10 POWERFUL Stories of Addiction (& Recovery) | Rich Roll Podcast

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I remember watching this all night when I couldn't get a day clean and wishing I could recover so bad. Now I have 76 days and I'm on my way. Don't give up

Last year when I commented here I was only three months sober, today I am 20 months clean and I am very proud to say that, so brothers and sisters keep on trying you can do it!

If you are watching this, just know you are loved

My brother just died of a drug OD. He laid dead for 2 days and was too decomposed to have a funeral......so he was cremated. He was a normal middle class, hard working family man. He had a wife and 2 kids who he ADORED! He drank a few beers a night and on weekends sometimes we would have picnics with neighbors and we drank. I knew over the yrs if he was on a Christmas break or a few days off that he would do a pain pill here and there. That wasnt uncommon these days. I NEVER EVER saw him as the type to get addicted! He was the strong smart one who was the familys rock and my BEST FRIEND. I started seeing changes....he wasnt quite the brother i knew. Then one day out of the blue he decides hes leaving his wife. I told him that divorce happens and ill support him.....but i said be sure to be there for your children. They will need extra love and support through this. As such a great dad...i figured he would do everything right and be there for the kids. He then tells me hes in love and has been seeing another woman for a yr. At that point i told him affairs happen......just help the kids if they need it. So he gives me his new girlfriends name and i look her up on FB. I ABOUT WENT THROUGH THE ROOF! By reading comments on her pics i found out that shes a longtime HEROIN addict. She is white with 6 black children that she lost custody of. I confronted my brother about it right away and he assured me that shes clean and not to worry. I knew my brother was super smart......he had an engineer mind that he inherited from his engineer grandfather. So i put my trust in his word.....but now i had my eye on him. He ended up moving away from his kids and had little contact with them and almost NEVER contacted any of his family again. We were so very close and now he shut me out. He never called my dad again. He texted me and my mom maybe 3 times a yr. I then knew they were on drugs. They ended up getting arrested a few times and while on probation they fled. They moved to an extremely rural town in KY. We had gotten word that they were in deep with needles and meth......and dealing. My brother was in KY for a little over a year........now hes ASHES in an urn on his childrens shelf. He died 3 weeks ago of a fentanyl OD. My brother is now just ashes. Im really struggling in the denial/shock stage of the grieving process. Because of how smart he was i figured he would get sick of that life and we would get him help. My mother and i were planning to try and find him this summer but he died first. We thought we could force him into coming with us and stop all this druggie lifestyle. I know thats ridiculous thinking because the addiction is too powerful and it takes alot of work in recovery......but i was praying that the shock of us finding him and his gf would at least make him think and know we are here for him. So here i am watching videos like these to try and get a glimpse of what his life these last 3 yrs was....and how did he feel mental and emotionally? What do they go through? We hadnt seen him in 3 yrs and the few texts we got showed a much different personality than we knew. He would say things that almost made us feel he had mental issues on top of the drugs......but now i know it WAS just the drugs. This epidemic took my best friend...my brother.....a husband and a GREAT father. Plz pray for my family and me. We are in a nightmare of grief and all the "what ifs" 😪😥😪🙏😥😪

I stop drinking ,cold turkey ,relaps 3times but finely got sober and stayed that way day by day

4 months clean, still dealing with legal issues from getting arrested last year but I am doing better every day.

Man. Addiction is one of the worse things a person can go through. Even though my addiction was not as severe as the ones in the videos, they still hurt man. I’m now 8 months sober, but still gotta remind myself that it’s such a blessing to be sober in such a cruel world. God bless those who are also in the process of recovery.

2 minutes in and I'm in tears. Scheduled to go in to rehab next week after 14 years of struggling; the last 4 being the worst. Countless podcasts and lectures on addiction and the painful awareness of it hasn't helped me quit. Utterly humiliating, demoralizing, and feeling shameful. But at the same time a great sense of relief because I know I'm finally on the right path and realizing it's always going to be a battle but this is the best start I've ever raised my hand to. Thanks, Rich, and best of luck to everyone out there struggling with the same.

Congratulations Rich, I was an alcoholic up until July of 2006. I remember having my very last drink On July 19th 2006. I finished the ice cold drink on a hot Phoenix day. I decided that that was the last one because there was so much more to my life. I took up ultra running and removed alcohol from my life. Now it is February 7th 2022 and I will be running my 66th ultra marathon. I am happily married to my wife, Cynthia and I love my Elementary School Music Teaching Career.

Psychedelics are just an exceptional mental health breakthrough. It's quite fascinating how effective they are against depression and anxiety. Saved my life.

When you get sober from any addiction it is absolutely vital to fill that now empty cup with the wonderful things life now has to offer you. Embrace and enjoy your freedom.

I started taking cocaine since my teenage, spent my whole life fighting cocaine addiction. Also suffered severe depression and mental disorder. Not until my wife recommended me to psilocybin mushrooms treatment. Psilocybin treatment saved my life honestly. 8 years totally clean. This is something that really need to be use globally to help people with similar health challenges.

17 years sober by the Grace of God!

I remember watching this video a homeless man in New York a year ago. Seeing this brought tears to my eyes as how much better my life is now and this video is still here. Never give up in life. No condition is permanent

In going to rehab centre tomorrow, in been on heroin for 9 years now, see you all in 4 months, good luck to all in recovery.... From Mizoram India

After 19 years am sober for only 3 months, I have no cravings nor triggers but still I have to keep on watching show like these since we don't have help here in the remote part of North Eastern India and I am afraid of my future. Thank you once again for the show.

I am 40 days clean. The longest ive ever been clean since I became an addict. I havent stayed sober consecutively in about 6 years. I could use a prayer and any suggestions/info that you think I need. I need to keep going but I'm fighting MAJOR depression from guilt and sorrow due to my addiction... 😭💔💯

Alcohol is POISON for our minds, our internal organs, our family relationships ... I don't say I am an alcoholic because I am NOT a sickness. Rather, I say "I AM SOBER" and FEEL BETTER EVERYDAY WITHOUT THE HANGOVERS!!! All the best everyone, may God Bless and Guide you!!!

Mental illnesses and trauma can destroy much! Much love to everyone..who is fighting ❤️✨