- Drugs
- Friends & Family
Submitted by: Bo Brown
My name is Cyndi. I am 45 years old and currently have four years in recovery.
I was a registered nurse for almost twenty years before I developed an addiction to prescription pills. My addiction became so severe that I eventually began taking pills from my workplace.
Before I got to the point of asking for help, I lost my job and went to jail for a year. After my arrest, I knew I was out of control and I asked for help.
When I was released, I ended up going to a recovery center for six months. This was the best thing that had ever happened to me. They taught me how to cope with things that lead to addiction, because it is not just the addiction, it is the things that you are trying to escape. They provided therapy, counseling, and got me into physical fitness. A lady named Heidi came to visit us there– she would help me train and got me interested in 5K races.
During addiction, I did not want to wake up in the mornings. Eventually, I reached a point where I wanted to take pills just so that I did not have to deal with the day. It was a life of lying to people, not being able to look people in the eye, and not being able to hold my head up.
Even though I do not have my nursing career anymore, I am able to hold my head up and look people in the eye and be honest with myself. I am proud of the person I am today. I look forward to getting up every day and living life and giving back to others.
Today, I am going back to school to be a drug and alcohol counselor. I am thankful for my life and this second chance that I have been given.
There is no describing the gratitude that I have today and the feeling of pride and self-confidence that I have in myself now. There is no comparison of my life before and after addiction.
For those of you that struggle with addiction today: I know that you may think that asking for help is a sign of weakness and that you feel you are going to be judged. Sometimes you will be judged by others. But, after a while, you gain self-confidence and you start feeling good about yourself. Eventually, other people’s opinions of you do not seem to matter. You do not need other people’s opinions to define who you are. I encourage anyone who struggles with addiction to just ask for help, because help is out there.