Face of Recovery – Meet Corey Avey

Addiction Recovery –  there is a great deal of confusion, stigma, shame and discrimination surrounding addiction, addiction treatment and addiction recovery. Yet those who have the disease of addiction (whether to illegal or prescription drugs or alcohol) and are in recovery live healthy, productive, engaged lives — the same kinds of lives as people who do not have this disease. But all the words and definitions and explanations in the world are not as powerful as the people themselves. To that end, we are grateful to the people in recovery who have decided to share their experiences so that we all may put a Face to Addiction Recovery.

Addiction Recovery – It’s real, it happens to real people, and it happens all the time. It is my great pleasure to introduce Corey Avery, today’s Face of Recovery.

How did your addiction start?

I started drinking in my first year of high school around the age of fourteen. I arrived on my first day of high school with the notion that I would never drink or do drugs. It didn’t take long for me to succumb to “peer pressure” and I began to drink. I call it peer pressure but now that I look back at it, it was more of a strong desire to fit in with the so called “cool crowd” in my grade.

I started drinking occasionally with my friends, and I really enjoyed myself for short period of time. All of my friends were smoking pot at this point, so you can guess what I ended up doing as well. I was also prescribed prescription stimulants around this time for my ADHD. I took it as prescribed, for the first day. I instantly felt euphoric, cool and confident. More importantly, it gave me that feeling of “fitting in” I’d been searching so desperately for all of my life.

Somewhere along the way I got mixed in with prescription pain killers. The first pain pill I got was an Oxycontin 40mg pill in the middle of the school day. My friend sniffed one, so obviously I did too. My prescription addiction turned into a heroin addiction, and I got to the point where I would literally do just about anything you put in front of me, as long as it got me out of myself. I don’t really know too many people living a moral and productive life while recreationally injecting heroin, so you can imagine what happened with my life over the next several years.

What was the turning point for you – what made you want to get sober?

The turning point for me actually happened in my third residential drug rehab. I had returned to using quickly after my last say at treatment, and found myself quickly back at the same facility within a matter of weeks.

Now that I look back at it, I still wasn’t done even though I was sitting in a rehab. I met a young guy, that checked out about two or three days after I checked in. He lived locally, and left me with his phone number. I was supposed to call him to have him drop off some drugs for me over the back wall of my treatment center. All I could think about was getting high again, so I made that phone call.

His sister answered the phone. He was dead.

Something hit me at this point. He was my age, raised in a similar fashion, and our drug use patterns were very similar. I remember sitting outside with my headphones on, listening to “Duane’s Tune” by the Allman Brothers. I remember saying these exact words in my head – “How many other people have to die before I finally learn? I can’t do this anymore.”

My attitude towards life changed at that moment.

What was your initial treatment?

My first introduction to any kind of treatment was a detox center at the age of 18. I was going to “do it on my own” when I got out, and I’d be just fine. That clearly didn’t work!

Do you do anything differently, today?

I try to keep it simple and do things in a similar fashion to the first days of my sobriety. I pray in the morning and at night. I speak to my supports (sponsor, sober friends, etc.) daily. I help bring other guys through the process and I regularly attend 12 step meetings. If I do those simple things every day, l have no desire to drink or do any other substance. You don’t have to be an alcoholic or drug addict to have a bad day. I do know, however, that no matter what I encounter in my life… I NEVER HAVE TO PICK UP ANOTHER DRINK OR DRUG AGAIN!

What is your life like, now?

My life is literally amazing. It’s beyond anything I could have ever pictured having for myself.

I have true friends today that really care about how I am doing. My family, who has always loved and supported me, actually wants to have me around today (they can trust me in their house again). I have the most beautiful, loving girlfriend with the two best dogs in the world.  Most importantly, I am comfortable in my own skin. I am happy with the real me today, and can confidently say that I love myself and the person I have become.

Since getting sober, I’ve accomplished quite a bit. I have been somewhat of an “entrepreneur” in my sobriety, and somehow done OK for myself. Today I own a website with a primary purpose of providing addiction recovery resources to the struggling drug addict and alcoholic, as well as resources for families and friends that are seeking help for themselves, and/or friends and loved ones.

Do you have anything you’d like to share with someone currently struggling with a substance abuse problem or an addiction?  How about anything you’d like to share with their family or friends?

To the people struggling with addiction: There is hope, and there is a better way of life out there within your reach.  The first step would be to surrender.  Accept the fact that you have a problem with drugs and alcohol, but know that you can recovery, and you don’t have to do this alone. I know what it feels like to literally be at the bottom of the bottom. You never have to feel this way again.

For the family: Reach out to other families that have been through the same thing. If you don’t know anyone personally, they have meetings for it (I’d highly recommend this anyways!). Don’t enable, but never give up hope! I gave up on myself a long time ago, but my family never did.

What is the best part about your recovery?

I have true friends today that really care about how I am doing. My family, who has always loved and supported me, actually wants to have me around today (they can trust me in their house again). I have the most beautiful, loving girlfriend with the two best dogs in the world.  Most importantly, I am comfortable in my own skin. I am happy with the real me today, and can confidently say that I love myself and the person I have become.

I’ll leave everyone with this –

“Why give up everything for one thing, when you could give up one thing and have everything?”

And thank you, Corey, so very much for sharing your story, and CONGRATULATIONS on 4 years RECOVERY! 

Corey invites you to find more about his current work with SoberNation.com | Drug & Alcohol Treatment Centers & Addiction Recovery Resourcesh and visit SoberNation’s Facebook Page

You may also wish to “meet” others sharing their recovery stories with BreakingTheCycles.com by clicking on this link, Faces of Recovery.