The Descent Into Addiction: How A Car Accident Didn't Start My Addiction, But It Fueled It.

A lot of people think my addiction began with the car accident I was in, but that's not where my story starts. My addiction began with a simple curiosity, the curiosity of "what it felt like to be drunk" or "what it felt like to be high." My story isn't uncommon. I started experimenting in high school, continued with occasional recreational use in college, and carried on after graduation.

Over time, that occasional use escalated and eventually took over my life. At first, I didn’t think I was an addict. I wasn't using it every day, and I thought I had control. Little did I know, this was just the beginning of a lifelong battle. The rush, the euphoria, the peace drugs became my way to cope.

The Turning Point

On the outside, my life was good. I was happy, had a successful career, a nice apartment with my boyfriend, the best group of friends, and a strong relationship with my family. Then, in the blink of an eye, everything changed.

I was in a bad car accident and was prescribed painkillers for my injuries. When the doctor stopped prescribing them, I realized I had become dependent. That's when I started buying them off the street. My addiction progressed to using every day, and it took over every aspect of my life.

I was what they call a "functioning addict." On the outside, everything looked fine, but on the inside, I was falling apart. I spent years suffering in silence, trapped in a vicious cycle. Each day was a battle not just against the drugs, but against myself. I struggled with mental health, which made it impossible to maintain a stable life. I bounced from one toxic relationship to another, feeling completely alone and broken.

A Glimpse of Hope

My addiction took me to places I never wanted to go and made me do things I never thought I would. I completely lost myself and I couldn’t take it anymore. I knew I needed to make a change.

That's when I decided to try medicated-assisted treatment. This medication transformed my life and put me on the path to recovery. It was a huge part of the reason I stayed sober for several years. I even had my daughter during this time, and everything in my life was going great until it wasn't. Again.