After countless short-term programs claiming “effective rapid detox,” and “a lifetime of sobriety,” we realized that my brother’s heroin addiction, which over 10 years had spiraled out of control, was going to require more than a few weeks to cure.
Our family was torn apart. We tried talking to him, we tried living with him and we tried living without him. We let him go live his life the way he wanted to live it–this is not something I would recommend to anyone in a similar situation, as standing by and watching your loved one destroy their life is the most agonizing and perhaps the stupidest thing anyone could do. After not seeing or talking to my brother for two years, I found him one day panhandling on the street. I did a double-take and realized that this homeless, dirty stranger was my brother. He begged for my help and for a way out of the life he was trapped in.
His resolve to get clean was not constant; it waivered about as much as a dandelion on a windy day. All of a sudden he was “fine” and didn’t need to go to a drug rehab, and then the next day he would be pleading for help again. This rollercoaster ride is what addiction IS. And once you see that, you can become the one who doesn’t falter and keeps on towards the goal of effective rehab and sobriety.
We found a good program for him–it was all natural, alternative of course. No more prescriptions. He needed a fresh start physically and mentally. He did a cleanse, replenished his body of nutrients they sorely lacked, he regained communication and life skills and, most importantly, the confidence he needed to rejoin society and achieve happiness.
Today he is nearly 10 years sober, living proof that addiction CAN be cured through a long term drug rehab .
