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INTRODUCTION : This site was established on 5-12-99. Last revision 8-7-99.
Added HealthlinksUSA to links.
Click hereto read my tribute to the soliers who lost their lives
in Vietnam. Hi. I am so glad you are here. My purpose for this page is to share my experiences with substance abuse and recovery in order to help another person who may be suffering. Included will be my personal story and links to sites I have found benificial. Since I believe recovery should focus not only on true recovery issuses but also on becoming a well rounded individual with varied intreasts, I will also include some of my favorite sites on humor and music. I would like to communicate and share ideas with
any one has been a resident, staff, or in any way involved in
halfway house work. If any one has any information on
the history of the Flynn Christian Fellowship Homes (halfway houses)
please contact me. Please bear in mind that Ive only had this computer
two months and am just learning how to do this. Thanks for coming and
keep coming back. It works if you work it. MY PERSONAL STORY First I would like to give you an idea of where I am at at the present time. I am 48 years old. I have been working on my second
marriage for six years. I have two stepchildren,one granddaughter
five years old and one grandson less than a year old. I have been
clean and sober since 11-29-92.I have been employed as the manager
of a halfway house since 1997.I have been working on certification
as a substance abuse counselor for the past two years. Hopefully, I will
complete this in July of 2000.My goal is to get my certification and
continue to work at the halfway house. I feel like this is
the place for me at the present time. My substance abuse problems began in high school.The usual innocent
start, drinking beer at parties and just out with friends.
I had my first run in with the law at Myrtle Beach, S.C. for
drinking in public at age 16. My really heavy use of alcohol
and drugs began in the Army. Beer was cheap and more readily
avalible. We even had beer machines in the barracks.
Also I had my first real exposure to the world of drug use.
To my knowledge drugs had not really hit small town western
North Carolina at that time, 1969. It seemed to me that every
one was either drunk or doing some kind of drug while I
was in the service. To my surprise the first time I went home
on leave the same thing was happening at home. In the
service, I became heavily involved in pot,LSD, pills
and of course alcohol.I fulfilled my military obligation
and decided to do the hippy thing. About 6 months out
of the service I got my first DWI. Funny thing was I had
not had anything to drink. Too much pot and LSD that day.
I thought no big deal. Ill just do my year, keep on driving,
no problem here. Well about two years later, I got my second DWI.
This resulted in a four year loss of my driving liscense.
This was a bigger problem, but it wasnt my fault, just bad luck.
Besides, if I can go two years I can have a hearing and
get my liscense back.I'll just keep on driving, just
not do it while I am drinking or high. Of course I continued
to drive messed up. Just before my two years were up I got
stopped for driving while my liscense was revoked.
Luckly I was sober at the time. It did cost me the extra two
years, plus an additional year for the revocation.
Still the problem was not me and my use. It just wasn't fair
that was all. I'll just get married. She can drive me around.
About this time I had finished college and I got a good job.
I worked at it for 15 years and was resonably succesfull.
My drug and alcohol use continued though. As the years
went by, I did cut back to at home use and weekend parties.
Never went to work drunk or high just hungover. At the
age of 42 my wife and I split up. Now that I was not tied down
to her I could get out more. After about one year I got my next
and last DWI. That night in the county jail I had a moment of
clarity. Alcohol and drugs were causing most
of my problems and the way to get better was to quit using them.
This was the first time in my life I had ever seriously
thought about quitting. Sure I had had the day after thoughts
I prayed to GOD to help me out of this legal situation, which HE did,
and to help me quit using, which HE did. It was hard at first.
I was all alone, no support. I didnt even think about AA, NA
or any kind of treatment. I was just doing it own
my own. All I thought about was getting out the DWI.
It just about drove me crazy. I isolated from all my old friends
and places I used to go. People, places and things,
I guess it just was instinct. About two months after my DWI,
I met my present wife, which was the real blessing.
She got me in touch with my HIGHER POWER, although I didn't
call HIM that at that time. She kept telling me GOD
would work it out. About this same time I had a career change
that eventually led me to working with the halfway house.
The halfway house is where I learned about AA and NA. I was so
dumb that I thought the chips were poker chips. It had to
be God working for me to get that job. It has added so much
to my recovery. I found that I had done a lot of what the
12 steps recommend before I became involved with AA. I had
admitted I had a problem for the first time. I asked GOD to
help me for the first time. I tried to make ammends to people
that I had wronged. I forgave people that I thought had
wronged me. Thats how I know it works. I got clean and sober
in November of 92 and have stayed that was since. Thank You LORD.
Three things stand out in retrospect. One,I isolated myself.
This was good in a way but would not have worked in the long run.
We need other people. They just need to be the right ones.
Two,I wanted to do it my way. My way got me where I was at.
I had no experience in recovery. I was just lucky.
Three, I was good at making excuses. If I had not become
involved in a recovery program I am sure I would have
eventually found a good excuse to use. God was with me. I must
never forget that.
Now,if you will, please check out my favorite links below and
please sign my guestbook. Thanks.
Links to other sites on the Web
www.crackbusters.com SELF HELP BOOK ON CRACK COCAINE
THAT YOU CAN DOWNLOAD FOR FREE.
© 1997 dmanuh1@aol.com
