heroin addiction — Recovery Stories

Journeys Into and Out of Heroin Addiction, Part 1:

March 8, 2021

Common themes that resonate about people’s journeys into and out of heroin addiction, and common factors that influence these journeys. This first part focuses on the descent into addiction (5,300 words).

Journeys Into and Out of Heroin Addiction, Part 2

March 8, 2021

Focuses on living with addiction and covers such topics as relationships, changes in personality and lifestyle, hustling, crime and prison, impact on health, and treatment (5,900 words).

Stopping Heroin Use Without Treatment

March 8, 2021

Research by Patrick Biernacki reveals important insights into how people recover from heroin addiction. It also illustrates the major challenges that people with a heroin addiction face on their journey to recovery (2,200 words).

‘Hope is the Word That Can Free Us From Addiction’ by o2b3

March 4, 2021

One of the things I will be doing on this website is to ‘bring back’ some of the classic blogs from Wired In To Recovery.

People who know me will tell you that I always keep banging on about hope. Yes, hope is essential for recovery! Here’s a real powerful blog about hope which o2b3 submitted to Wired In To Recovery back in 2010.

‘I always thought that the word hope didnʼt apply to me! From where I come from I was never shown or given any hope. I was always put down and told, ‘Thereʼs no hope for you. You are no good. Youʼre bad, you are a liar. You are worthless and rotten to the core.’

Read More ➔

Category: Blog Tags: freedom, heroin addiction, honesty, hope, NA, recovery, story, Wired In To Recovery

Russell Brand: my life without drugs

September 25, 2014

A great article in the Guardian by Russell Brand. He’s doing some great work.

‘Russell Brand has not used drugs for 10 years. He has a job, a house, a cat, good friends. But temptation is never far away. He wants to help other addicts, but first he wants us to feel compassion for those affected.

The last time I thought about taking heroin was yesterday. I had received “an inconvenient truth” from a beautiful woman. It wasn’t about climate change – I’m not that ecologically switched on – she told me she was pregnant and it wasn’t mine.

I had to take immediate action. I put Morrissey on in my car as an external conduit for the surging melancholy, and as I wound my way through the neurotic Hollywood hills, the narrow lanes and tight bends were a material echo of the synaptic tangle where my thoughts stalled and jammed.

John Dolan: from homeless addict to street artist and author

July 20, 2014

Here’s a wonderful article about street artist John Dolan and his dog George which appeared recently in the UK Guardian.

‘Aged 10, John Dolan was told a family secret, which set him on the road to crime, addiction and homelessness. Now his life is transformed, thanks to his dog, George, and a gift for drawing

Anyone who has strolled down Shoreditch High Street in east London in the past few years will probably have seen John Dolan drawing, with a cup for coins on the pavement beside his dog.

A tourist from New Zealand browsing an art gallery nearby is typical of many of us: she stops in surprise when she sees a sketch by Dolan on display. “I saw this guy in the street the other day, just opposite,” she says. “I wish I’d stopped now and talked to him.”

Excerpt from Anna’s Recovery Story: ‘Should I or shouldn’t I?’

February 14, 2014

Through his heroin addiction and recovery, Anna’s brother has taught her so much about life, including the most valuable lesson she could ever learn – you can get through anything.

“… there’s no way I can tell this story without saying that my brother is truly the most inspirational person I know. I am in awe of who he is and what he’s achieved. He has taught me so much about life, including the most valuable lesson I could ever possibly learn – that you can get through anything.”

‘6. Emotional release
My parents could see that I wasn’t really coping with what was happening and they convinced me to go and see a counsellor. I went to see a very expensive psychologist for three sessions. The first two sessions were spent crying and telling the same story I’d told everyone else a thousand times.

Life as a Heroin Addict: Introduction

January 31, 2014

I was going through our old Wired In YouTube channel and saw that one of our videos – made by Jon Kerr-Smith and Lucie James – now had 0ver 290,000 views. Quite proud of that.

This video is part of a series that Jon and Lucie made with our friends in South Wales: ‘In this series we will be looking at different aspects of heroin addiction, treatment and recovery, as told by the addicts themselves.”

You can find the other videos on our channel. Enjoy!

