By Wasatch Crest Program Graduate and Team Member Gary Lott
Wasatch Crest program graduate and team member, Gary Lott, shared his addiction recovery story. You can watch and read his story below.
My substance abuse started when I was seventeen, but it wasn’t until 2012 that my life was completely in shambles. That year is also when I attended my first treatment center, an intensive outpatient program in Payson. I was attending treatment for no other reason than to appease a judge and my family. So, instead of recovery, the next eight years consisted of active use, stints in jails, and stays in multiple treatment centers.
On December 27, 2019, after being arrested again, I realized that if I didn’t change, I was going to die. Despite this realization, after bailing out of jail on New Year’s Eve, I went right back to using. But on January 7, 2020, I checked myself into Wasatch Crest. I got sober because it meant living instead of dying. Thankfully, I finally got to the point of desperation that so many of us aren’t lucky enough to get to before the disease of addiction takes them.
During my time at Wasatch Crest, I struggled with core issues and made mistakes. But these mistakes allowed me opportunities to learn and grow. My biggest struggles were seeking validation from the opposite sex and expecting instant gratification. I also had to overcome the obstacles of finding a job and not having a car.
Before leaving Wasatch Crest on March 18, I had a solid plan for my early recovery. I immediately went to an intensive outpatient program upon my completion of residential and day treatment at Wasatch Crest. I had obtained a sponsor and started working the steps. I continued working with my sponsor and completed the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. Committing and following through with my recovery program really made my early recovery kind of a breeze. I no longer reverted to old behaviors that led me right back to the past.
My daily routine consisted of reading the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, exercising, praying, meditating, and living in a state of gratitude. By the time I’d been sober for four and a half months, I had built a solid recovery network by staying in touch with staff from Wasatch Crest and my sponsor, going to meetings and sober softball, and just being of service in any way I possibly could.
I am now eight months sober, and my life is amazing. I never would have dreamed that I could be where I am today. I didn’t think it could be possible with all the hurt that I’ve caused. But today, I no longer live a life filled with guilt, shame, and remorse. I’ve mended relationships that I deemed unmendable. I’m finally comfortable in my own skin. I have a car and a job. My family and friends trust me. I have an amazing relationship with a girl that I absolutely adore. My son is back in my life, and I’m also rekindling a relationship with my daughter who was given up for adoption at birth while I was in active addiction.
I have all of this today because I finally realized that I don’t know what’s best for me, and I’m not the exception to the rule on remaining sober. I took the suggestions from the people who had been exactly where I was, and who now have fulfilling and happy lives in long-term sobriety.
For those who are just entering recovery, here are my suggestions:
Read the Big Book. Go to meetings. Get a sponsor. Work the steps. And be of service. Be compassionate, kind, and do not judge. All I needed to get this great life of mine into motion were three things — willingness, an open mind, and honesty.
