The Doctor Who Wanted to Die

“That’s when I found God.” This is how Christopher recalls what it felt like to take hydrocodone for the first time.  But before long, his addiction took a brutal hold of his life in the middle of a successful career as a doctor. Despite having everything, he eventually found himself in a place where he wanted to die, and he couldn’t understand why. After two stints in treatment, he stayed sober for 17 years. But he explains how he was starting his relapse long before he actually picked up a drug. After another intervention, he ended up in treatment a third time, but this time was at MARR. Through the loving confrontation of his counselors and support of the community, Christopher began the process of humbling himself and being honest about what was really going on. He learned to stop looking for validation from external things and to begin to take joy in his recovery and helping others.  0:01 – Intro 1:41 – High school, college, and med school 3:30 – Taking hydrocodone for the first time 6:38 – On the outside, it looked like he had everything 12:18 – Spending 17 years in recovery 13:00 – Relapse behavior starts long before the actual relapse 16:14 – The first day at MARR 19:00 – Learning to open up 27:16 – Living in the residence with other clients 29:49 – Healing in the family relationships 32:31 – Going back to being a doctor in recovery 35:42 – Things he still does to stay sober and content 39:05 – What he would pass on to others if he could