I picked her up, took her by a hotel (I’m not an idiot) and brought her home. HOME.

She went to sneak to the bathroom and I asked her to please not hide or be ashamed because our love is unconditional. I watched my beautiful child mix a shot and do it at the kitchen table. As a Registered Nurse with 15 years in the ER, I’ve never witnessed anything so heartbreaking.

We briefly discussed the local methadone clinic and she would like to find out more when they open later.

But she’s here. In her bed. Asleep. She did not go to bed hungry, dirty or worried that her belongings would be stolen when she awakens. And if she decides to leave when the sun rises, I’ll have to be okay with that. But I’ve had HOURS with my precious daughter since 7pm yesterday and I will be eternally grateful.

went from 100 pounds to 150. my hair is growing again, the sores on my gums healed, my skin cleared up, and the light in my eyes came back

Not to rub my own ass here but it was my birthday on the 22nd, & it’s maybe the first I’ve actually had hope for the future. I spent years in an abusive relationship, struggled with the death of my dad by suicide (he was also an addict & he OD’d), mental illness & chronic pain. After I escaped the abuse I spiralled into drugs. Coke (eventually crack), ket, benzos that were most definitely mixed with other crap, alcohol. The high would last for a night then the crash would last days, so I ended up being a daily user. I lived like that for a year.

There’s no high like that kind of high, but also no low like that kind of low. I hated the feeling of peace because chaos was so familiar. I’m learning to enjoy the feeling of my heart gently pulsing at its own rate. What I thought was “boredom” was actually just the feeling of being peaceful. & as “boring” as I may sometimes feel it is, it’s better that than being psychotic, ruining my relationships with everyone in my life, ruining myself. I don’t want to wear hospital bracelets or handcuffs as trophies of pride anymore.

Pic on the left is a picture a “friend” took of me, high, last year. I didn’t realise how horrid I looked. Pic on the right is me a few days ago on my birthday :) last time I used any illegal substances at all was 4 months ago, but I cut down my use & stopped being a daily user around Feb. I never thought I’d get here, & it’s more & more bearable as time passes. In fact I don’t want to go back to that at all now.

Jesus has turned my life AROUND!!! Just took the 2nd pic today with my mom. He’s restored me life, all my family and relationships, my career, everything! I now have my own apartment, car, have a great job where I’m working my way up, and getting along great with my family. I was living in my car before my dad called the cops on me, not working, a mean and hateful person. Thank God for great parents and CADA and Jesus!! You CAN do it!! Don’t give up!

I did it 🥹 I really thought this would take my life and I made it one fucking year, I have no words for myself, it feels surreal 🤍

friends from the program threw me a party, then the knicks won (my hometown team)!!!! i am so so so so grateful to be enjoying life without needing the use of drugs to do literally anything and everything

i can't believe it's been 2 years 🤍 more is to be revealed

https://www.reddit.com/r/addiction/s/gRqLhveeve

i posted early this year a cry for help because i was injecting roughly two grams of crystal meth throughout each day at age 19. I was prepared to take my last breath due to a slew of health problems , i was afraid for my life. when death stared me straight in the eyes i realized i didn’t want to die after all.

it’s been a horrific year , lots of tripping over my own self and creating problems for myself i didn’t need nor knew how to navigate in the slightest — but i had to learn quick otherwise i wouldn’t make it to 21.

i’ve entered recovery in a way i’ve never quite tried before. i’m doing something different , trying a new path and finding a new way to live. with two months and counting off all mind-altering substances , i think there’s a chance. i’m cautiously optimistic however , i cannot ever guarantee i’ve got this licked. that’s where i’ve gone wrong so many times before … being over-confident. i need a daily dose of recovery and self-examination to survive because this affliction i have is terminal.

read the comments on my earlier post , i’ve grown alot and learned so much. though that knowledge is useless if not applied.

i’d love to hear from people with more time and recovery than me and get some solid some advice : on strengthening my recovery , strengthening my relationships with family and my girl , and how i can continuously adapt to life on life’s terms. because this is no cakewalk , everyday is a literal fight for my life and my addiction takes a different form each day in an attempt to trick me back into it’s devilish grips.

my story is no gnarlier than anyone else’s , we’re all the same here. anything i’ve done that you haven’t … just remind yourself that you haven’t done it YET. i do know that if i can get out of my ridiculous cycle of insanity , any body on this earth can get out of theirs as well.

🫶 ONE LOVE * MERRY CHRISTMAS 🤘 ~BFP

First pic is me with my mom 2 years ago, I was badly addicted to cocain at that time. I shot nearly 1 gram per day if I had the money.. first I used to snort it, that was 10 years ago, then someday I tried crack and a few weeks after that I made my first shot.

The BIGGEST mistake in my entire life!

I knew instantly, that this was a really bad idea, as I got hooked immediately.. 2 years into shooting cocaine daily, I began using heroin too.. at the time being I thought it was good because that way I don't have to buy that much cocaine and heroin is way cheaper (I live in Austria, heroin per g is 30-40€ and cocain is 70-100€) so that's how it was I then proceeded like I didn't care, but deep in my heart I always knew that it was bad and that my life isn't going to end well if I don't make it out of there ...

