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Out of the darkness of addiction
On and off, for over 18 years, I struggled with addictions to alcohol, marijuana, cigarettes, crack cocaine, and cocaine used intravenously. Drugs were my solution for everything. For every kind of feeling, whether I was happy or sad, I would take something. It was a back-and-forth kind of thing—I would stop for a while, then start back up again. In addition, I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and was continually in and out of treatment centers.
One morning I was standing in my kitchen; I had been awake for about seven days. The sun was coming up, and I thought to myself, “You’re doing it again. How long are you going to keep doing this?” I was in a state of emptiness and hopelessness such as I’d never felt before. I had alienated myself from my family and all my friends, so I was isolated. I was at the place where it was very dark, I was lost, and I wanted to come home but didn’t know how.
This article is adapted from a Sentinel “News of Healing” podcast, “… and the darkness did not overcome it,” on JSH-Online.com. It was also published as a Web Original on July 7, 2014.
About the author
Jeff Rice is a Christian Science practitioner who lives in Frankford, Delaware.
August 11, 2014 issue
View Issue-
Letters
Callie, Susan Harding, Eileen Stoecklin, Dorothy Daugherty
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Out of the darkness of addiction
Jeff Rice
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Divine protection at the artillery range
Steven Jareo
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To win 'the right of way'
Chaylee Posson
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What I learned about true balance
Lynne Darner
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"...as a mirror shows us"
Photograph by Steve Ryf
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You're beautiful!
Mary Trammell
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The door of blessings opened
Himanshu Dhand
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From fear to freedom
Melissa Workman
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Overcoming contagion
Norma Minatta
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The best roadside assistance
Kristen Shoemake
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Child's breathing problem healed
Amelia Trevelyan
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'My heart is singing'
Nicki Hudson
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Go with the flow
The Editors