If this is your very first time visiting, then I hereby welcome you to Calling All Addicts! My name is Louis G, and I started this blog because I am a PROUD addict-in-recovery. I’m not at all afraid to admit it, either. CAA began as a way to promote networking with other like-minded individuals who are also treading that beautiful path to recovery. And if you didn’t already know this, I suspect that you’ll soon discover that recovering from addiction is in fact a lifelong journey, and that’s totally okay. (If you’re a drug addict and/or alcoholic and you are still actively using, you’re more than welcome here. My only wish is that you mentally [and spiritually] open yourself up to learning about the overall benefits of recovery, particularly via long-term sobriety or medication-assisted treatment.) In divulging my own story (hey, we all have a story!), my overall aim with CAA is to provide the assurance that you are not alone. (As oh-so ‘We are the World’-ish that that may sound, I wholeheartedly mean it. If you are in fact reading this while still using drugs and/or alcohol, check out as many of these posts as you can. Respond with comments, questions, general gripes, stories of your own (even war stories if you want! Just please refrain from obvious triggers, please!); I very much wish to hear what you have to say, even if you don’t think you deserve the opportunity to be heard. I tell ya what, you absolutely do. And, whatever you have to say can, does, and WILL matter to someone. It will always matter to me — I genuinely mean this.
Moreover, I do possess the ideology that, unless you are or have been an addict, in some form or another, then you do not truly know what it’s like. This statement is definitely not meant to come across as bumptious or unwelcoming, either. It’s just, non-addicts are simply not aware of precisely how plaguing an addiction can be (and often times is). Plus, it’s not just the dozens of botched relationships, missed job opportunities, various firings, or even the terrifying legal challenges that make the illness so incredibly agonizing. At the end of the day, the worst part of experiencing addiction is the alienation that always comes along with it.
At CAA, you absolutely will not be shunned if you don’t go (or even if you’re against) 12-step fellowships like AA. Addicts are vilified and looked down upon so much, so I strongly feel that receiving criticism for not attending meetings is quite harmful. If you go and you love it, then that is absolutely wonderful. Keep going, and please feel encouraged to write about & share your experiences of recovering in those halls. AA or NA (Narcotics Anonymous) is certainly a special, unique form of treatment when it comes to recovery in general. Nevertheless, if you do not go to meetings, do NOT feel blackballed here.
All recovery is GOOD recovery. (There is never any bias or detriment with me or on the Calling All Addicts site.)
I will be personal about my life on this blog, and you should be too. If you want to privately message me an idea or story to actually feature on Calling All Addicts, then I will post it, without a doubt. Every single addict has at least one idea that is worth hearing out. (Anonymous posts are welcome, too.)
AND PLEASE REMEMBER: If you’re actively using and you are contemplating getting sober (you’ve already started on that colorful road to recovery, actually), then you are more than welcome here. Comment if you like. Ask for advice should you feel inclined. Just thinking about it is proof that you have already ignited a voyage to full recovery.
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Finally, if you’re an active user and you haven’t even thought about quitting, then you’re welcome here, too. I know you’re worthy of sharing something, too. I’m sure of that (just try to avoid semantic triggers though; that’s all I ask!). But I do want you to be here; read the posts, and share…but only if you want to.
You are always welcome here.
Love, Louis
Calling All Addicts 