They say a battle with one’s self is hardest one will ever have to face. This I know for myself because I experienced it first-hand. My addiction is what is known as crystal meth addiction completely flipped my world upside down and detached me from reality. I had no concern for everyday considerations and everything I did revolved around my next hit. Seeing the skin on the flex of my elbow deteriorate by the week or even day was not an issue for me and while I was high literally the world “out there” might as well not even existed. The withdrawals could be described as nothing less than excruciating and I would do anything to get my hands on one more hit.

My realisation that I needed help, and desperately, was after a near death scare that left me in an agony I cannot even describe: the pain of literally feeling the poison moving through my body.

After being referred to a facility in Johannesburg I decided to check it out, little did I realise that it was to be my home for the next few months to come. That place was Relapse Prevention: an absolute saviour in my life that I cannot even express my appreciation for. Relapse Prevention dealt with my problem in a way so professional and so understandingly, I truly felt that these people are here with one goal in mind and that is to help me. Their empathy was so comforting in the way that they understood what I was going through like they had been there before. This sense of comfort truly set me right and changed my attitude to persevere in life in a way I never knew was actually possible.

If you have a substance abuse problem, it’s not even worth the hesitation to get help because you have to remember, in the end it’s worth it and it’s not just a saying.