Then after almost 7 years of cocaine and heroin addiction, I had to go to jail.. I thought to myself, that might be the last opportunity I get to get clean or else I'll never be happy again or die early and disappoint my whole family.. My family knew of my addiction, but they always stayed by my side, where always there for me and assisted me in every way they could..

The 6 months in prison were like hell.. but I pushed through I didn't touch anything in prison, not even weed.. and since the day I got into jail I have been clean.. I got out of jail like 5 months ago .. Today is one of the best days of the last 10 years for me because I got a Job and will be starting on Monday! That's my story, I just wanted to share to you guys, because I don't have that much people to talk to.. Everybody can do it , the only one that can change your life, is yourself. Thanks for reading

Almost 9 years ago, I walked out of treatment with nothing but fear and a little bit of hope.

I was scared, broke, ashamed, and had no clue what my life was going to look like. If you had told me back then that one day I’d wake up excited to go to work, have people I love and trust, and spend my days trying to help other people find recovery, I would’ve laughed in your face.

Recovery has given me everything I never thought I’d have. Purpose. Peace. Relationships. A chance to become someone I can actually look in the mirror and respect.

This week I found out that the app I poured my heart into to help people in recovery reached over 5,000 users on the app stores. I honestly had to stop for a minute and think about the kid who walked out of treatment all those years ago wondering if life was even worth living.

I’m not sharing this because of the number. I’m sharing it because it’s another reminder that God can take a completely broken person and do things with their life that they could never imagine. Never would I have imaged founding a tech company and developing an app lol. Half the time I couldn’t even long into my email before. Sometimes it seems like god does for me what I can’t do for my self.

If you’re struggling today, don’t give up before the miracle happens. Stay sober. Keep showing up. You never know what your life will look like a few years from now.

Today I’m just incredibly grateful. Grateful to be alive. Grateful to be sober. And grateful that recovery gave me a life worth living. JUST FOR TODAY ❤️

Hi y'all, I just wanna share a story real quick since I need to get it off my chest but don't feel comfortable about sharing with peopl I know IRL.

My poison was amphetamines I have been clean for 1 year and 9 months now but a couple weeks ago I was really stressed out about life and everything and some stuff happened. In the end I couldn't control myself and contacted my dealer...

Now normally dealers are looking for every opportunity to sell their stuff, not this guy. He watched me sniff myself into oblivion, and get out of it and he wasn't gonna let it happen again. He contacted every other plug in my area and told them not to sell to me under any circumstances and instead of selling me drugs he just came over and hung out with me for a bit which really helped and he is the reason I am still on the rails today!

Alcohol almost took my life in April from necrotizing pancreatitis. Im alive and sober today!

Super grateful! Just took my state board exams for cosmetology, something I would never have been able to do if I was still using :) love you 💖

Just marked 60 days completely clean today. I almost died a few different times from overdose, but I'm still here, alive and trying. Could really use some encouragement.

Went out by myself tonight tonight to celebrate this milestone. Don't really have anyone that could celebrate with me. Kicking these addictions to the curb after nearly dying 4 or 5 times or so from overdose was hard as hell. Got addicted to the gym instead.

If I hadn't replaced those addictions with the gym, I might not be here today. Not trying to get attention, just a brother here kinda down, wishing there was someone out there that could celebrate with me surviving this and making it to 60 days completely clean.

Not expecting people to care much, but I am proud of myself at least.

Edit: thank you for the kind words everyone. Nobody in my real life was all that interested, so I figured I'd share it with reddit. I appreciate you all!

I thought I’d post this for a little motivation. I’m actually a few days past 5,000 now, but better late than never!

Being on this thread I’ve read a lot from people struggling with alcohol, relapsing and in early recovery. It reminds me so much of how miserable the early days were, and just how worthwhile sobriety has been.

When I first quit, a week seemed impossible let alone a year. I never thought I could enjoy a life without alcohol.

Fast forward to today, and I’m almost 14 years sober. It’s been 100% worth it, and my life has improved exponentially.

To all those struggling, keep at it. You can do it, one day at a time.

I immediately started looking around for acetone to clean it up because some humidity got to it. But then I started thinking how I’ll need Xanax and more blow after I go through it. There’s been so many times I’ve said just one gram and it turns into a month long binge. I just tossed it out and kept the 20. This September I’ll be two years clean off coke it. It feels so good to be done with that part of my life and I just thought I’d share this for anyone else who’s struggling.

I'm not having the best year, but I am proud to say I just reached 5 years of beating Heroin on Saturday!

This brown devil controlled my life for 10 years, on and off. But never again! Next step is getting off kratom (which saved me from getting off of Heroin and Suboxone) I am already tapering down from it and its been a struggle, but hopefully soon I will beat that too!

If I could do it, you can do it too!