I was more than ready to start a new life when I went to A Forever Recovery. I was ready to get off drugs, was ready to stop doing everything I’d been doing that was harmful to myself and others. When I went to AFR, I was hopeful yet, also not. I wanted to get off drugs but, I wasn’t convinced that it was something I could really do. Just the fact that I really did want to get clean helped me. I was ore receptive to doing the program and doing the work on myself that I needed to. While I was at AFR I learned how to navigate my life and my choices so that I didn’t fall back into old habits. I finished my program at AFR 6 months ago, and I’m still sober. I’m also more stable than I’ve been, which is just as important to me. During my program, I learned a lot about myself. I learned why I’d been doing the things I had, why I’d been making those choices, what my triggers were and what reactions I had to them. I learned how to take a step back, reevaluate things and then deal with the issue the right way, before I got to a point where I wanted to use. It can be hard to stay sober after rehab. For me, it was because I always had the thought in the back of my mind that every single thing that was going wrong, every problem I was having, could be completely swept away if I used. I knew the problem itself wouldn’t go away but, I also knew that I wouldn’t care anymore. So, while I was at AFR, I learned how to deal with things before they got to the point where I wanted that escape. While I was going through my program, I decided that I didn’t want to go home to my parent’s house. With everything I learned at AFR I could have gone home and stayed sober but, I had family in Colorado, and I decided that starting over somewhere new would be easier and less stressful for me. I’ve always had a hard time asking for help, I always felt like if I asked for help, I was failing at whatever it was. So, I’d try to do everything on my own and I’d fail anyways. When I was going through my program, I realized that staying sober was something I wasn’t going to be able to do without help and that the bigger support system I had, the easier it would be for me. So, while I was at AFR, I asked my aunt and uncle for their help and they’ve been amazing. They had rules but, they’ve let me come stay with them, my uncle helped me find a job that I started 5 days after getting here and really, things couldn’t be better in my life right now. I never imagined my life could be like this before I went to AFR. I wasn’t convinced I’d ever get off drugs completely so for me to be sober for this long and to be doing this good, it’s amazing. Going to AFR was a life changer and I’m so grateful for all the help that I got while I was there. It's an amazing place, with amazing programs and I couldn’t have found a better place to get the help I needed.

Going to A Forever Recovery was the hardest experience of my life. It was also the most worthwhile one. My problem with opiates started when I was 19. I started taking pain pills, then moved to heroin and started taking Xanax as well. When I was 23 my parents convinced me to get help and I went to a rehab they’d chosen for me. At that rehab I was put on Suboxone to help me through detox and was weaned off it. The Suboxone helped me so much, it felt like a miracle drug to me. Taking it allowed me to feel normal again but, what was even better was that I didn’t have the urge to use when I was taking it. So, when I relapsed after leaving that rehab, I went to a doctor and asked to be put on Suboxone. Which I stayed on for 4 years. My life improved a lot in those years. By taking the Suboxone my life was almost completely normal. I could go to work; I kept a steady job and I could go out with friends without the worry that I’d do something stupid and start using again. I was still taking something for my addiction, and I knew that I couldn’t stay on it forever. So, after 4 years, I decided that it was time to get off the Suboxone. Which was really hard for me. I knew it wouldn’t be easy but, I was taking a very low dose of Suboxone and I thought that would help me. I wasn’t able to handle the withdrawal symptoms at all, so I started taking Percocet. Percocet has a much shorter half-life than Suboxone does. My plan was to take the Percocet until the Suboxone was completely out of my system and then tough out the rest of the withdrawal. I’m not really the tough it out type though so I continued taking the Percocet until I was right back where I started, addicted to pain pills. I started looking into rehabs and after finding A Forever Recovery, I asked my parents to help me get there. Going to AFR wasn’t easy but, I was determined to make my life my own again and I felt that AFR was my best chance at that. The staff at AFR helped me a lot. It was hard for me, especially in the beginning. Most drug addicts are master manipulators and I was no different. It might have been necessary for me to be in a place where I couldn’t manipulate anyone but, that didn’t make it any easier for me. I was so used to manipulating people and situations to get my way that being in a place where I couldn’t, it was hard for me to deal with at first and it was a painful adjusting period. The approach that AFR takes with rehabilitation helped me a lot. The different programs they have at AFR meant that I wasn’t doing some cookie cutter approach to my treatment. I wasn’t doing the same as everyone else just because that was all they had. The counselors at AFR helped me find the program that was right for me, the program that would help me the most and that was the SMART program. Which has helped me so much. I’ve changed so much since going to AFR. I got to AFR in November of 2018 and stayed for just over 10 weeks. I got home in January of 2019 and I’ve stayed sober since getting home. Staying at AFR through Thanksgiving and Christmas wasn’t exactly fun. The staff worked hard to make the holidays nice, and I spent it with good friends instead of family but, it's not the same as spending the holidays with your family. It was worth it though. My family has always allowed me to spend the holidays with them, even when I was using. Yesterday was the first Christmas that I’ve spent with them, completely sober, since I was 19. I can’t thank the staff enough for what they’ve helped me achieve. I have over 12 months sober and it’s because of the hard work that the staff at AFR made sure I did. Going through the program at AFR really was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life, it was worth it though.

My parents convincing me to go to A Forever Recovery was the best thing that could have happened. When my parents found AFR and started talking to me about it, I was pretty much done with trying to get sober. I was pretty close to becoming suicidal and I didn't want to go to yet another rehab that I felt certain wouldn't help me. When I did finally agree to go to AFR, I didn't go there because I thought it would help. I honestly hoped that my parents would finally give up on me if I relapsed after another rehab again. I wanted them to understand that I was beyond hope and the only way to do that was to agree to go to rehab again. I went to AFR 9 months ago, and surprisingly, I loved it there. They have people working at AFR who've been addicted to drugs themselves and that helped me a lot throughout my program. Having people to talk to, who understood why I was so close to giving up but, who wouldn't let me not try, was exactly what I needed. I did the SMART program while at AFR, they have different programs there but, the SMART program was the one I was most interested in. Not doing another 12-step program was also great. I went to AFR 9 months ago, was able to stay there for 2 months and I've been home for 7 months now. Because of the program, the people and the length of my stay while at AFR, I'm still sober. I can't believe how good I feel right now. I'm in charge of my own life again and it's an amazing experience. My parents convincing me to go to AFR saved my life.