Drug Addiction Stories & Info

Belinda tried not to stop and think about how life was before the drugs. She was one of those shy, studious types before she started taking meth. The only reason she started that was for a marathon study before the finals at school. She was, to say the least, very impressed with the feelings the meth gave her. As they say, one thing led to another and soon Belinda was using meth on a semi-regular basis. She did manage to get into college but over time, she started to miss classes. Pretty soon, the meth was more important than the education.

That was then. Now, Belinda slept in fields, near railroad tracks and sometimes in shelters. Taking daily showers was pretty much a thing of the past, unless of course she did stay in a shelter. She didn’t eat much, unless she hadn’t had any meth, so that wasn’t a real problem. She made her money for the meth the same way countless other women did. She prostituted herself. She got slapped around sometimes and these guys weren’t exactly the type one would bring home to mom, but it got her money for her meth. Everything revolved around the meth. That sweet, sweet high was all she could think about and when it was over, she wanted more of it.

She thought of home sometimes. She thought of the nice clean and comfortable beds and the shower and of course, Mom’s cooking. But now, whenever she talked to her Mom, she would mention rehab. Jeesh, couldn’t she just leave well enough alone? At least Belinda called about once a month. Her mother would always cry when they talked. Belinda couldn’t stand that. Yet, she called every month and caught up on what was going on.

During one phone call, out of the blue, Belinda’s mother asked her to come for dinner. That was an invitation that was too good to pass up! When she got there, the whole family was there. They seemed genuinely glad to see her, too! After dinner, Mom brought up how concerned the family was about her. Next, everyone started to chime in. It was an intervention, only Belinda didn’t know what that was. She cried, and a big part of her wanted to get help. But the meth, it was so strong. She ended up leaving that night, but all was not lost. The next month, Belinda’s mom got a call from her. Belinda asked “Mom, can I come over for dinner again, like last time”? That was the beginning of a new life for Belinda and her entire family.

Addiction never affects just the addict. It affects their friends, loved ones, co workers, neighbors and community. Josh was a promising young man fresh out of high school with ambitions of becoming an international interpreter. He was popular, fun to be around and had a bright future ahead of him.

It was Oxycontin, an opiate in the same line as Heroin and Morphine.

College was about to start for Josh and he was making his party rounds before he left. Normally, Josh would have a soda and pass on the drinking and drugs. Everyone still loved it when he came to their party. That night, though, Josh ignored his better judgment. He didn’t drink and he didn’t do any of the cocaine that was laid out on the table.

Someone handed him a pill.

“It’s a pain pill…a harmless little pain pill but it’ll make you feel great!” said his friend.

It was Oxycontin, an opiate in the same line as Heroin and Morphine. Josh didn’t know that part though. As he popped the pills into his mouth, his friend told him to chew them and not just swallow them, so Josh did. Within a few minutes, he felt as he never had before in his life. He felt warm and fuzzy and felt a total connection with the universe. He had never felt this good before in his life. It was almost a cosmic sort of feeling and he would not had believed it if he weren’t experiencing it.

Josh asked his friend what those pills were and if he could get some. This was the second mistake Josh made. Of course his friend could hook him up, no problem. It would cost a few (many) dollars, though. Josh handed over the money and took the bag of magic pills with him as he left the party. What a night to remember this would be! When he got home, he fell into a peaceful sleep and when he woke the next morning, the first thing he thought of was those pills.

“Ah,” he said to himself, “it can wait until tonight. I have things I need to get done.”

Josh went about his day but he thought about those pills more than once. He told himself he would try more tonight when Jennifer came over to watch television. The day passed and that evening, Jennifer showed up for their evening together watching movies.

It happened so slowly that things were out of control before I realized.  I found myself in a new town after accepting a promotion for the company I worked for.  I didn’t know anyone, and have always found it difficult to be social the way others seem to do so with ease, which is possibly one of the reasons that I was hesitant when a group from work invited me for a ‘night on the town’.

I found myself in a new town after accepting a promotion for the company I worked for. That was the beginning of this path of destruction I’ve been on.

That was the beginning of this path of destruction I’ve been on.  It began with late nights at the local club scene, and in the beginning, even when I knew I should call it a night and head home for the evening, the urgings from my colleagues had me following along behind them simply because it actually felt good to be accepted.

Several months later, we attended a private party – one of those friend of a friend situations, where everything seemed like the typical party, until one of my friends grabbed my hand and led me to a room filled with people, and drugs.

My immediate response was to run, but again, having the desire to be accepted by my ‘friends’, I thought it couldn’t hurt to try it just this once.   In hindsight, that was the stupidest thing I’ve ever done.

That ‘one’ time, turned into another, and another, and I found myself sneaking into the bathroom at work to get my next fix.  I was convinced that I was on top of my game, even when my family started calling and asking if something was wrong, because my contact with them had become non-existent.    I shrugged it off, assuring them I was busy, but that life was grand.  Reality was, I was on a downward spiral, one that I couldn’t recognize through the drug induced haze that had become my life.

The turning point was several weeks ago when my supervisor, who had always been more than pleased with my job performance, said they were concerned.   They’d noticed an increase of absences, a lack of productivity, and that my physical appearance was lacking.  I made several feeble excuses, promised myself I’d clean up my act, but it wasn’t as simple as it sounded.

I assured myself I could quit anytime I wanted, that I didn’t have a problem, but today – my boss, who I’ve always had a great relationship with, expressed his concern.  He said that my job was on the line, and he knew what kind of work I was capable of, and without wanting to step on my toes, made the suggestion that I should possibly seek rehab to get my life together.   I thanked him for his concern, and assured him I was fine.

But here I sit, reflecting on how much my life has changed in the past six months, and realizing he’s right – I am a drug addict and I want to quit.

They say that admitting you have a problem is the first step, so I suppose I’ve taken the first step to recovery, but where do I go from here?  I want to believe that I can do it myself, with sheer willpower, but I had fooled myself into believing that I could stop whenever I wanted, and obviously that wasn’t true.

Even now, I have the overwhelming urge to hit the streets to score my next fix, but I don’t want this life, not anymore.

My first step, call my parents and explain to them that I have a drug problem and then call my boss and get the information on the drug addiction rehab he mentioned.

It’s going to be a long, challenging road, but I can do this with the help and support of my family and friends.