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Long Story Made Short


Posts: 1
Joined: July 2, 2014


Posted: July 2, 2014, 4:57 PM
My dad has been an alcoholic since before I was born. He was in and out of rehabs and whenever he was sober he was still a "dry drunk" and being oppressive, manipulative, and abusive. I'm about to turn 30, and he's relapsing again. I sadly had to cut off both of my parents because my mother doesn't understand her codependence and the fact that she's enabled him to do this for decades. He's lost his job, forced into retirement, keeps sabotaging new attempts to get jobs, etc. He started using crack and spent his entire retirement in the span of 3 years. I'm done with them.

Rewind to college. I got upset at the world and decided to break my rule of never using drugs or drinking by smoking marijuana. I was very sensitive to it the first time and every time after, producing full on hallucinations. I eventually tried mushrooms, LSD, opium, and more. At a certain point I kind of just snapped and started having 24/7 panic attacks, generalized anxiety. But the worst was the derealization. That is possibly one of the most extreme symptoms of anxiety ever, and it was horrid. I quit using all substances for 3 years and slowly got over derealization after about 3 years. Then I decided I'd try pot again. Bad idea.

After finishing my first degree, I was inspired by my experiences. I went into psychology, graduated, started working at a residential treatment center, and from there one of the counselors showed me substanceabusecounselor.us and told me how I could move forward in my career online without having to go back to physical school. Which would suck because I've done it twice now in college, and the whole schooling thing we all have to do before that. So sick of it.

Point being, I've come from a family that has dealt with substance abuse it's entire life. Then, like an idiot, I started up. But I beat it and joined the good fight to help others stop as well. I'm continuing my education and going to become a full on substance abuse counselor within a couple more years!

For anyone reading... things do get better, but not on their own. You have to make the resolve to put an end to it through action. Don't be passive, don't have an external locus of control. Make decisions, fight for your right to a life free of these problems, and you will win. I promise. Do what you must, and you will win!

Thanks,

Jared

This post has been edited by moderator on July 2, 2014, 5:50 PM
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