Family members don’t seem to be included at all in rehab programs (which I think is completely ridiculous) and I have been listening to as many podcasts as I can find. My name is Tucker Allgood, and I am an alcoholic addict. I am 24 years old and have been clean and sober since December 14, 2012. My life since entering into long term recovery has been filled with many blessings that I never thought were possible. After seventy days, I was discharged and was soon able to return to work under a monitoring contract with PHS.

I was angry, scared and humiliated that I was being, what I felt, forced to a facility that I didn’t really need. Within a week, my attitude of « just calming down my drinking » became « I am an alcoholic, I can’t drink socially, and my past does not define my future. » Since I have gotten sober my life actually has meaning to it. I no longer drift by day by day trying to find drugs. I have goals, ambitions and a desire to enjoy life now. My sobriety means everything to me because it unlocked the door to my future.

Recovery Stories: How 4 Celebrities Overcame Substance Abuse and Are Now Inspiring Others

My entire life I had been the “party girl,” the girl who loves red wine, the fun friend that you went out & drank with. That’s who I had been since I was 16 years old. I grieved the person I’ve always been. Recovery has changed my life by showing me a happier way of life. While I was in my active addiction, I missed so many things with my family.

I received a DUI and few other citations. My Attorney told me the story of his Nanny going into Valley Hope years ago and has Selecting the Most Suitable Sober House for Addiction Recovery been clean for 8 yrs. When he mentioned entering inpatient for 30 days, I said I can’t do that, my business will be lost.

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My approach to recovery is unique in some ways. I use some tough love mixed with facts and the reality of addiction but at the same time hearing, listening, and understanding those who haven’t had much success in recovery. When you share with others it shows that this can happen for you also.

I am an active member in my home group and sponsor others when the opportunity arises. I speak whenever I’m asked to and just do what I can. Right after I got sober some of the men in my group started a men’s campout and fishing trip.

Lakota Culture and Spirituality as a Path to Recovery

Returning a year later to pick up my cup at Valley Hope was so wonderful. It has been an interesting journey of self-discovery. I am much more comfortable in my own skin now which I didn’t think would ever be possible. Valley Hope cup is inspired by the song lyric “The future’s so bright, I gotta wear shades.” Every day that I stay clean and sober gives me the opportunity to have brighter days. My cup holds all of my monthly medallions from my first year, along with a prayer coin and a worry stone given to me by a special friend I met at an AA meeting. I keep my cup just above my computer at home and look at it daily.

• Other things were making me happy again.
• I am living proof that if you truly want to, you can change.
• The short answer is that my symptoms for the 3 years prior to getting sober aligned with the DSM-5’s Severe Alcohol Use Disorder.
• Then, he had phone calls from rehab with director Spike Lee, whose film “Jungle Fever” was the first role Jackson says he ever played sober.

My son would leave Friday night and spend the weekend with his grandparents. I took this as the time to drink until I threw up or blacked out. And I blacked out every single time I drank.