Inspiring transformations of drug addicts before and after getting clean (25 Photos)
I struggled with addiction from the age of 16 to 28. The last 3 years I became addicted to heroin and crack cocaine. After hitting one bottom after another I finally went to treatment to try and take my life back. I have been sober 14 months now and I’ve never felt better.
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My name is Meghan and I’m an addict. I always used to say it took me about 4 years to lose everything to heroin, but that isn’t true. It took me exactly 30 seconds to lose it all. That’s how long it takes to pour a bag into a spoon, mix it into a shot, and jab it into your arm. It was all over from there.
All I ever wanted was another hit. My lowest point was when they took my daughter away. I couldn’t settle for that so I fought back. Getting clean was the most difficult thing I ever did. It takes a long time to undo all that damage, but I’ll get there. Clean and sober since 3-12-19.
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3 years 7 months and 26 days clean today! We do recover!
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6 years ago I made the decision to change my life after spending 3 days in a coma and on life support fighting for my life. I remember what it was like to not remember how it felt to laugh. I remember the days where I felt that I didn’t have a purpose. I remember the darkness of addiction and the places that it took me to.
It’s something that I will never forget and that I will spend the rest of my life trying to help other people escape. Today I am a mother and my daughter has never seen me in my addiction. I am a good friend, sister, sponsor and daughter. I celebrated my 21st birthday in recovery. I’ve been able to spend holidays and every single day being fully present.
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The first photo to the left was me in my active addiction, using meth, fentanyl, and just about anything I could get my hands on. Homeless, sleeping in cars, on sidewalks, behind dumpsters, or just about anywhere I could find. A complete prey to misery and depression—I was on the verge of suicide.
The picture to the right is me with 72 days clean. I have never felt so much better about myself than I do right now. I currently have 75 days clean and sober from all mind-altering substances. I am so very grateful for this program, the 12 steps, and my higher power, for they have brought light back into my life. I’m pregnant with my son as well, and he’s a huge motivation for my sobriety, but I’m staying clean for myself.
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I’ve lived through darker times than this and so have all of you. Heroin addiction had me living in isolation for 11 years. For as long as I can remember it was just my syringe and I. I’d crawl through the dark day after day in search of another vein to hit. I’d stumble through this world looking for hope that wasn’t there. I’ve been deprived of things for years because of a sickness.
I’ve searched desperately for any sign of who I used to be. I’ve lived for years waiting for a brighter tomorrow that never came. I’ve lived day after day needing just one more. Just one more and then I’ll get some help. Just one more and then I’ll change my life. Just one more and then I’ll stop making my mother cry. Just one more and then I’ll call my sponsor. Just one more and then I’ll do the steps. I’ll make it through this clean and so will all of you. Why? Because I’ve lived through darker times than this and so have all of you.
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Hey everyone my name Courtney and I’m a recovering alcoholic. On the left is me 35 days ago in the ICU at a .699 BAC. If my husband had gotten home 10 minutes later I would not be here today. He found me blue and not breathing with barely any pulse. Drinking finally brought me to my knees. I’ve been trying to get sober for a long time and I won’t give up until I make it. I’m doing it for my children, and most importantly for myself! This is me now with 35 days sober and I’ve never felt better.
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To the left is me at 160 pounds in the midst of an 8 year heroin and fentanyl addiction. To the right is me today at 210 pounds and 1 week away from celebrating my first year clean!
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It all started with depression. I just need a little something to help me stay awake.. a little something to make me happy. Adderall was my saving grace as i struggled through postpartum depression at 19 years old. Then came the drinking.. I couldn’t relax without a drink. 6 years flew by and I was taking anything I could get my hands on.. pills and weed mostly. I lost custody of my son and that’s when hell broke loose. That’s when I was introduced to meth. I mean.. what’s the point?
They took my child away from me, why even bother trying, right? I ended up homeless. Burnt every single bridge I had ever had in my life. Jumping from house to house with people I barely knew. I followed the drugs because the high numbed me. I didn’t feel the pain I had caused myself. I couldn’t see the the mess I had made my life, as long as I stayed high.
Until one day.. the drugs didn’t numb me anymore. I could feel the gut wrenching pain of missing my son and my family. I remember crying out to God. Praying, and almost meditating over the next several days. I ended up having some sort of spiritual awakening after that. My higher power came alive to me. He wasn’t this mystical character from a book anymore, he was real and he was alive.
I finally got the courage to call home and surprisingly, my mom who had a restraining order on me, said I could come home as long as I went to rehab. It’s been 5 years and 3 months since I got out of rehab. 5 years and 3 months entirely sober. Loving myself and my life. I am happily married and have full custody of my son again. We absolutely do recover. I am living proof.
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Today I have 30 days clean from heroin and meth!
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I had believed I would die with a needle in my arm and today I have two years sober! It’s possible to get sober, stay sober, and have an incredible life. My family didn’t talk to me and I had zero friends. That’s not the case today. By being willing to do what it takes to stay sober, I have learned that I’m wanted and loved — and so are you.
