Recovery Is Possible!
My name is Alexa,
My story is probably a lot like others but if it helps anyone then it is worth it. So here we go!
How it was…
I am 26 years old, I have one sister and both my mom and my father are addicts/alcoholics. So I do believe this is disease has a genetic component. My mom and dad were divorced when I was little and my mom was the sole provider for my sister and I, we moved around a lot when I was young and finally settled down in one spot when I was about 10. At that point my mom and step father got divorced and my mom fell into serious depression and her alcoholism really took off. Things got bad, when I turned 13 maybe I has a full blown party kid, started drinking, smoking pot and other things. By the age of 15 I met the love of my life because he did all the same things I did. By 16 I was pregnant and I dropped out of school, after having my daughter I found the other love of my life, narcotics. Slowly everything went down hill, my relationships, my ambition, and my life. Eventually the pain killers led to heroin and things went down hill even faster. I was arrested. I had another child and after he was born the father of my kids went to jail for a year. I was alone with two kids and a full blown addict. I was sent to treatment a couple times, but I didn’t want to stop. So I didn’t, I simply did all that to get the heat off my back.
What happened…
After many relapses (with and without the father of my kids) and my life falling apart around me. I was caught red handed, again and when it came time to make up my next lie, excuse, and bullshit I said “I give up”. I went to treatment with a different attitude and I knew I needed to make a change. When I got out I split up with the father of my kids because he could not stay clean, did meetings, counseling, got a sponsor, and started working the steps. I was involved with people that showed me how to live sober and that my life wasn’t over, it had actually just begun.
What it is like now…
I am still a single mom of two wonderful kids, and I have the support of so many people in my life, my mom stopped drinking, my dad has five years sober and is a big influence for me, he also is a huge reason I knew where to turn when it came time to get help. I got my GED and I am currently in my second year of college in the nursing program, I still attend meetings, I still have a sponsor, and I sponsor people. My life as a daughter, sister, mom, friend is so much better than I could ask for. My relationship with my higher power has gotten me through some hard times in my sobriety, and I’m thankful all the time that I was given this gift! I currently have over 2 years sober my anniversary is 04/10/12. I am the co-founder/president of a non-profit called Recovery Community Initiative in our town. It is an advocacy group and hopefully down the road we will expand to help as many people as possible! I no longer feel ashamed of being and addict/alcoholic, I am who I am and not who I was.
