Garson C. (Alumni) Testimonial This time a year ago, it was easy to imagine myself dead. It wasn’t a matter of if but when. I had basically pushed everyone close to me as far away from me as possible. And really, that’s how I liked it. If I wasn’t close to you I couldn’t pull you down with me. Whether or not I actually believed that was the case or not is irrelevant, it affected everyone that loved me. In the year prior to my decision to go to treatment for a severe drug addiction I lost my fiancé and was about to completely be shut off from my family. And that, was all I had left.
I’ve heard you have to be in a place of complete and total desperation to want to get clean. I’ve heard you have to hit your bottom to want to get clean. I’ve also heard that you have to lose everything to want to get clean. I think these things are all very true, but to me it all comes down to one very simple thing. You have to want it more than you want the drugs. YOU have to want to be clean. And most importantly, NO ONE ELSE can do it for you. They can’t make you or convince you otherwise. It’s all up to YOU.
I loved getting high more than anything else in the world. More than my music. More than my family. And certainly more than any relationship I ever had. Drugs, more specifically Heroin, were my significant other. But of course, I did them all. I always had a theory that I’d try anything at least once and I succeeded pretty well at that. For over twenty years I mastered the art of being a drug addict or as I liked to call it, “being normal.” Drugs helped me escape a reality which I didn’t want to have any part of. I was so delusional in fact that I thought no one even noticed when I was high.
Fast forward to a week ago, November 25th. This was my one year anniversary of being clean, the day before my 37th birthday. And what a tremendous birthday it was! I got to spend it with my parents enjoying a day we both thought might never come. I can honestly say that a big part of my success came from the things I learned in my time in treatment at Into Action. Andrey Rossinactually answered my phone call when I finally got up the courage to call someone about my problem. Within a week I was on a plane to South Florida on my way to Detox. After two weeks cleaning out my system of the 160 milligrams of Methadone I was on daily, I finally got to meet Andrey and the Into Action team. I was scared, so scared. Could I do this? Is it really what I wanted? Wouldn’t it be easier to just continue to use? These are all valid and terrifying realities when getting clean. Into Action helped me realize there was more to my life than what it had become.
Treatment is not easy for anyone. But it’s not supposed to be. Think of the small sacrifice you are making for a chance at actually LIVING the rest of your life! It’s worth the risk! Hearing Andrey’s story and so many others like his was truly inspiring. Preparing myself for the big jump back into everyday life was a challenge, but Into Action certainly made that transition easier for me. And they made me aware of the dangers to look out for and what to expect. It’s not easy like I said, but it’s possible. Look at me.
-Garson C. (Alumni)