Addiction to drugs is the true realization of darkness in this world. When you are drugged, you are no longer connected to reality. The light of this world ebbs away, and you walk into an aisle dimmed due to your own weakened senses. People can see and mock you from the aisles while you hang your head and walk in embarrassment. Moreover, despite your best efforts, as a direct result of your growing inner darkness, you cannot find a way back into life.
Many people have remained entrapped in a skewed version of reality due to drugs in their bodies. While some have remained engulfed in that darkness until their passing away, others have fought their way out of the struggles by getting timely addiction treatment and conquering their deadly problems. One of the commendable human beings who have overcome darkness is Rita (name changed due to privacy reasons), who was trapped by this fatal habit at the beginning of her life. Let’s have a look at her success story.
Rita’s Story: A Tale of Never Giving Up
Drugs are hard to quit, but things become harder when you are addicted to a Class A drug like Heroin at an early stage of your life. Rita was on the brink of leaving this world when she found the resolve to quit and changed her life for good.
Rita started smoking cannabis in her early teens. When she turned 17, she was introduced to Heroin, and there was no looking back. Reality became a blur, and she was always consumed by the desire to get her next refill.
Rita started injecting Heroin at the behest of her boyfriend. Although the boyfriend left her for another girl, the addiction stayed with her.
Rita was an unassuming little girl. She was an introvert who struggled to get her feelings out and connect with others. After her boyfriend left, her Heroin use increased. When she was stoned, she found coping with emotions and connecting with others easier. As a result, she started overdoing the drug and found herself in a tough spot in just a year.
“When I turned 18, I was consumed by the desire to inject the poisonous drug into my veins”, she says. “Although I knew it was killing me slowly, I had no desire to give up because, in my mind, it was the only thing that mattered.”
“Suddenly, one day, I had the desire to give up the habit. It was probably because I lost one of my best friends in an accident. She was driving intoxicated and collided with a truck on her way home.” Rita tells us about her epiphany. “The desire to quit grew ever-so-strong, and I confided in one of my family members about my addiction.”
But after her confession, she did not get the support she needed. Her family was disgusted and told her how ashamed they were. Although they enrolled her in heroin rehab, her stint wasn’t successful, as she relapsed within a few months after getting out.
“I believe I was so ashamed that I simply wanted the feelings to disappear. That’s why I took another hit and started using again.”
She even started living with her friend as she simply did not have the confidence to face her family again. She strongly believed that she was a failure, a nobody – who simply did not deserve to live.
But then, one day, her friend told her about co-occurring disorders and mentioned that she might have depression along with substance abuse problems. He suggested that she visit another rehab which has expertise in treating co-occurring disorders. She took his advice and went to the rehab.
After consultation and psychotherapy sessions, the doctors concluded that she was actually suffering from issues with mental health and addiction problems at the same time, a.k.a. dual diagnosis. Therefore, her first rehab stay was unsuccessful, as she was only treated for heroin addiction and not her depression.
A New Approach to Treatment and Rita’s Rehabilitation
During her stay in the new rehab for mental health issues and addiction, Rita was treated for depression and heroin addiction. As a result, she experienced a sudden change in her that she did not feel during her first stint in rehab.
A combination of medicines, behavioural therapy and personalized attention worked like a charm, and Rita recovered within 28 days.
What did Rita say After Treatment and Her Life Afterwards?
“In hindsight, when I learned about the severity of my problem, I can say for sure that I would not have lived much longer without the timely treatment at the rehab suggested by my friend.”, Rita said.
Even her doctor, who was with her during the interview, said that her problem was highly challenging to treat. He said that the situation was made worse as she did not have family beside her (who were too ashamed of her). Therefore, we realized that apart from treatment, Rita needed compassion which was missing in her life.
After treatment, Rita is happy and does not feel the need to do Heroin or indulge in other drugs. She is now living with her family members, who have realized their mistake. Her depression is gone, and she now has a boyfriend who loves her for the beautiful person she is.
Final Thoughts
Rita’s story tells us the importance of rehab for mental health issues and addiction that take a compassionate approach to treatment. It also tells us that if you fail once, it is possible that your problem was never understood correctly. Therefore, it is worth trying again and aiming for recovery instead of giving up on life and living in darkness.
