Reclaiming Life from Heroin and Alcohol Addiction
Amit grew up in a home with two loving and supportive parents, but the older he got, the more disengaged from society he became. Convinced that his youth was the time to have fun and take risks, Amit slowly began to stray from his homegrown values and started drinking and smoking weed. Eventually, that wasn’t enough anymore, and he began searching for something more.
“I had several friends who wouldn’t stick around if drugs were in the environment, but I was the opposite,” he said. “I was never scared to try something more. I was always chasing the possibility that something would make me feel even better.”
That chase led Amit straight into the grip of heavy addiction. He became fully dependent on prescription drugs like Xanax and pain medication. Once he even stole his dad’s prescription drugs from the medicine cabinet at home. Although his parents knew his behavior was a problem, they had never been exposed to addiction and didn’t know how to deal with it. They just assumed that one day he would grow out of it. So, Amit’s chase continued.
Complete Powerlessness
Each time he went to jail he’d sit and think about all his friends who were growing up, going to college and doing great things, all while he was sitting in a jail cell, throwing his life away. He felt extremely alienated but deep down he knew that his drug abuse was the problem.
“Every time I got out of prison, I had to change the way I felt about myself,” he said. “I’d say, ‘“I’ll just smoke weed’ or ‘I’ll just drink alcohol’ hoping my addiction would fade, but that was never the case.”
Amit was completely powerless to his addiction, but he was unable to grasp the concept. It wasn’t long before he was introduced to heroin and immediately became hooked. His girlfriend at the time was injecting heroin with IVs and convinced him that doing so was a cheaper, more efficient way to get high. Even Amit’s fear of needles couldn’t keep him from chasing the next best feeling, so he squeezed his eyes shut and let her inject the heroin into his arm.
“I will never forget the feeling,” he said. “It made everything okay. Once I got a taste of that needle, it didn’t matter who I was going to hurt, who I was going to steal from, how many jobs I was going to lose. None of that mattered. I had to get high.”
Trapped in a Vicious Cycle
Drugs and alcohol had completely consumed Amit’s life and his addiction had skyrocketed out of control. Eventually, he reached out to his family and got some help, but any progress he was able to make was short-lived.
He was in and out of rehab, trapped in a vicious cycle that always started with a treatment center and ended with a needle in his arm. Every time he would leave treatment, he’d try to replace his substance use with things like women or the gym, but he was never fully able to face himself, so his addiction raged on.
After a four-month run of continuous heavy drug use, Amit was kicked out of his sober living home and suddenly found himself homeless and alone in his car with nowhere else to go.
“In that moment, I really felt like I met God because it was just me and my maker in my car,” he said. “I’m not an emotional person, but I was crying, pissed off, punching the steering wheel, cussing at God … In that moment, I didn’t know what else to do.”
He had a little bit of money left so he went and bought some heroin, thinking, “Whatever happens, happens. If I don’t wake up, I’ll be doing myself and the world a favor because I’m nothing but a burden.”
That night he did as much heroin as he could, fully expecting not to wake up the next morning.
A Humbling Experience Gives Way to True Freedom
Somehow Amit survived his heroin binge that night and shortly after, he was contacted by an old friend who had also been addicted at one time but was in recovery. He left Amit a voicemail and the two reconnected. His friend drove him to a hospital in Dallas where he detoxed for six days and the doctors recommended that Amit enroll in 90-day treatment, since he had relapsed several times after attending multiple treatment programs.
A friend of the family recommended Nova Recovery Center’s 90-day program so Amit enrolled. He had played the treatment center game three times before and he was confident in his ability to work the system. He knew exactly what the counselors wanted to hear, and he could fake it. But he couldn’t have been more wrong.
“Nova was different,” he said. “They didn’t let up on me one bit. The staff was able to show me the truth about myself and why I can’t stay sober.”
During his 90 days at Nova, Amit pushed through the pain and was humbled by his personal discoveries. He worked with the staff to really understand and apply the 12 steps to his life, slowly transforming his attitude from one of anger and selfishness to one of clarity and hope.
After completing his rehab at Nova, Amit moved into a sober living home in Austin and continued working the 12-step program to the best of his ability. After nearly four months of consistent sobriety, he accepted a position with BRC Recovery, where he currently works as a House Manager at a sober living home.
Amit is adamant that although there will be hard work involved, full recovery from addiction is achievable.
“There is absolutely a way out [of addiction], “Amit says. “I was dying. But if recovery was possible for me, it’s absolutely possible for anyone.”
If you or a loved one is struggling with drug and alcohol addiction, Nova Recovery Center can help. Please call to speak with a member of our admissions team today.