Category: Blog Tags: harm reduction, heroin addiction, jon kerr-smith, lucie james, recovery, south wales, treatment, views

‘Heroin Addiction, a Mother’s Story’ by Kim

January 16, 2014

It’s time I put up another blog from Veronica Valli and the following from Kim is special… and very moving.

‘Addiction doesn’t just affect the person using drugs it affects the whole family. I know because I lived through my daughter Kayela’s addiction to heroin.

We raise our children and its hard work, changing diapers and heating formula and lining up daycare, the first day of school and homework we don’t understand.

We care for them until they are ready to go off in the world and we can only hope that we did the right thing, made all the right choices.

Read More ➔

Category: Blog Tags: daughter, heroin addiction, loss, overdose, prison, witness

What Works in Treatment?: Sapphire’s Story, Part 1

October 31, 2013

Sapphire’s Story shows the importance of person-centered treatment. Things went well when Sapphire was intimately involved in decisions about her treatment, but poorly when professionals took sole control. We’ll look at various stages of Sapphire’s treatment career.

Sapphire was being prescribed methadone for her heroin addiction, but as the dose was not high enough she was suffering withdrawal symptoms. To counter the discomfort of this withdrawal, she was purchasing methadone on the street and using benzodiazepines. Then a problem arose from her urine sample:

‘When I was 25, my urine screening revealed that I was taking benzos and the CDT sent me to a shared care GP who was to prescribe my methadone and benzos. At my first appointment, I decided to be honest and tell the GP about the methadone I was buying, and how bad my benzo use had become.

Most visited content: Nos 10 – 6

October 23, 2013

And the drum rolls as we enter the top ten most viewed content on recovery Stories.

10. Journeys into and out of heroin addiction, Part 2, is an article I wrote that focuses on living with addiction and covers such topics as relationships, changes in personality and lifestyle, hustling, crime and prison, impact on health, and treatment .

9. Opiate detox: methadone or suboxone by Peapod is the third part of Peapod’s Recovery Guide. Peapod was the most visited blogger on Wired In To Recovery.

Read More ➔

Category: Blog Tags: culture, detox, heroin addiction, journeys, methadone, recovery, speech, suboxone

Most visited content: Nos 11 – 15

October 22, 2013

I continue our list of the most viewed content on this website, this time focusing on those that just missed the top ten.

15. Beth’s Recovery Story: ‘Becoming Beth’ tells the story of a young lady who says, “I really shouldn’t be here.” Beth was dependent on alcohol by age 19, had an eating disorder, anxiety condition… and more. Now she is in recovery, running Smyls, a solution-based service to help other people.

14. Stopping heroin use without treatment is an article I wrote focusing on Patrick Biernarki’s research in the mid-1980s into how 101 heroin addicts gave up using their drug without accessing treatment. Far too few people know about this seminal research.

‘Falling From a Pink Cloud (and Learning How to Fall Correctly)’ from Zenith Chasing

September 20, 2013

I can’t resist putting on another of Erica’s blogs from Zenith Chasing. This is her latest, more powerful writing. Thank you, Erica.

‘Recent events have snapped me back into reality, my pink cloud had officially dissipated, if you could even call it that… I guess that given my predisposition towards the negative, it makes sense that my personal pink cloud would be miniature sized. Fun sized? I guess the latter sounds a little nicer, and chewier somehow (I’m thinking of nougat.)

Abstract ruminations and manic tangents aside, I feel like shit. Just found out that another friend of mine, albeit not as close a friend as T, but someone I have known since I was 17, died this week. Rest in Peace LES Jewels – I will miss you buddy. This is certainly the end of an era for the Lower East Side.

Zenth Chasing: This will serve as an introduction

September 19, 2013

This is a picture of me though I change my hair a lot so I may not look like this anymore, you get the general idea. That is my friends kitty.

This is some really powerful writing – first of her blogs – from Erica on her website Zenith Chasing. Erica contacted me this week.

The intro to the website reads: ‘A twenty-something, female, east-coast transplant, creatively inclined, dirt poor, recovering addict documents her struggles and triumphs as she claws her way towards her dream of a happy and productive life in San Francisco.’

‘I’ve been waiting for the right time to write my first post and I guess today makes sense because today I’m fucking up. I am about to relapse, I know this yet I cannot seem to stop myself. I’ve been trying to get a hold of my dealer since last night. He is notoriously difficult to get on the phone which is probably to my benefit right now, but I know that if he had been available I would have gotten high last night, so my current sobriety is not for lack of effort to the contrary.

