Treatment Lifts Veteran From Depths of Alcohol and Meth Use
3 minute read
Treatment Lifts Veteran From Depths of Alcohol and Meth Use
3 minute read
Troy just kept falling. First, into long hours at work to avoid feelings he couldn’t manage on his own, like stress and depression. Then into drinking and the end of his marriage. Then methamphetamines, job loss, homelessness, and a series of felony charges. The Marine Corps Veteran says he didn’t feel like he had any support system that could serve as his safety net.
Then—as Troy recalls the moment he appeared in Veterans Treatment Court—a judge offered him both a way up and a warning: “You have one more chance.”
Troy seized that chance. Now, he hopes that sharing his story will encourage other Veterans with substance misuse and mental health challenges to ask for help. And while it’s better to ask for that help sooner rather than later, Troy’s journey shows that it’s never too late.
“When I started off this journey, I was homeless, living on the street, running from the police with 15 felonies. That’s where I came from. Go in and admit you have a problem. The first step in all recovery and everything is to admit it,” Troy advises.
Service and its aftermath
Troy joined the military as a fourth-generation Marine and served through 3 deployments: for earthquake relief in the Philippines, tsunami recovery in Japan, and the war in Afghanistan.
Transitioning back to civilian life in 2013, Troy buried himself in his work. He also drank. His wife left with their son.
“I was in a house by myself, and I just started using drugs,” he says. “A ball of methamphetamines a day—three-and-a-half grams. I became a soulless monster.”
Troy did meet someone new, however, and by the time the judge offered him a second chance, he learned they had a baby girl on the way. It was the final motivation he needed.
A second chance through inpatient treatment
Veterans Treatment Court allowed Troy to begin his recovery with 30 days of daily inpatient counseling and treatment for his challenges, including substance misuse. He would avoid a 2-year prison sentence if he followed through on all his commitments. As he explains it, “I gave my life over to the Veterans Treatment Court to say, ‘Hey, help me, please. I need this. I need to be better for them. I love my kids with everything I am.’”
“It was rough,” Troy adds. “I had to earn the trust back of the court because of everything that I had done.”
Troy began receiving treatment for co-occurring conditions: substance use disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and major depressive disorder. These conditions were the roots of his challenges. “Talk therapy helps out a lot,” he says. “If you want actual, real healing, you have to talk about these things.”
Now Troy is enjoying time at home with his family, playing video games with his children and helping them with homework, and engaging in healthy practices like gym workouts. He says all the support he received—from VA, the district attorney, and his family—helped him make it through and change his life’s trajectory.
“Everybody is in your corner,” he says. “I didn’t get sober on my own. I had a group of people. They all got behind me, and they all pushed me to get sober, and that’s how you do it.”
