My name is Justin Greenberg and I have been clean since November 13th, 2015.
I was born and raised in Stoughton, Massachusetts. My family was really close when I was growing up and my parents have been married for over thirty years. My father coached my youth hockey and soccer teams and I have always had a good relationship with my mom.
I thrived in school, both academics and sports came easy to me. I was very social and friendly with all different groups of people, always looking out for the underdog. I loved the girls and the girls loved me. I was invited to all the parties and made friends everywhere I went.
I first began to experiment with alcohol and marijuana when I was in the 8th grade. By the time I hit high school I was smoking weed every day and would drink and party heavily on the weekends. I continued to do well in school and never thought that there was anything wrong with what I was doing. It felt like this was a normal part of growing up. I eventually began using prescription pain and anxiety medication and even that seemed like no big deal.
After high school I moved down to Florida and the party continued. What was fun and experimentation in high school suddenly turned into a full-blown opiate and benzo addiction. This was during the time of the Florida pill mills and feeding my addiction was really easy. Doctors had no problem over prescribing things you didn’t need. My life quickly spiraled out of control.
In active addiction I put myself in situations that I was lucky to make it out of. I’ve been held at gun point, I’ve seen people overdose and die, I had a close friend murdered, and I’ve been to jail multiple times. And none of it was enough to make me stop getting high.
Eventually, I had no choice but to move in with my parents in Massachusetts. I helped my father run our scrap metal recycling company, but my addiction quickly became clear to my family. In the beginning, I don’t think that they knew what to do. They enabled for a while, but eventually they had enough. They tried their best to help me and they never gave up on me.
I was in and out of treatment facility up north and then I moved back to Florida in an attempt to get sober. But my addiction followed me back there and got worse than ever. In the end, my parents had to sanction me. I know that it was a very hard thing for them to do, but it probably saved my life.
I had just gotten out of detox a and made the choice to move into a sober living home in West Palm Beach. I had a friend that had just picked up his one year and he was able to get me into the sober living facility that he had done so well at. I learned to take suggestions and the structure of the home and the men that were doing the right things definitely played an instrumental part in my early recovery.
In the 4 years that I have been clean, I’ve built a truly beautiful life. I regained the trust of my family, and my dad is my best friend. I am able to be the son my parent raised and the older brother my sister and brother deserve. I traveled to Italy and got engaged to my beautiful fiance on the Spanish Steps. I’ve bought a house and have two French bulldogs that rule the roost.
All the things I gave away in my active addiction, I got back tenfold
I live with a sense of purpose today. I’m able to show up when people need me. I’m an active member of Alcoholics Anonymous. I take men through the 12 steps and I am always of service for the newcomer. I have found a God of my understanding and He is my homie. When human aid fails me, I know staying connected with God can get me through anything.
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