This week awareness will be raised for ‘International Overdose Awareness Day’, and it’s time to break down the stigma surrounding drug addiction. Anyone can develop a drug addiction, from your child, brother, sister, mother, or father. It’s important not to judge and stereotype people that go on the journey of addiction, everyone has a story, and we want people to feel comfortable to say those three words to help save their life ‘I Need Help.’
When Grace* was 18 she started to go to nightclubs like other people her age, they would experiment with different drugs and alcohol, and for Grace that was cocaine. Grace was also what is described as ‘Fitspo’ and worked in the fitness industry, she was already competing in body building and was aware of her body composition and the way she looked. Soon, Grace realised that drinking alcohol had too many calories and she could get a high from drugs without the additional calories.
Grace* 27yr old Recovering Drug Addict
“Drugs were always around at the parties I was at. I was able to pick it up and put it down. It wasn’t something that I would ever consider taking home or go back to the next day. So GHB was something that was introduced to me at a party, and it’s a liquid that you take. I didn’t even know this was a drug that’s been around for a while. I thought it was a new drug, but apparently not. It’s been around for a long time. So that got introduced to me. And I thought, well, I actually hate to drink it because of the calories, because of the hangover. So, I tried this drug and realised I could get the same effect and more from having something like this, rather than having six more alcoholic drinks.”
Gamma-hydroxybutyrate, or GHB, is an illegal drug that is sometimes used as a ‘party drug’. It produces feelings of euphoria, relaxation and sociability, and an increased sex-drive. GHB acts as a nervous system depressant and poses a risk for dependence. Even a small increase in dose can cause serious effects or death. GHB was first manufactured and studied in the 1960s and used as a general anaesthetic.
For Grace, her addiction reached a dangerous level during COVID with the fitness industry being one of the first to be affected with closures, with less social activities and work to go to, staying at home bored was filled with drug binges. Soon enough taking drugs like ICE and GHB socially on the weekends became a daily addiction, maintaining the high meant that she didn’t live through a day of cravings, withdrawal, or a hangover. For Grace it didn’t take long for her daily addiction to see her in the back of an ambulance.
Grace* 27yr old Recovering Drug Addict
“I was picked up in the ambulance twice in 24 hours, took me to the hospital, discharged me, and I was back in hospital eight hours later. It didn’t end there, I had at least another 10 overdoses. But it was the final overdose that saw me go into cardiac arrest and nearly die that I woke up and realised ‘I Need Help.’ My mum helped me find Salt Recovery and when I was well enough to be discharged, I went straight from the hospital bed to the airport and checked into Salt for 30 days.”
Salt Recovery provides a safe environment with medical professionals on hand to assist you throughout the detoxification process whilst your body is restoring from withdrawal. Once the body has detoxified, Salts team of experts will be there to support you through the rest of your recovery in rehabilitation.
For Grace, she is on the journey of recovery and 5 months on from her stay at Salt Recovery she has moved states, found a new best friend in her fur baby and is studying to become a paramedic.
Grace* 27yr old Recovering Drug Addict
“I always used to look back that. I always said to my mom, I wish I could have gotten the paramedics name or number. They literally have saved my life so many times. They don’t know you; they just want to help you. They’ve helped me talk me out of things like suicide. They’ve just done a lot for me. And I want to be there for people that have ever been in my position because, again, the one thing I find that they lack a bit is they see it all the time, but they haven’t lived it, I guess, themselves. And I have.”
The Australian Department of Health research has found that one in six Australian’s have a drug addiction. According to researched collected in 2019 by the National Drug Strategy Household Survey (NDSHS), an estimated 9 million people over the age of 14 in Australia had illicitly used a drug at some point in their life.
Salt Recovery has emerged as a game changer in facilitating addiction recovery in the industry, significantly reducing relapse rates from a devastating 70% to 22% among all Salt guests. Salt Recovery is taking an approach that is clearly transformative in helping people get to where they need. Their experienced staff revolutionises the approach to recovery, by providing personal in-house clinical and medical support on a serene 17-acre property which offers guests the comfort and privacy they need to develop and find resolution in their struggles.
At Salt Recovery, we are dedicated to helping our clients change their lives for the better, to find out more about our services and programs, please contact us today.
* Note: the name of this guest has been changed to protect her identity.
