A Life Unmanageable
By Nick S., Cumberland Heights Alumni
Step 1: We admitted we were powerless over our addiction – that our lives had become unmanageable.
When I relapsed after treatment I realized I was powerless over my addiction. I had just spent 30 days at Cumberland Heights, and was clean for a couple of weeks. I didn’t accept 12-Step recovery as a part of my life. I was unwilling to take the suggestions given to me in treatment, and when my disease told me I should try using “just one more time,” I had no defense. I picked up drugs again and within a month I was in the same miserable place I had been before I came to Cumberland Heights. I realized I couldn’t stop on my own. My drug use spiraled out of control immediately. My life had become unmanageable.
This is when the miracle happened. The seeds planted at Cumberland Heights began to sprout, and I soon realized I did know what to do. I walked into a meeting, and shared as soon as the meeting was open.
“I’ve been lying. I’ve been using. I’m scared. I don’t know what to do, and I need help.”
Once I asked for help, the fellowship was there for me. They have been there for me ever since. I immersed myself in the 12 Steps, and my life began to change. Working the program is the simplest, hardest and most rewarding thing that’s ever happened to me.
In 2015, Nick celebrated three years in recovery and married his best friend, Megan. He is completing a degree in motion pictures at Belmont University in hopes of pursuing his lifelong dream of becoming a filmmaker.
