- Alcohol
- Drugs
- Friends & Family
- Mental Health
Submitted by: Susanne Johnson
Ten years ago, Darby made it into recovery. In her prior life, she used to abuse almost anything she could get her hands on. It all started with alcohol at about twelve years of age and was shortly after followed by marijuana. speed, cocaine, meth, Dilaudid and more, some of them used as IV drugs. These substances became her life and tried to bring her down. “It was not a fun life!” she states. “I’m so glad I’m clean and sober today. It sounded like it was supposed to be fun, but it was not.”
Her life certainly has changed. Only ten years later, she is a therapist at a residential treatment center in Memphis, Tennessee, helping treat individuals with trauma and substance abuse issues. She was planning to become a therapist long before her substance use disorder became an issue. It was already set up that she would go to school for it. Only it took a slight turn and the substance abuse became the main focus of her work. “I started going in this direction when I was 15 years old. Just I went to a party school, which appeared to be not a good idea in hindsight,” Darby recalls about her career choices.
As Darby was in need of help herself, she went to inpatient treatment. when she came home she did all the things she was told not to do, and she relapsed. “It took six months and going through the worst hell I ever been at, to go back to treatment,” states Darby. At her second attempt she was desperate and would have done anything she was told at that point. Her sponsor told her to call every day. Eighteen months later her sponsor said that she could stop calling her every day and that a few times a week would be fine. “I was willing to do what ever they said. Meetings, sponsorship, service work, just anything,”, said Darby. She moved from the country to a medium sized city. She likes the convenience of a city nearby and the opportunities it gives to fill her spare time.
“I’m not really a runner, but I will be today,” she says about her attendance at the Heroes in Recovery 6K in Memphis. She loves doing exercise and workouts, while running is usually not part of it. To raise awareness and to support the cause, Darby decided to go out of her element and grow with the opportunities. “During my workouts I do some short interval running. Let’s see how I do at the longer distance,” said Darby. “It’s for such a good purpose.”
“There is no time like the present. You don’t have to live like that anymore. A lot of people don’t know that there is another way or don’t think that it would work for them. I can tell you, that it’s a beautiful life and you will love it every day.”, ends Darby our interview and prepares for her run to raise awareness.