Patients unpack their journey to recovery
SANDTON – Recovering addicts unpacked their road to healing during the final session in the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (Sadag) substance abuse webinar series on 22 June.
Recovering addicts unpacked their road to healing during the final session in the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (Sadag) substance abuse webinar series on 22 June.
Support group facilitator and registered counsellor Mandy Leigh van Aswegen shared her journey.
She has been in recovery for 14 years after being an active addict for seven years.
Van Aswegen began experimenting with drugs at age 14 and was a social user until age 19. At age 18 she was in a tsunami and at age 19 she was raped which triggered an addiction to cocaine.
“It started off slow, but eventually I was using every day. I became obsessed with getting the next hit. I put myself into powerless situations and my life was spiralling out of control,” she explained.
When she began a rehab programme, she believed that her parents were the problem.
“I soon realised that I was the problem. I worked through the 12-step programme which taught me that I was powerless and surrendered my life to God. I spent nine months in rehab. I ended up realising that addiction is a behavioural disorder more than a substance disorder.”
After her recovery, she decided to study psychology and register as a counsellor to help others.
Founder of Life Readiness Programme, Chris de Braine shared his struggles with addiction to alcohol and sleeping pills.
He said he needed a change in his mindset to overcome his addiction.
“I was always in fight or flight mode – angry and antisocial,” he said.
After visiting a recovery centre, De Braine turned his life around.
“I still struggle every day, but am thankful for where I am and the communities and forums available to assist me.”
He has since started the Life Readiness Programme which gives people a purpose and direction in life.
Judi Moore unpacked the story of her husband’s addiction to drugs and alcohol and how it coincided with her personal journey to healing.
“I tell others that my husband’s addiction was a gift because it helped us to find God. Now we can give others hope and a better life,” Moore said.
She and her husband Graham have since begun Heal Ministries, a group of Christian support groups which aim to reconcile family relationships and equip families to fight addiction.
Related articles:
https://www.citizen.co.za/sandton-chronicle/286637/hope-for-the-depressed-and-suicidal/https://www.citizen.co.za/sandton-chronicle/281401/coping-as-a-parent-of-a-drug-addict/
https://www.citizen.co.za/sandton-chronicle/294978/police-conduct-drug-search/
