‘My two sisters went off to college, I went to prison. Contrary to popular belief, it doesn’t matter how you were raised.’: Recovered addict reminds us ‘addiction doesn’t discriminate’

“3 sisters, one home, same parents, 1 addict.

Contrary to popular belief, it doesn’t matter how you were raised. Addiction doesn’t discriminate. For all of the mothers thinking it is their fault, it isn’t. My 2 sisters went off to college, I went to prison. It is an illness and the only thing that could’ve stopped it would’ve been never trying anything at all. 

Their minds see the world in a normal way. My mind does not. It’s a disease of perception. I could have all the love in the world, and still feel unloved. I could have every reason to get clean, and still get high. I could have everything or nothing to lose, and I still couldn’t sober up.

It wasn’t my childhood. It wasn’t trauma. It wasn’t daddy issues. It wasn’t my family. It wasn’t anything other than me and my make up. I personally have to combat that with a daily solution of faith in God and my sobriety program. I have to help others. I have to ask for someone else to look at my thinking because 90% of the time I am not seeing it clearly. I’ve accepted that.

So, for every family member blaming themselves, racking their brain of where exactly it went wrong, beating themselves up, crying themselves to sleep, and thinking it was something they did…you can’t make someone get high and you can’t get them sober. 

It’s not your fault, and it’s too heavy to carry.

Give it to God and get some rest.”

This story was submitted to Love What Matters by Shay Walters. You can follow her journey on Facebook.  Submit your own story here, and be sure to subscribe to our free email newsletter for our best stories, and YouTube for our best videos.

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