From the outside Gregg looked like he had it handled — a family, a career, a wife he'd known since middle school. Underneath it he was doing cocaine every single day, and had been for years. He'll tell you he never fit the picture of what people imagine an addict looks like. He wasn't running around wired; cocaine actually quieted the chaos in his head, turned down the noise, and let him not feel. And once he started, he couldn't stop.
For about two and a half to three years he used daily, isolating, trying to solve the problem himself without ever saying it out loud to another person. His marriage was going south, his self-worth was gone, and he'd gotten to the point where he couldn't even look at himself in the mirror to shave. Then, in the middle of a run, he had a seizure and woke up on the floor, ending up in the hospital. And even that didn't stop him — he kept using for days afterward.
His actual bottom came quietly, sitting on his son's Little League bench, unable to keep his eyes open, thinking to himself what a piece of garbage he'd become. A few days later, something a podcast host said cut through: you can't start to fix the problem until you say it out loud to someone else. Gregg picked up the phone, called a friend who's now his sponsor, and for the first time felt the weight lift. That friend told him to go to treatment. He put up a fight for about thirty seconds — and then he went.
Now 1 year sober, Gregg has his marriage, his kids, and himself back — and he's learned that the drugs were never really the problem. They were his broken solution to a life he didn't know how to live.
This one is for the high-functioning addict who looks fine on the outside and is quietly falling apart.
If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction or mental health, you don’t have to do it alone. Reach out to my partners at Compassion Behavioral Health. They offer individualized care and a full continuum of treatment.
Call or Text: 844-443-5669
Visit: https: https://compassionbehavioralhealth.com/rise-above/
#RiseAbove #CocaineAddiction #1YearSober #RecoveryIsPossible #AddictionRecovery #SoberLife#HighFunctioningAddict #SobrietyJourney #MentalHealth #FatherhoodInRecovery #FromRockBottom #SoberDad#RiseAbovePodcast #KevinLanning #GreggHayim #SelfWorth #CocaineRecovery #OneDayAtATime #NewYorkRecovery #OneMoreThing
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
