All of the sudden the house was surrounded with fire trucks and police. I was far too disconnected from reality having been awake for four days on ecstasy to know what was happening, but it turns out they were there for me.
When people, like myself in years past, get sucked into the dark and deadly reality of addiction they never think that they will become one of the terrifying stories that so many of us have heard. “I’m just experimenting,” they say. “I can stop whenever I want,” we hear.
I said these things for 13yrs during my active addiction. It took countless situations and hopeless circumstances to bring me to the place of truly being ready to change.
As the EMT’s and police raided the house which we had been partying in at least 15 of us experienced a serious buzz kill, and thank God for that. Someone (who had also been up four days taking ecstasy) panicked and called 911 and explained the situation. The authorities showed up in full force.
I didn’t know that the person that made the call told them my name and how I wasn’t acting right, no big surprise there seeing how I had been awake for four days on hard drugs. I was escorted from the premises and taken to the hospital. A few hours at the hospital and I removed the IV and oxygen tubes and checked myself out, only to be partying within a day of this whole ordeal.
It would be a DUI, multiple trips to jail, endless chaos, and one more rehab before a glorious transformation began to unfold in my life. It is clear that God was watching over me long before I allowed Him in my life.
Over ten years now into my new life of freedom and recovery I have and still do work with countless people caught in addiction, or trying to grow in their recovery. In the midst of this I often hear from friends, family members, and loved ones of the person caught in addiction that they just need to hit "rock bottom".
I would agree, but I think my definition of rock bottom differs from theirs. One would think that my experience of being the focus of EMT’s and police officers rushing a dope house would propel me to wake up and change, it didn’t. Why? Because rock bottom is different for everyone.
Rock bottom is defined by the person living in the addiction. Rock bottom is simple, it is wherever you stop digging the hole. For some rock bottom is unfortunately the grave, I have had well over 30 friends whose lives where ended by addiction. I was just as bad or worse then any of them.
For some rock bottom is an embarrassing episode after having too much to drink. For some it is their eighth time being arrested, and for some it’s being brought back to life with Narcan.
Regardless of how you define rock bottom it looks different for everyone, and it DOES NOT have to be some horrific circumstances.
Rock bottom is decided by the individual, and it is simple. It is where the shovel is laid down and the climb back to reality begins.
The person caught in the deadly grip of addiction CAN change, I was that person, along with countless other people I call friends.
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