Cody’s Testimonial
My name is Cody, I’m from Newark, New Jersey and am 24 years old. I probably started drinking and using when I was 22. Within two years my life spiraled out of control. Before coming to Into Action Recovery Centers, I was homeless and going in and out of different detox centers, psych wards, getting arrested and into trouble. I don’t even know how I found Paul. (Paul Dyne – Admissions Coordinator of IARC 844.694.3576) Really, I just don’t remember. I contacted Paul at Into Action, and they asked, “When can you come down?” I answered, “Tomorrow or now–I need help.” Paul bought me a plane ticket, and the next day I was here–he picked me up from the airport. He brought me to the center. I had been to three rehabs before. I went to one in Florida that was on the beach and had palm trees everywhere. It was nice, and I did 90 days there. As soon as I completed that program and got my little certificate and everything, I went back home and relapsed almost immediately.That just goes to show that it doesn’t matter how nice the place is and what it looks like, it is the people that work there. This is the longest I have been sober since finishing any treatment center. I walked out of Into Action in December, (2015 – Interview April 27, 2016) and I have been sober ever since. It’s just the people that work there. I have never been to a place like Into Action, where it is more of a step-based program, at least anywhere I have been, and it’s a good place. It saved my life.
So, if you don’t mind, what was your drug?
Cody: My drug of choice? Heroin.
What would you say are the differences in between the Florida place and Into Action? What made a difference in your life?
I would say Florida was just, it’s basically, they just presented it really nice. In the pamphlet they have you fishing and getting massages and going to the beach. Into Action is not like that. It is the people that work here–they are more hands-on with what they want you to do. They have individual sessions and the counselors actually keep up with you after you leave. They call me every week.“Hey how are you doing?” You doing this? Doing that?” Even after I left. In Florida once you are done, you are done. You go home and that’s it, or you can stay down there.
Walk me through the steps from Detox and how difficult it was, then outpatient and now.
Any detox is going to be hard–it depends on how much you were using. I was using a lot, and I didn’t just use heroin. I did Xanax, and anything–any means I could find to get high, I did that. If I couldn’t find any drugs or pills or anything, I would drink. Every day was just something different, mainly just heroin. When I got to the center, almost immediately my detox process started. They have medical staff always on call, so as soon as I got there, I talked to a doctor. They said, “Start him up on detox.” They did a Suboxone taper, and then they also did a Valium taper. I was pretty comfortable during the whole detox process. It was going to be rough. But it’s bearable. I wasn’t miserable, like other detox processes I had. It was bearable. Once I was off detox, I was thinking clearer, stuff started to make sense.
IOP (Interactive Outpatient) is just Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, three hours a day. It’s kind of the same thing as inpatient. We all meet up here, and we just have a group, and just talk about what’s going on in our lives and stuff. Once you get out of the Center and out of Residential, that is where the real world starts again. Find a job, start getting back on track and stuff. IOP just helped us, I guess, manage those real world feelings again. The real world is hard, especially for me. When I got out of Residential, they asked me ,“Do you want to go back home, or do you want to stay here?” I answered, “I guess I will stay here.” So, they put me into Sober House and they told me, “You have to find a job, and we will help you as far as we can.” I was really stressed out at first just because I had nothing when I came down here. I had no phone, no money, no family, I was just completely on my own. My counselors and everybody from Residential just walked me through it along the entire way. “You’ve got to find a job,” and they helped me find a job. Then they were, “Alright, now you have to get a bank account.” They helped me open up a bank account. They held my hand through the whole process. I didn’t have to do everything completely 100% to start over on my own. But now I have a pretty strong foothold just in my life.
So, now you’re doing well in your job and back to your skill set.
Yes, I love my job. More so, I just like my life, compared to six months ago, when I wanted to die and all that stuff. Now I’m actually happy. I wake up in the morning and I am happy to go to work. I am happy with where I live. I am just happy with the people I know now. The people I have around me–I can almost call them my family, and I met them thru Residential and IOP. They became my friends–that’s who I surround myself with.
You surround yourself with people who understand you.
People in the program, yes, and we do fun stuff. We go play pool and all sorts of stuff. We go to the beach all the time. Sobriety is pretty fun; I didn’t think it could be. I am having a good time.
Cody compared previous rehab experiences where he was just told, “Drugs are bad,” but at Into Action Recovery he was given the tools and steps for lasting recovery. There are thought patterns he recognizes as triggers, which makes him realize that he has to reach out to accountability partners to avoid falling back.
Cody mentioned that in High School he had a full academic scholarship to a prestigious university. He decided to join the military instead. He believes that his two-service tour in Afghanistan and a prescription to Xanax along with a broken leg from a car accident lead to his addiction.
All of the members of Into Action Recovery Centers who had the pleasure of knowing and working with Cody in his recovery have great hopes for him. They know he has the potential to achieve great things in his future.
