15 Years Of Addiction: An Intense Account Of Heroin Withdrawal
“… from a lived experience.”
It was the 10th of August 2013, and after fifteen years of chronic addiction, I had lost everything: my job, my mind, and every important relationship in my life. I was out of options, out of luck, and my body was rapidly deteriorating.
I finally decided that I needed help, but the world had other ideas. With too many drugs in my body, I was too much of an insurance risk for detox. They told me to come back when everything except opiates had left my system. Fearful that I would change my mind, I decided to go cold turkey at home. The next four weeks were the most painful of my life, but the hardship was worth it. I managed to stay off everything except opiates, and I was finally allowed to go to detox. Now there was just the minor issue of a 15-year opiate withdrawal.
The farm
Like something out of an IRA film, I was picked up on the outskirts of Dublin (Ireland) and driven to an unknown location about 20 km away. As I sat in the front seat of a beat-up minivan, I reflected on my predicament. I was entering the unknown, in more ways than one, but my new journey was strangely exciting. Energized by the idea of freedom, I was ready for the fight.
