The turning point for me was when I ended up back in jail for about the tenth time. My father was going to disown me, and I lost everything - all my possessions, respect, and trust. The only thing I could see in my future was death. I overcame the challenges by getting honest with myself and others, staying open minded and willing to do the work to do things differently. Since being in recovery, I have been able to accomplish things I never thought would happen. With the help of Cayuga Addict...   read more »

I started using marijuana when I was 11 years old. I was angry and felt sad due to being abused by my father, and a female babysitter. I later found out that he was not my real father. One drug led to another... I started sniffing cocaine and drinking. It made me feel good -- so I thought. I managed to graduate high school in 1981. I went to college got married and was introduced to crack cocaine. It was called freebasing at that time. This drug took me down. I stopped everything positive in...   read more »

The stress from work and college was the start of my addiction. This is when I began to drink heavily. I came down with a very severe case of Crohns disease during college and was hospitalized for 37 days, and had a very major operation done -- where my entire large intestine was removed. I was shot full of strong opiates in the hospital the entire time, and became very addicted. When I got home from the hospital I began to abuse lore tabs, xanax, and other kinds of pills. Eventually I got t...   read more »

I got married to straighten my life out but, but got a divorce after 13 years in the relationship. I also have a son. My recovery started in Blasdale in Rockland county at the St. Christopher Inn. Then I went to the Bolger halfway house, ITAP mental health program and a house of support living all together for a 34 month period. I don't want to stop. This is the best time of my life especially after all the damage that I created in my life and to others.   read more »

My name is Dean. I’m 36 years old and I am recovery! I am still alive today only by the grace of God and quite possibly as a direct result of the services offered and provided by McPike ATC in Utica, NY. I used cocaine daily for 15 years of my life. But on July 7, 2007, I decided to get help and was able to, thanks to McPike. Treatment changed my life forever. McPike showed me how to live a life worth living. Before I hadn’t been truly living at all. To this day, I am amazed at the impact an...   read more »

My turning point was when I realized that it was possible to stay clean and not allow this time in treatment to be just another go-around. It also helped when I came to understand the physiological effects of my addiction, and it wasn’t just that I was a bad person. That happened while I was at Cayuga Addiction Recovery Services (CARS). I overcame the challenges by asking for help and allowing myself to take suggestions. I want people to know that recovery is possible and that there is more th...   read more »

I think my recovery actually started after I had been to a few alcoholics anonymous meetings and heard some other people’s stories. Also, being surrounded by sober, positive people has helped. I tried to always stay positive and I learned to love it. Learning acceptance has alsoo been very helpful. I would like to share that recovery is possible and that if I can get through without using drugs and alcohol that anybody can do it. My life now is golden. It's so much better when I can actu...   read more »

I am 21 years old an I have been an addict for as long as I can remember. My mother, who has supported me through all of my addictions, says it as in me when I was born, a defective gene that she has been able to overcome. Same with my brother, who has been in and out of treatment, and my sister, who I pray will learn from our mistakes. I used to laugh when people said pot was the "gateway drug." But I don't laugh anymore. I am a poly-addict, with my drug of choice being Oxycontin and drugs of...   read more »

My name is Judy D. and I am in recovery from substance abuse. You might hear that all the time. I know I do. I am a certified alcohol and drug counselor. I didn't give up and succumb to my wayward living. I was broken and today I know that it was by perfect design. Sure my story is very interesting, but more than that, mine is more of a story of death - and living to tell about it. I have given life to two children (both grown now), who know my story and encourage me to expose the truth abo...   read more »

I had not been "new" to recovery when the legal justice system mandated me for 12 months to long-term treatment. I knew what I needed to do, and that recovery was an "inside" job, but I kept looking toward "outside" things to "fix" me. I had relapsed after 5 1/2 years clean, despite what the statistics say about being clean and staying clean if you make 5 years or better, and felt hopeless, like I would never be able to overcome this addiction, ever. I had been arrested numerous times for dr...   read more »