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For the past 6 years I’ve been lying, stealing, cheating, being manipulative, living in complete insanity. The picture on the left is from July 2019. I was at my worst hopeless, broken & lost. My life was out of control and I had no urge to stop. I would get everything back, just to lose it in 30 seconds. I ended up going to treatment in February and it was the best decision I’ve ever made. After countless detoxs, 6 treatment centers, 2 sober houses, I have 61 days clean today. We do recover!
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Hi, My name is Kelly I’m an alcoholic and an addict. On 4/23/19 I took my life back and finally realized that I was worth it. I’m the happiest I have ever been and I am not controlled by drugs or alcohol. I control my life with the skills and tools I have learned thanks to a great network of people. Today I celebrate one year sober! Together we do recover.
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Hello, My name is Destini and I am 28 years old. I am a mother with a 6-year-old daughter and, a 3-year-old son. My mother is writing this for me because I no longer can do things like this for myself. I was once like you. Young, beautiful, curious and invincible.
March 15th, 2018 after numerous attempts at trying to get clean, and numerous jail stays, I finally paid my final price. An overdose caused me to have 10 to 12 strokes on my brain. That’s the news my family received. A 2% chance of me waking up from a coma. If I did wake up what would be my quality of life? Would I even have any? The doctors tried to get them to give up, but they didn’t. A partial craniectomy was performed on me to accommodate the swelling on my brain. It worked. I survived. Today, I am 90% blind. I cannot walk unassisted. I need help with everyday tasks, and my short term memory is non-existent.
I hope after reading this you’ll make better choices than I did. If only I had known when I was younger how WRONG I was. Heroin destroyed my life. My children no longer have their mother. My mother no longer has her daughter. My baby sister no longer has her role model. I no longer recognize myself. This drug took everything from me.
Don’t let this demon conquer you! Slay it before it leaves you like it left me, or worse. I pray my story saves at least one life. I hope you’ll tell my story to your children, friends, neighbors, and co-workers.I believe God saved me for a reason.
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Hey! Today I have one year sober!
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We grew up watching Steve-O on MTV and nothing makes us happier than to be able to congratulate him on 12 years of sobriety! You inspired us and for that, we thank you!
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On January 1st, 2019, I woke up in a jail cell on suicide watch ready to be done with life. On January 1st, 2020, I woke up to my beautiful family, one year of solid sobriety and a brand-new career as a Licensed Medical Esthetician/Laser Technician. Shakespeare once said, “I cried when I had no shoes, but I stopped crying when I saw a man without legs.” Life is full of blessings and sometimes it takes almost losing life to value it.
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From a 115 pound man stuck in meth addiction to 13 months clean and sober. I have been given my life back. I am now a lead electrician and I’m pursuing a college degree to become an LCDC drug counselor. I pray my next journey in life will be helping others that were where I once was.
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A few months ago, I was on the streets. I had given up hope and was dying from an infection on my heart as a result of shooting up. Today, I have found recovery. I had open heart surgery and triumphed through the darkest time of my life. I now have 107 days of sobriety. We do recover!
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Following my mum’s death on Christmas day, I had a 10 year downwards spiral with alcohol and drug addiction. This eventually lead to me fighting for my life in hospital. I have since turned my life around by choosing the life of sobriety. It has been a tough but rewarding process for me!
I am now buzzing off life in recovery and helping other addicts, alcoholics, and people with mental health issues. My recovery is the most important thing I have. I want to share it with other people, to help them and show them there is a way out of addiction. I am now happy, motivated, sober, and living my best life in sobriety!
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Drugs took my daughter from me. Recovery gave her back to me and blessed me with 2 more kids. Drugs took the love from my heart. Recovery gave me a husband to love and who loves me in return. Drugs took my job. Recovery gave me a career I love and so much hope for my future. Drugs took my apartment. Recovery gave me a place to call home. Drugs took my possessions. Recovery gave me more than enough and everything I need. Drugs took my self respect. Recovery taught me boundaries and how to love myself. Drugs made me selfish. Recovery has taught me to think of others, and how my decisions impact everyone around me.
Drugs took everything from me. I was completely empty physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Through God, recovery has given me back EVERYTHING I lost, and more than I ever dreamed of having before addiction. I am so grateful that my addiction didn’t take my life for good, and today I humbly celebrate 6 years of sobriety. If you’re buried in your addiction, please get help! Please find God. Please find recovery before God calls you home. Life is so much better on the other side. Not perfect, but so much better.
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The picture on the left is me in 2016. For 5 years I was a homeless drug addict living on the streets of Philadelphia. The old me didn’t even know recovery existed. The picture on the right is my son and I the day I graduated from drug court!
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Two and a half years ago I got sober and changed my life. I don’t care if I have to stay in quarantine for 6 months, I’m not throwing my recovery away for anything!
