When I was heavy into my addiction, I felt trapped like I was locked up behind bars with shackles on my feet with no escape. I was a complete slave to my addiction. I was so tired of living the life I was living. I didn’t want to die, but I didn’t want to live either. I would tell myself, “Tomorrow will be different. I’ll stop then.” But I would wake up in the morning just to repeat everything all over again. I was caught in this crazy loop of repeating the same thing day in/day out, over and over expecting different results. I tried so many different ways to stop on my own but to no avail. Nothing seemed to work.

After years of battling addition on my own, I was finally able to surrender and asked for someone else’s help. People say, “Surrendering is for the weak.” But I looked at it as I’m quitting the losing side and joining the winning side. That one person I asked for help led me to a whole community of people helping one another. I found amazing friendships, a family, and a group of people that I can count on when I need help.

Today my life looks very different from when I got sober. I’m living a life far beyond my wildest dreams. I am happily married with three amazing children, have a life worth living, friends worth having, and a feeling of peace that no quantity of drugs could ever give me.

Troy Ljubich