http://aarc.ab.ca/without-aarc-i-would-not-be-where-i-am-today/
Drug use became a problem in my life around my 13th birthday. I started off smoking marijuana and drinking and this quickly became a part of my life in all aspects. I used at school where I once had a good opportunity to learn trades I was interested in. I gave up sports that I was passionate about and my family relationships became nonexistent.
I entered treatment at AARC April 20th 2007, and it was the last place I wanted to be. I knew drugs had taken over my life but years of heavy cocaine and crack abuse had left me hopeless. I was suicidal and had attempted detox and treatment four times with no success. I had given up and was ready to die. I saw nothing left for me. My life was destroyed, I had health problems, criminal charges in Canada and Australia, I had no friends left and I thought my family relationships were a lost cause. I felt unlovable and worthless.
My 18th birthday was 10 weeks away from my intake date and I was fixated on that. There was nothing more I wanted to do than sign-out of AARC and use. Slowly I started to see what AARC offered; it was what I didn’t have and what I wanted. I worked on my step 1 processing the emotion and hurt of my addiction and broke through my denial one day at a time. AARC offered me a tremendous amount of support meeting with Dr. Vause almost every Saturday. He and the other AARC staff guided me to a better life where I built good relationships and got back my losses from my addiction. I graduated the program February 2nd 2008 a new man with a positive self esteem and the confidence to live the live I wanted.
Today I am getting close to being six year sober. I worked at AARC for nearly two years and left June 2012 to continue working in addiction at another treatment centre. I recently started a program through McMaster University to continue education in addiction counseling. I have loving relationship, a good self esteem, a great job and the feeling I am making a difference in the world helping those who went through the same struggles as me.
AARC is a tough program but one that works and from what I know from my experience and studying addiction it is one of the hardest things to overcome. I am very grateful for the AARC staff, grateful to have once been an AARC staff and grateful for the life I have today. I know without AARC I would not be where I am today.
Fraser M.
Graduate 369