- Alcohol
- Drugs
Submitted by: Susanne Johnson
Joining a Heroes in Recovery 6K is not just reserved for those in recovery. Relatives, friends, and supporters of healing are all welcome to the runs. Some choose to support the cause and run the race in honor of someone they know. Jimmy has a friend struggling from addiction and his brother is in recovery with a mental health disorder.
“My brother was diagnosed with depression. It was a really, really bad depression and he was suicidal. Some time ago he tried to commit suicide. He was feeling so bad with his mental condition, that his only solution was to try to kill himself,” says Jimmy. His brother’s dark years were around 2010, when his depression reached a peak before he found help. Today he is doing much better, is married and now lives in Japan.
“I will not forget that day,” Jimmy stated. “My brother was living in Peru and I went to visit him. He tried to kill himself the day I came. It was very shocking. I didn’t know many people at that time in Peru. I was feeling helpless and overwhelmed with the situation. I didn’t know what to do.” His family was a big support for him at that time, as they were still living in Peru. Jimmy has spent the last 16 years living in the USA. Jimmy believes that moving and getting away was a big help for his brother. He found a new beginning for his life and see a purpose today.
Jimmy enjoys running and found a running partner and friend from Columbia that shares a passion for running with him. One day they were running and his friend told him that he is in recovery from addiction and used to be a totally different person. Instead of running, he used to be at home in his apartment all day and do drugs. Jimmy never realized it when he met his friend. His friend loves his new life in sobriety much more than anything he ever faced while he was in active addiction. Today he is going to meetings and is absolutely passionate about running. “I was training him for a marathon when he told me his story of recovery. I was training him, we ran the marathon together and he beat me,” Jimmy says, laughing.
“There is one thing I know in life: If you want to change something in your life, it doesn’t matter really how many people will support you. You are the only person that can do the change. Compare the options in your life and decide what is good for you and what it not,” explains Jimmy. “I never did drugs in my life. I heard a lot of stories from my father and those stories scared me away from trying it, even. I’m very happy about this today. My only drug is running.”