Sobriety is possible – if they can do it, so can you. In this series, Avenues Recovery presents true accounts of everyday heroes in recovery.
Hi! My name is Austin, and this is my recovery story.
My story begins long before my time at Avenues Bucks. Ever since I was a child, I always felt different - like I did not belong in any situation I found myself in. Being adopted, I lacked a sense of identity or self. I lacked any real connection towards people and often found myself feeling alone even when surrounded by peers. I acted out to get attention from others. When I discovered alcohol at the age of 15, I immediately felt that I had a purpose and a way to connect with others. I was always looking for the next party, occasion or reason to drink. I soon found myself inventing reasons to drink, hiding away from others and the world. By the age of 21 I was drinking vodka every day, by myself, alone in my bedroom. The fun was over. I had no friends left, ruined every relationship with people who cared about me, and the only incentive I had to leave my room was to get more alcohol.
This pattern continued until I was 23, when my family finally had enough and gave me the ultimatum: Go to treatment or lose your place in this household. I complied and went, but I was not ready or willing to change. After my first inpatient treatment I drank the day I left. For months, I continued to flunk out of PHPs and IOPs due to relapse, and drink the day after I left in-patient rehabs. This all changed when I went to Avenues at Lake Ariel.
My time at Lake Ariel was different from the moment I arrived. I felt a sense of peace from the staff who all expressed true care for me- something that previous treatment centers lacked.
The option to go to Avenues at Bucks came up a few weeks before I was to be discharged. I threw my usual pity party and manipulation of my family to convince them that this time would be different, that I changed. I was still dead-set on drinking the day I went home. By the grace of God, two days before I was to be discharged, a counselor at Lake Ariel stayed late and noticed me eating ice cream at a table. We had previously built a relationship even though I was not her client, since we shared the common denominator of not knowing our biological parents. She encouraged me to give aftercare at Bucks a try, but I was reluctant to go and still said no. It was when she asked me if I wanted a real family that I felt something in my gut tell me to go. I took a leap of faith and went to Avenues at Bucks.
Going to Bucks was the greatest decision I ever made, as it set me on the path of recovery. I was able to build healthy relationships with other people in recovery and embrace my hobbies and interests. I began working a 12-step program for the first time in my life. I learned to love myself for who I am and accept the things I cannot change. I became particularly fond of many of the employees who worked at Avenues and often told them I wanted to work with them one day. They told me that as long as I kept doing the next right thing, that would be a possibility in the future.
After completion and discharge from the program I moved to a sober living in the area. I continued to attend meetings, work a 12-step program, work two jobs and use what I learned as a client at Bucks to maintain my sobriety. It was not always easy, but using the toolkit from my time at Bucks in conjunction with a 12-step program, there was no challenge I could not get through.
As soon as the opportunity to apply to work at Avenues arose I hopped on. I was nervous at first because I had worked my whole life in the restaurant and food business. This job would serve as a healthy challenge to do something different, and move me on to the next step in my life. While I am still a new employee, I am so grateful to work with people whom I’ve gotten to know as a client and looked up to, and look forward to the opportunities that working at Avenues will bring!
