Living Out LOUD
Our hope is that you'll find encouragement here, as you read and listen to each of these powerful testimonies.
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Oftentimes I don’t think it’s possible to be where I’m at today. Never does one day go by where I don’t express some form of gratitude. To look back and see the young lost boy I was and where I am now is nothing short of a miracle.
At one point in my life, I was afraid of myself. I was hopeless and was afraid not only of failure, but of success. I was selfish and self-centered. I valued people not on who they were, but on what they could do for me. I often felt alone. I portrayed someone I wasn’t just to try and fit in with others. I used drugs and alcohol to ease my mind. Substances provided a temporary escape and for a split second during the day I could accept myself.
I took part in activities that today I can say I am so ashamed of. I not only hurt myself, but hurt my family. It took me such a long time to ask for help. One of the biggest reasons for that was I believed that no one knew me better than myself. I thought I knew it all. I came to a point in my life where I finally knew that my way wasn’t working and that I needed help. Treatment and Alcoholics Anonymous helped me find myself. I learned that there actually was a way out of this dark abyss of addiction. I came in with a slight bit of open-mindedness and willingness. I came to believe that there was a solution.
Today, I value life so much more. I may not be where I want to be, but I love who I’ve become! Doing things for others today makes me feel complete. I’ve discovered that staying clean and sober takes work and dedication. Acceptance is the true answer to life’s challenges today. What started off as simple daily tasks have now become healthy habits in my life. I now believe that there is a power greater than myself that I can rely upon during tough times. I’ve come to realize who “real friends” really are. The ones that value me for who I am, and not for what I can do for them.
I rely today on my sober support network, those “true friends” who can be there for me during tough times. Today I work in the treatment field. I chose this path because it allows me to give back what was so freely given to me. I was given a gift and it’s now my responsibility to pay that forward. There’s no better feeling than seeing the transformation of a person who once struggled to accept themselves, to now live a life of peace, serenity, and most importantly, freedom!
I reached the point in my life where the pain of remaining the same was more powerful than the pain that one experiences during change. I remain humbled today.
More importantly, I have come to love myself again!
~ C.S.- Sober date 12/1/18
BREAK THE CHAIN
By All Means Necessary
By All Means Necessary
INSPIRE TO INSPIRE
- I chose to get clean in 2016 at the age of 26, after years of jail, rehab, and halfway houses, over and over and over again!
- I was an IV heroin & crack speedball from the second I opened my eyes till I passed out!
- I supported my $500 a day habit by stealing and dealing, not proud to admit.
- God reached down and saved my life when I went to jail in 2016, and I haven't been the same since.
-Today, I have 3 little children and a fiancé and they have never seen that side of me.
- Life is good!
~ R.C. - Sober date 2016
Hi, my name is Chris and my sobriety date is:
April 4, 2020.
The road to my recovery has definitely been rough, at times I’ve wanted to throw my hands in the air and just give up because I couldn’t understand why life had to give me the short end of the stick.
Time after time I would say “this is going to be it, this is going to the time I stay sober for good” and just like that, a week later I was back at it, gripping the bottle as if It would save my life or something. My very first time ever going to treatment, I was new, scared and overwhelmed because of the stigma behind addicts and alcoholics. I thought I was going to be surrounded by thugs and homeless individuals that wanted to steal my belongings but that wasn’t the case. I would later make friends with some of the best people I could ever imagine to meet. Wholehearted people who cared about me, not for what I could give them but instead genuine friendships that I still stay in touch with till this day.
From 2016 -2020 I couldn’t stay sober to save my life, I would get 30 days, 6 months, 1 year, then fall short, but I never worked my steps. I never got a sponsor or even attempted to save my life. I thought that since I wasn’t using I was good and I didn’t need to work the steps or get a sponsor.
The end of 2019 came and I decided to go on a trip with a friend from my halfway, we decided to drink and it didn’t stop with just one or two. I proceeded to drink and drink and drink, not caring about the repercussions, I just wanted to feel “normal” but that later lead me to being kicked out of my halfway. it ended with me driving three days back home to Texas from Florida while drinking the whole way, pretty unmanageable if you ask me.
I stayed in Texas for 4 months and my life got even worse, doing things I never thought I’d do, saying things I never thought I’d say, and breaking the trust of the loved one that cared for me the most.
So I decided to get it right this time, I headed back to Florida where I had sober support but never took their suggestions. I went to treatment, got a sponsor in PHP and went to every meeting I could.
I finally finished my steps and started sponsoring others. I gave back. I created a better foundation for myself and this time I gave it all up!
I gave it all up to my higher power because I knew that if I kept going the way I was then I wouldn’t make it.
Now, I am living a life beyond my wildest dreams but don’t get me wrong, life still has a way of reminding me to stay humble and it’s just what I need at that exact moment. I just celebrated 2 years and I am so beyond blessed to have the people I have in my corner.
Today I am free. Today I love the life I live.