Comments on: Overcoming Drug Addiction – A True Story

By: mike schwartzman

mike schwartzman — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 03:44:52 +0000

howdy tracey
thanx for the opportunity.
i am happy!
mike

By: mike schwartzman

mike schwartzman — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 03:42:30 +0000

howdy carrie
im glad i fought my way out too!
my life is absolutely amazing.
thanx
mike

By: Tracey Devlyn

Tracey Devlyn — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 01:45:37 +0000

Thanks again, Mike. It was wonderful having you with us.

Stay strong. Be happy.

Best,
Tracey

By: Twitted by RomanceUniv

Twitted by RomanceUniv — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 18:03:02 +0000

[...] This post was Twitted by RomanceUniv [...]

By: mike schwartzman

mike schwartzman — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 16:03:12 +0000

howdy & good morning amy

yes people stay clean as atheist. in my personal experience it has
not happened. 12 steps are a higher power. narcotics anonymous is
a higher power. i dont struggle with staying clean and have not for
a long time. when my two and a half year old daughter was hit by a
car and killed i had a little trouble. not since then

i go to meetings for all the reasons you mentioned alot of the time.
however you can only hear when you are ready to hear and that may take
decades. so i go to listen and be in my chair when it is said. recovery
does not end as long as we live.

By: mike schwartzman

mike schwartzman — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 15:53:49 +0000

howdy & good morning adrienne
when i got clean many came into recovery without supporters.
now more people have helpers. the support is a double edged
sword. many who support us are as sick as we are. their illness
is much more subtle and socially acceptable. in a nutshell at
some level they need us to stay sick so they dont have to look
at themselves! good healthy support is rare. mostly probably
doctors,nurses,therapists, “men of the cloth” kinds of helpers.

thanx
mike

By: mike schwartzman

mike schwartzman — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 15:41:43 +0000

howdy & good morning tracey

there is a list of people in my case.
my mother being the irish catholic probably prayed me into recovery,
the judge should, on paper, have returned me to prison and not given
me any choice.
danny had been clean 7 years. we had known each other in prison.
he gave me hope and the strength to go on early on.

edward bunker wrote “no beast so fierce”. i would say he was a drug
addict.therefore he got it right. a movie called drugstore cowboy did
a pretty good job.

thanx
mike

By: mike schwartzman

mike schwartzman — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 15:29:20 +0000

howdy & good morning kelsey

yes! it is possible i might never have met god,
i would never have met my kids or grandkids.
my view of the past keeps changing. at this point
i am grateful for my past. most significant i might
never have met me!

By: carrie

carrie — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 14:37:37 +0000

Thanks for the wonderful post Mike. I’m glad you fought your way out of the drug addiction and into a better life. Good for you!

carrie

By: Amy Kimball

Amy Kimball — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 13:53:53 +0000

Thanks for being courageous enough to speak about such a personal topic.

You mentioned that you had to learn how to surrender to a higher power. Do you think someone could stay sober without believing in some higher being? Do you still struggle today, 30 years later, or do you go to meetings more for comfort and a sense of not being alone? Or do you go so you can help others the way you had been helped?

Again, thanks for being so willing to talk about this topic.

Amy