Nick thought 30 days would fix everything—but that overconfidence led to a quick and dangerous relapse. He returned to Avenues, stayed 60 days, and did the real work.
Now he’s leaving with the tools to transform his life.
Hi, my name is Nick. This is my recovery story. So last year, right around this time, about the beginning of April, I came to Avenues and I had a completely different mindset than I had this time. I only planned to stay for 30 days. I left. I was overconfident and I took bits and pieces. That kept me sober for a while, and then I went right back to thinking that I could do it on my own, and it didn't work out. Probably like three weeks after I stopped going to meetings, I stopped reaching out to my sober network.
I really wasn't doing anything for recovery other than not drinking, not using. I have a one-year-old. I was worried that she would eventually start remembering the things I was doing. I used to be somebody that people could depend on and my word meant something - and then I lost that. I started losing friends. I started losing more this time around and I had to come in here.
So I chose to come back to Avenues because I knew last time it wasn't really Avenues. It was my fault. It was me. I was the reason that I left. When you still have the mindset of using, you'll make every excuse in the world to get away from what's keeping you sober.
So I showed up on my first day back here the second time with some shame, some guilt, but this place really welcomed me back and made me feel okay about it. The staff, who I was afraid to see - you know, ashamed - They really welcomed me back and they were happy I was here. The first 30 days of treatment for me was really just, you know, getting healthy physically, you know, detoxing, getting the drugs out of my body. And then the second 30 was really where you got to dig deep to what's going on inside, internally.
If you think you only need 30, I challenge you to stay for the whole 60. You gotta look at it as you don't have to go to group, you get to go to group. You don't have to eat the food, you get to eat the food. You don't have to work out, you get to work out. It's a privilege to be at Avenues. And I think that the second half of the treatment program is where really the work is done.
Sobriety is like a reset button for me. It's a second chance at the things that I've already messed up once. With sobriety, you know, I have a clean slate, and I get a chance to really show people that I am the person that I thought I was.
So today is actually my last day at Avenues. Tomorrow I'll be going home. The tools Avenues has given me will keep me sober as long as I use them. This time I decided to stay the whole 60, and it's going to completely change my life, I believe.
My name is Nick. I found my way home, and you can too. To the addict that's still sick and suffering, you're not alone. This isn't the end of the road. You can call Avenues.