"The Mask" of Addiction
“This is not me. It took me a while to realize that this is not me. This is not the kid who grew up with dreams of being a police officer. This is not the kid who loves his family…would do anything for their family. This is not Melvin anymore. This is someone that can’t be identified. Nobody knows who this person is because this is not who Melvin is. This is just not him. – Melvin, college student, in recovery from an addiction, commenting on who he was in active addiction.
“Addiction is way bigger than you. When you're addicted to something it's not even you anymore. It completely takes away who you are as a person.”
“I was living this double life where you know the me that was going to school and talking to my parents was this responsible kid that was really kind and loving. And then, when I was with my friends or when I was by myself you know, she totally disappeared. And then I became this person that, you know, didn't care about what happened to me. I didn't care about anything. I was definitely like Jekyll and Hyde, you know, two different sides.”
“It's what my friends were doing at the time I wanted to fit in with them and they that's what they were doing. So I thought it was a good idea to do it too. It was not really a good idea. It was not fun. It was really dangerous actually. Like I would completely turn into a different person.”
“I looked into his eyes and I couldn’t see my son anymore”
This content was created by Behavioral Health Innovators @bhinnov with funding from Alkermes Inspiration Grants®. If this post speaks to you, please share!
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