Stephanie Gets 4 Years Sober! Everyone Say Congrats!

My name is Stephanie, and I am a recovering alcoholic and addict.

I remember how miserable I was when I was using and drinking. Getting sober isn’t nearly as hard as keeping up with our lives when we are out there drinking or using.

It’s amazing how different I am today, nearly four years later.

Through Bradford Health Services, AA, my family, my new (real) friends, and my AA sponsor, I gained my life back.

In treatment, they told me I had to seek a new set of friends. Those friends in my past that drank and used with me weren’t my real friends. That isn’t easy to do, but I promise it’s possible. If I can do this, I know you can too. The first step toward recovery is to admit that we have a problem. Admit powerlessness, and allow God, or your Higher Power to work in your life.

When you do, you’ll be amazed at the life you never thought you could or would have!

My first drink was my ninth grade summer. I got my first DUI at the age of 20. It got dropped after spending tons of money on credit cards to hire a lawyer. I met a guy that loved to drink and take pills. I lived with him, and soon I was engaged to him. He was an angry and abusive man. I shut out my family, friends, and quit my job. The only way I thought I could escape reality was to drink and swallow a pill. I left him a couple times, and moved back in with my Dad. I always went back though.

Memorial Day weekend of 2011 I ended up in the hospital with Acute Pancreatitis. I weighed 88 lbs. I was lifeless. I forgot what it was like to smile, laugh, or cry. I was in the hospital for 11 days. I lived with my Mom and step-Dad for the next 6 months.

I didn’t drink, until that 6th month on a beach trip. Mom was so disappointed, and so was I.

A couple months later, as my drinking was spiraling out of control, I was back in the ER again with a totaled car. I tried to hide it from my parents. I knew I needed help.

On December 30th, I went to Bradford Treatment Center. That place saved my life. God had answered my prayers. After I left Bradford, I went to a halfway house for 3 months, then I moved back in with my Mom for a while continuing to work my Alcoholics Anonymous Program.

I now own my own home and am working on 4 years sobriety. I’ve learned that no matter how powerless we feel, we can’t give up. Whatever we’re battling in the moment will pass. We’ve made it this far, and we can make it through whatever comes next. Even when it’s scary, keep going. Never give up.

Sometimes the darkest times can bring us to the brightest places.