Nathan grew up in a reasonably happy family, but his dad drank, and his mum was an enabler. He learnt early to influence others and was able to hang out with vastly different groups of friends at school, but he never let anyone get too close. He started drinking at a secondary school function when he was 11 years old, drank to blackout on his first drink but felt totally bulletproof.

Nathan’s drinking progressed during his teens and he also tried recreational drugs, but it was while he was in hospital that he got onto prescription drugs and his addiction took off. He went from doctor shopping for prescription pain killers to intravenous drugs and then Ice before his life really fell apart. Nathan went into detox and rehab many times and encountered Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous during his stints in rehab. He ended up homeless when his partner started attending Al-Anon Family Groups and would no longer put up with his behaviour.

Nathan was fortunate that a friend helped him into rehab and after about 10 months he was ready to get serious about his recovery in Narcotics Anonymous and he has been clean for just over 1 year. He no longer feels the need to drink, use drugs or smoke and is living free again.

If you would like to find out more about Narcotics Anonymous, if you need to talk to somebody then please call 1300 652 820 at any time or go online at www.navic.net.au.

If you think that alcohol may be a problem, then Alcoholics Anonymous could help you. Give them a call on 1300 222 222 or see their website aa.org.au.

If someone else's drinking is causing you a problem, then you can phone the Al-Anon Family Groups helpline in Australia on 1300 252 666 or go online at al-anon.org.au.

#Addiction #Recovery #Anonymous #Family #LivingFree

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