Anna’s Moment of Clarity

September 17, 2013

Anna’s brother had developed a heroin addiction and she was becoming overwhelmed by the whole situation.

In her Recovery Story, here’s the lead up to Anna’s Moment of Clarity:

‘After this incident in the city, I became unhealthily obsessed with finding out as much as I could about heroin, as well as trying to monitor my brother’s behaviour and uncover his lies. I read every book I could get my hands on, including a few books I’d had as a teenager – Go Ask Alice, Junky and H: Diary of a Heroin Addict.

‘Stuck not broke’ by AntiHero79

July 27, 2013

Hello, as this is my first entry I’ll (try to) keep it short. I am two and a half years into my recovery. I’d love to say that it’s all plain sailing, but in fact has been the darkest and most confusing time of my life up to now.

“I always knew I was different”… Well it’s true, I did. Always felt apart, weird, somehow isolated from even my closest friends. I had a rough childhood, no doubt about it, and when I found drink and drugs it was like I was liberated.

My first round of addiction (to cannabis, from age 14 – 15) saw me walking round school in a virtual coma. In retrospect, it must’ve looked like there was something severely wrong with me. There was, I know now. As a nine year old, I was molested by a family ‘friend’. It was reported to the police but stopped there. Lack of evidence.

Read More ➔

Category: Blog Tags: 12-step, abuse, disability, emotions, heroin addiction, recovery, story, trauma

A Remarkable Reinvention

July 23, 2013

Former model Tovah Cottle transformed her life from being a drug addict in jail to designing fashion for the catwalk. Check out a longer version of Tovah’s story on Australian Story.

Category: Blog Tags: fashion designer, fashion model, film, heroin addiction, prison, recovery, story, tovah cottle

Journeys into and out of Heroin Addiction, Part 3: Trying to Stop

July 17, 2013

The decision to stop using drugs is fundamental to the process of recovery from addiction. It is the initial part of the process by which people overcome a drug addiction.

However, whilst making the decision to quit is of great importance, it does not follow that the person will in fact stop using and maintain this abstinence for a prolonged period or indefinitely. There are a wide variety of factors that influence ‘stopping’ and ‘staying stopped’.

In looking at a person’s decision to stop using heroin, we must consider the external reality and circumstances of their life, as well as the internal thought processes that occur when they make the decision to stop.

‘A Personal Story’ by Wee Willie Winkie

June 29, 2013

‘I’m 33 years old. I started taking drugs from ten years old and, apart from a three and a half year stint in the army, took them continuously right up to the age of 30. This included 11 years as a heroin addict.

During this time, I felt totally isolated and alone in the world, and completely worthless. After a few years I was desperate. I’d overdosed a couple of times and, at this point in my life, I’d have welcomed death with open arms. It never came, so I decided to help it along a bit.

Luckily, it didn’t work but at the time I just didn’t know what to do. Eventually, I decided that this was my life and to try make the best of it I could. I ended up living in the woods for a year. I could never see myself living in shop doorways.

Read More ➔

Category: Blog Tags: education, heroin addiction, isolation, methadone, prison, recovery, smart

Journeys Into and Out of Heroin Addiction, Part 1:

Journeys Into and Out of Heroin Addiction, Part 2

Stopping Heroin Use Without Treatment

‘Hope is the Word That Can Free Us From Addiction’ by o2b3

Russell Brand: my life without drugs

John Dolan: from homeless addict to street artist and author

Excerpt from Anna’s Recovery Story: ‘Should I or shouldn’t I?’

Life as a Heroin Addict: Introduction

‘Heroin Addiction, a Mother’s Story’ by Kim

What Works in Treatment?: Sapphire’s Story, Part 1

Most visited content: Nos 10 – 6

Most visited content: Nos 11 – 15

‘Falling From a Pink Cloud (and Learning How to Fall Correctly)’ from Zenith Chasing

Zenth Chasing: This will serve as an introduction

Anna’s Moment of Clarity

‘Stuck not broke’ by AntiHero79

A Remarkable Reinvention

Journeys into and out of Heroin Addiction, Part 3: Trying to Stop

‘A Personal Story’ by Wee Willie Winkie

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