My name is Thalia, and I’ve struggled with substance dependence since I was in school. I had autism and ADHD and didn’t fit in. When I was I7 years old, I was already using substances to escape. The day everything changed mentally for me was when I used crystal meth for the first time. It wasn’t like anything I had ever tried. I felt like I could do anything and that I was functioning at my best like I knew something everyone else didn’t.

I even tried convincing my friends to do it. As time passed, I could see I was destroying myself from the inside out. It was like I blinked, and without realizing it, an entire year had passed, and I was smoking every day. I felt like I was losing my mind. I was in a violent and controlling relationship and lost my place at school, lost touch with my family, lost all my friends, and spent a lot of nights in hotels and walking the streets. I had psychosis and anxiety.

My family was there to help and saw how bad it had gotten. I was constantly covered in bruises, sleep deprived, and malnourished. I couldn’t think about anything else but using.

With support, I got into detox and got better. I got out on my 21st birthday. My life was so much better, but I began a rocky relationship with alcohol and used it to cope with my problems. Today I am completely sober. Sobriety has given me everything. Thank you to family members, friends, therapists, hospitals, doctors, and anyone who helped me. I am so thankful for my recovery.