“My name is Emma. I’m an addict.”
Emma’s story begins with anxiety—crippling, suffocating anxiety. When she was 15, she took her first Xanax. She’d hoped it would quiet the panic attacks that consumed her on a daily basis. But what was supposed to be her source of relief soon turned into the reason for her suffering.
“Xanax turned into Xanax every day, smoking weed every day, experimenting with different pills until it went all the way to fentanyl.”
Even though she was living at home with her parents, Emma was able to keep her addiction a secret. Coming from a “good Christian household,” she didn’t think her parents ever suspected the extent of her drug abuse. But like every story of addiction, there eventually comes a breaking point.
A Wake-Up Call
“In February 2023, I accidentally overdosed, and I knew then that I had to get help.”
It’s tough to deny that you have a problem with drugs when you overdose. It was at this point that Emma could no longer justify the reality of her situation. She knew she didn’t have the answers but she did have a willingness to try something different. That something different was coming to Owl’s Nest Recovery, a place she never imagined would feel like home.
Finding a New Kind of Family
“It was nothing like I imagined. I automatically felt supported and loved and welcomed.”
Emma arrived at treatment unsure of what to expect, but what she found was a community. Lifelong friendships, a support system that built each other up, and an environment where no one had to struggle alone.
“We see somebody falling or struggling, we come to them and we help them.”
She wasn’t alone anymore. And that changed everything.
Learning a New Perspective
Without any previous exposure to the 12 Steps, Emma quickly saw the transformative power they held.
“The way the sponsors and the staff here approach it and take you through them is so thorough and so deep. You’re really able to look at yourself through a new lens.”
Emma began to learn that recovery was more than just quitting substances, it was about changing her entire perspective on life.
A New Way to Live
“I think the biggest thing that I’ve learned here is how to handle life, how to approach life…You have to change that perspective around or you’re going to get the same result every single time.”
Emma’s journey isn’t over, but she’s no longer walking it alone. She’s found a different way. A better way. And she wants others to know—it’s possible for them, too.
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