- Alcohol
- Faith
At the young age of 13, Kelly was introduced to alcohol. Skipping school to drink with friends changed her life. The alcohol let her feel like she was wearing a coat of armor and had the ability to fit in. She continued to seek out this feeling for the next ten years until an overdose took her to the hospital.
She needed to change her life so she attempted inpatient treatment four times. Each time she relapsed after six months of sobriety. At age 27 she moved to California. She felt she could not be happy sober, and she wanted to die. She could not live with herself and decided to give recovery one more try. She returned to her last treatment center. Kelly believes she was taken here by her higher power because this time treatment was different. She accepted that she was an alcoholic, wanted to change and surrendered. She did whatever she was told to do to make it work.
The first year was a roller coaster. She learned to deal and live with emotions she had numbed and repressed for so long. Her maturity level caught up as she worked her program. Building her own brand of spirituality, relying on God and continuing to surrender brought her the recovery and happiness she was missing. Others helped her to see happiness and that life’s gifts were available to her. She was grateful for all that she was given, and she continued to create her own reality rather than let things happen to her. She continued going to meetings and surrounded herself with people in recovery.
After her first year of recovery, she returned to the California beach and started to build her career by returning to school. Getting her license in skin care and massage therapy fulfilled one of her goals and allowed her to give gifts of healing to others. Later she returned to Georgia, and her dream of having a family became reality. While raising two daughters, she continues to give back through her massage business. Her higher power placed her in office space that was shared with an addiction counselor. The counselor joined a local intensive outpatient program with a holistic component. This enlarged Kelly’s circle of recovering friends and blessed her business. She provides massage therapy to clients who choose to have massage as a part of their holistic recovery program.
Kelly’s life isn’t without its challenges. She has to be aware of resentment, an emotion that can be a poison and that needs to be gotten rid of right away. Fortunately Kelly’s parents have always been supportive of her recovery and decisions. She knows how important having other people in your life is and knows not to isolate. When she struggles with a decision or is not sure about a feeling, she just does the next right thing.
Kelly hopes that if you want recovery, you believe you can do it. She says, “Take it a minute at a time, and do what you are told to do. Find faith in a higher power and surround yourself with people in recovery.”
After 23 years in recovery, Kelly has achieved many of her dreams and goals. The blessing that has remained stable throughout these years has been her connection to people. Peers in recovery, coworkers, family, friends and those she has yet to meet are more important than many realize. Connection to people is everything.