by Belinda Brown

Created on: May 03, 2008

. I think that anyone who has an addiction, whether it is heroin, alcohol or meth, can beat the addiction if they truly wanted to. I myself was an addict and my drug of choice was ice. It was a long struggle for me, one that I had to do alone. One thing that I learnt is that addiction is a very personal battle and that the only person who can truly help you to quit the habit is yourself.

I had booked myself into rehab on so many occasions that I have lost count. After an extremely bad drug induced psychosis, where I was taken to a psychiatric hospital, a medical professional had told my mom that I was beyond help and would probably be dead in two years. Seeing my mom walk into the room to see me in tears was probably my biggest turning point. I went out and scored for the last time, and then I went home and had a good hard look at my sore incrusted face and realized that I would be dead in six months, not two, if I didn't change. I decided that the only thing that was going to help me is to get away from people who were influenced by drugs. I changed my phone number, I gave my key card to my mom, with instructions that no matter the circumstance, do not give me the card back! I locked myself up in my bedroom for two weeks. I refused to see anyone and the only person who even dared to come near me was my mom to try and get me to eat or drink something. When I felt ready, I emerged from my bedroom, but still wouldn't go out for at least six weeks.

Two months later, I was still clean and feeling a bit more in control of my life. I decided it was the time to start picking up the pieces and get myself back on track. I got a job working at a steam laundry, where I met a new group of friends who were drug free, and I started buying new clothes and repaying my mom back for everything that I had stolen off her. I had a healthy social life and I felt good about myself, something that I hadn't felt for a very long time.

I met my husband while I was working at the steam laundry, and he helped me a lot with coping with my addiction. Four years later, we have a healthy little girl together and I am proud and happy to say that I am clean and living my life to the fullest.

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