Overcoming my addiction was the hardest thing I have ever had to do, but one thing helped, one thing helped me realize the person who I could be, was going to Relapse Prevention. In the UK I woke up under cardboard while constantly living on the streets because I couldn’t afford the medical care I needed to rehabilitate myself. My friends and family had almost abandoned me and I thought there was no hope; I was at the stage where I realized that there was a problem, the stage where the next hit could be the line between life and death.
My friend had recently been to rehab overseas and advised me to go. I was obviously a bit sceptical about it but he explained to me that it was much cheaper than the ones in the UK and included a great recovery program. I didn’t like the idea of leaving my life behind but then again I didn’t think I was leaving much of life behind anyway. The minute I arrived in South Africa, I felt better. Relapse Prevention was a home away from home. I didn’t have much money, rehabilitation centres in the UK were expensive but at Relapse Prevention I was able to afford the care that I needed.
It felt like a dream, that it wasn’t real and that there had to be some kind of hidden objective. However I never found one. After being submitted and introduced to the team I knew I was already recovering. In the UK, my family tried to send me to a number of rehab centres, but they all were overpriced and the care that the patients received there was more like a business arrangement than a personal experience. After spending some quality time recovering I can honestly say that going overseas was the best decision I could have made. I will always regret my past life, but with Relapse Prevention I began to enjoy my present and future one with more liveliness and enthusiasm than ever before.