My name is Giovanni laros, Im 29 years old and I’m from Holland, Amsterdam. My wife and I have been together for 11 years. Together, we have a beautiful daughter who is almost 5 years old now. I was using cocaine, weed and alcohol almost every day. On April 19, 2021 I went to a highcare detox rehab for 2 weeks in Amsterdam, after the detox I went to rehab therapy for 6 weeks and on June 17th I came home. My childhood was unstable, my father abused my mother and they divorced when I was 4. After that he wasn’t around and my mother struggled with severe depression, I didn’t have siblings so I was always alone. I was a very insecure child with ADHD and soon found myself living on the streets with very bad friends. At the age of 13 I was already trying different kind of drugs. Ecstacy, weed, cocaine, you name it. The first few years of my relationship I tried to hide my addiction and I stopped for 2 years but I couldn’t deny the emptiness I was feeling every day. I wasn’t used to being loved and giving love. Within the years it got worse and worse, I started using more and became more and more aggressive, paranoid and struggled with anxiety. When my daughter was born I stopped using for 6 months but fell into the trap again. From that point on it got worse every day, I got in a lot of trouble with money, bad people, and I just couldn’t break the cycle. I really loved my wife and daughter but I got myself in so much trouble that all I did was isolate myself more and more. I took it out on my wife, got more and more paranoid, always thinking that she was cheating on me, also thinking I was being followed by strangers etc. At my worst moment, I broke almost everything in my house and it became very dangerous for myself and my family. My wife and I almost broke up, my daughter became older and started to notice and understand a little bit of what was happening and that is when I knew I had to change. My wife gave me the ultimatum of going into rehab or losing my family. Since that day I chose my family and did everything I had to do to stay clean. After rehab I had aftercare for 6 months once a week. I just finished in December and I am now starting a new career path where I am becoming an addiction expert and making it my goal to help others who struggled with the same. You can find me in the gym 7 days a week, doing activities with my family or taking walks in the forest. Nature has been helping me stay positive and calm, mindfullness is the key! I am now 9 months clean and I do not regret it for a second. It has been very hard work but I know why I did this and I am loving life again. I am very proud of myself and also my family for staying by my side.