A few months ago Cam was in the studio talking about his recovery journey as a former user of opioids.
In the interview , Cam shared his story and the treatments that helped him to get clean. Since then, he’s had a number of people reach out and wanted to come back on air to provide another talk around the misconceptions around addiction.
(Listen to the full interview with Cam below:) The first time he got high Recently Cam reconnected with the person that showed him how to use heroin for the first time. The relationship came back full circle after they had heard Cam’s previous interview and wanted to reach out to express their regret for introducing Cam to the drug. Cam has no ill-feelings towards them and now calls him a friend after discussing his recovery journey with him.
“He was devastated. I hadn’t spoken to this guy since within a year or two of the actual event when I was 15 and I had no idea that what I said would affect them like that.
“He’s clean now. He’s changed his life. He didn’t get into it for too long – the heroin and stuff. He was lucky that he fell out of the scene. I don’t blame him, I can’t lay it all on his door because I took that journey and I wanted to do what I did,” says Cam Cam was about 15-years-old when this friend showed him how to shoot up heroin properly. Cam says that shooting up is a chemical process and getting something wrong, like temperature, could result in the product becoming unsafe. Having someone show him how to process the drug properly and experiencing his first high was actually a way for him to use safely..
Dealing with judgement and negativity It can take courage to share stories of addiction and recovery. People that share their stories open themselves up to negative commentary but Cam says that sharing his story was never about telling anyone what to do or implying that his own life was perfect.
“All I’m doing is trying to make it a bit easier for people to not have to go through the struggles I went through to learn those things that work,” he said.
“If everyone shares their journey and the things that worked for them, then the next generation can learn from that… and if we can continue that process, we can all help each other.” Cam currently enjoys watching content from content creator Spanian who is an ex-career criminal who has turned away from drug addiction. A guy that has in the past, been a drug-dealing, ram-raiding, stabbing-people kind of guy and has recently become a content creator. Spanian discusses the idea that for every negative comment that you might get, there are 10 people that might not comment but you have supported positively.
“So the negative kickback that I get and the hypocrite stuff, I’ve got to learn to brush that aside. Take it on, just listen to it and say; “It’s your opinion, that’s cool.” But I can’t let it stop me.” Getting Clean Around the time Cam was in his late twenties, he hit what he describes as rock bottom.
“I couldn’t physically find veins to have an injection. I’d run out and that was devastating for me. I knew I had to make a change, there was no way about it,” he said.
Many of his surface veins had collapsed – an issue he deals with to this day – and living with the unbearable pain of the physical addiction made him search for treatment.
By this time, he had lost all interest in maintaining a lifestyle that was harmful to his health. This meant that he was dedicated to staying clean but he learned that recovery isn’t a straightforward path. While deciding to get clean is a big step to take, when people falter in their journey, it can often lead to feelings of failure, which then leads to more feelings of hopelessness.
“I want to stress this to everyone. If you’ve told everyone you’ve given up then you’re gonna feel like an idiot when you relapse – and you will relapse. There is a 99% chance you will relapse. When you relapse – don’t feel like a failure, don’t hide anything – just know that it’s part of the journey and get back on track,” he says.
Addiction treatment for opiates often includes methadone as a way to eliminate dependence on a drug that has to be obtained illegally. While methadone can assist recovery by providing a legal alternative, the body is still physically addicted to the methadone.
“They give you methadone, saying “Great, you’re off the drug,” but you’re not off the drug at all. They’ve given you the same drug as what you’re taking, but it’s stronger and more addictive.” Cam’s Recovery Journey It was important for Cam to address his methadone addiction for him to be truly free of opiate addiction. For him, it was a 25,000 euro treatment programme in Serbia that allowed him to become free of his physical addictions.
At a simplistic level, the treatment involves putting your body through the withdrawal process while you are under general anaesthetic, so that by the time you wake up, the worst of the withdrawal sickness is over.
Controversial due to the amount of stress it puts your body through, the treatment is called Ultra Rapid Opioid Detoxification Under General Anaesthetic. The main caveats of this process is that for it to work, you need to have addressed the psychological addiction and the lifestyle that comes with substance abuse, like criminality, prior to receiving the treatment. Cam had been living a stable life for around 15 years at this stage so he qualified for the procedure.
While the treatment Cam underwent addresses the physical side of the addiction, there is another aspect called regression therapy that specifically looks at the traumatic roots of addiction to heal the root causes of the problem.
A System of Support Cam was unable to undergo regression therapy in Serbia because he was too far away from his support systems. Regression therapy goes deep into your past to find repressed memories that may contribute to your trauma. By identifying and addressing the trauma, you can start to create awareness and coping mechanisms around it.
“I couldn’t do it because they wouldn’t let me. I didn’t have family support around me and I was too far away from home. The trauma and healing after they fix the addiction is quite traumatic and you need support – you’re digging deep in the treatment.” With addiction a fairly common issue within many families, Cam says that part of the reason people are falling through the gaps is due to the loss of those family support networks.
“We mask a lot of this pain from our childhood trauma and a lot of us can’t remember even that we had trauma. Because our brains are very powerful, they mask this pain and don’t want to remember it.
“When people are asked, “Did you go through traumatic things as a child?” Most people are like, “No, I had a great childhood.” But really, they don’t actually know. Because you’ve repressed stuff that you can’t remember.” In Cam’s view, if there was a proper support system, (like it was for millions of years, living in a village with an extended family, where everyone knows everyone else from birth) when a child has a traumatic experience, they can talk about it with their support networks to develop coping mechanisms. Through simple acts like sharing experiences together, children used to learn skills from fellow villagers who they’ve known from birth, and who they trust – this sort of environment helps them make immediate sense of any emotional hurt. Often the root of addiction can be traced back to feelings of being overwhelmed as a child and not having this sort of support system to cope.
Lessons Learned Along Cam’s recovery journey, spirituality has helped him to understand what is important in life and he hopes his experiences can help others that might be in the same position that he was many years ago.
Trust your own path. It’s easy to compare yourself to others and to be envious of other people’s positions in life but trust that you have your own path to follow.
Enjoy the journey that is life because your path to success is just as important as the achievement itself. The joy in life is to experience the learning and knowledge from the paths you take.
Love is what keeps us going and keeps us happy. It’s getting through hurdles and getting closer towards your goals that brings continuous joy in our life. You’ve got to try all the time.
Create new goals for yourself and appreciate the small steps. Lots of small successes add up to make big successes. Once you have achieved goals that you’ve worked towards, make another goal to strive towards.
Your current situation is not your final destination. Just because you’re struggling, it doesn’t mean you’re failing. Being aware that your problem is affecting you in your life and the people around you. That is good. That is enough for now.
This article discusses addiction treatment programmes. These are intended for educational and informative purposes only and are not intended to serve as medical or professional advice. You should consult your physician or other health care professional before starting any programme to determine if it is right for your unique needs.
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