Drug Addiction Treatment Blog

My addiction problem progressed slowly over such long period of time it was difficult to admit I had a problem. I graduated from a good university had a good job and married a wonderful woman. We had two children and a good social life and owned a home in an upscale neighbor hood. I was drinking and smoking pot but it never seemed to interfere with my obligations to work or family. My wife started to make comments about the lack of time I spent with her and the kids. She said it seemed like my buddies were more important to me than my family. My wife never smoked pot and I would tell her I was going to hang out with the guys when in realty I was going to smoke pot. I felt guilty about lying to her but it was better than the argument we would have about me smoking pot. I was stopping at the bar on the way home from work a couple days a week for a few beers.
Sometimes I stayed past a “few” beers and would come home late. Sometimes I forgot about promises I made to take the kids to a ballgame or parents night at the school. One night when I was supposed to be “with my buddies” my wife needed me and called my friend. When she couldn’t find me she confronted me when I got home. She actually knew about my pot smoking and pointed out how it had become a problem. She made me promise to talk to a professional about my pot smoking. It was suggested that I attend an out-patient program twice a week. At the program they talked about addiction and about total abstinence from everything, alcohol included. I had promised my wife so I continued to attend even though I didn’t think I had a problem. Two weeks went by before I found myself smoking a joint. The therapist at the treatment program had me submit to a urine test, which was positive for Marijuana. When confronted, I admitted to smoking pot and drinking a few beers. The therapist suggested to me and my wife that I enter Lakeview Health Systems,
a Residential Treatment Center in Jacksonville Florida. I didn’t want to do this and said I could stop on my own. My wife and the therapist ganged up on me and my wife said she would leave me if I didn’t go. I spent a month in the Residential Treatment Center. It gave me time to think, away from all the distractions. The professionals at Lakeview Health Systems knew exactly what to say when the overwhelming urge to use hit me. I learned all about addictions but most importantly I learned about myself and the reasons why I used and drank. I’m out of treatment now and things are better between me and my family. I know I’m not cured and have a long way to go, but now I’m headed in the right direction. I will always be grateful to the professionals at Lakeview Health Systems.

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. As is true for any substance abuser, pornography is another addiction that can ruin relationships and families. My fascination began when I was just a little girl, that’s right, I am a woman. I can remember looking at my father’s Playboys and thinking how beautiful all these women are and that someday I wanted the same attention and affection they receive.
One day my parents caught me thumbing through the “nudie magazines” and I was told by my mother that young ladies are supposed to act both prim and proper. They made me feel so ashamed that I eventually learned to hide my desire to be lusted after. Over the next few years, I buried these urges for fear that I would be looked at as perverted or strange. I was taught it was acceptable for boys to look at porn but not girls; leading to a life of denial.
Now we fast forward to my adult life, 10 years married with two kids and a mortgage. I always convinced myself that once I was happily married the urges would be satisfied; I was wrong. My husband began working longer and longer hours and I felt neglected. I was jealous of his career because it was taking attention away from me and I began looking for satisfaction elsewhere.
After dropping my kids off at school one morning, I passed by an adult store. The urges couldn’t be fought any longer, I had to enter. On my first excursion, I charged $1,000 on pornographic movies. My husband eventually saw the credit card bill which led me to a concocted story about a girlfriend of mine having a sex toy party. After that close call I decided it was better to search the internet.
By the time I sought recovery I was averaging almost 8 hours a day on internet porn. I became resentful that my husband couldn’t satisfy me the way the women in the movies and pictures seem to be satisfied. It affected time with both family and friends and led to my termination from work after my employers monitored my internet activity. The final straw came on a trip to a new porn store where I came across a real-life orgy. I was excited and aroused and began unbuttoning my blouse when out of nowhere I saw just how deep this was and that help was needed. If I crossed the line from make-believe into reality I feared there would be no turning back.
I came home and immediately turned to the internet, this time not for sexual satisfaction but for help. I heard about Recovery Connection and knew they’d be able to place me in a program that could help me. At the Lakeview Health Systems of Jacksonville counselors helped to diagnose the cause of my addiction. As a child, I was molested by a close family friend; this grim fact is something I hid from everyone, including my own husband. The counselors were able to show me that from an early age I associated love with lust. After 30 days in an outpatient program, I was able to live with my disorder. It has been two years and with further counseling I have been able to stop porn addiction from controlling my life.

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I don’t think any one who starts using drugs thinks about Drug Addiction. When I started using it was just doing what my friends were doing. Drug Addiction never entered my mind. At first, using was fun, something we did on the weekends. I don’t know when it started to change, but it did.

My using started to increase, both in the amount and how often I used. As my drug use increased I started to change. I spent less time with friends and almost no time with family. I became self absorbed and lost interest in those things that were once important to me. Drug Addiction is insidious, I never saw it coming.

I lost family and friends to Drug Addiction. I lost jobs and possessions to Drug Addiction. I lost my freedom, self esteem, health and finally the one I loved, lost her life to Drug Addiction. This was the lowest part of my life and I would have gladly given my life to Drug Addictionbut it wasn’t to be. I ended up in Lake View Health Systems for Drug Addiction Treatment. My life’s not perfect, by any means, but it is much better. My family is back in my life, I have a good job and friends that care about me. I am even starting to like myself. Don’t make the same mistake I made, Drug Addiction is always a possibility.

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It was 1999 when I first went to addiction treatment. I think I was drinking alot, smoking pot and snorting cocaine. While I knew I had a problem i really didn’t think it bad enough to need addiction treatment, so I left after seven days.

Well things got worse, I ended up shooting heroin and was arrested for burglary and did a year with four years probation remaining. While I should have stayed in treatment the first time, I guess this was the wakeup call I needed.

I finished my second stint of addiction treatment in 2006 and this time completed the addiction treatment program and went on to a halfway house in Florida. Florida is not a bad place to go to addiction treatment by the way. You can do the math as I am almost two years clean and sober.

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