Table Of Contents
Journey Of My Addiction
I (Bill Lee Burroughs) started using drugs (alcohol and cigarettes) at 11. My parents broke up when I was 6 and my mother left. I didn’t see her for 6 months and after that, she had a new boyfriend, a 1 bedroom flat and would see us (me and my 2 siblings) separately on weekends, usually for the day only. This was the life event that I feel had a major impact on my using drugs.
From 11 I then took marijuana and amphetamine at 12 (each new drug I encountered I would use as often as possible and in combination with what I already took), at 13 LSD. One trip was extraordinarily strong and I wound up having a total psychological meltdown and ended up in a psych ward for 5 days. 3 weeks later I took LSD again – this is when I knew I was an addict but I didn’t act on it. At 14 I added MDMA to my palette of drugs and at 15 I started taking ketamine and cocaine. I was going to illegal raves every weekend from the age of 14 and was selling drugs, particularly cocaine, at 16.
My Wife Decided To Divorced Me
I (Bill Lee Burroughs) got myself into a lot of debt from using an ounce of coke I was meant to sell and then running off with the proceeds of a credit card fraud I was involved in and as a result I moved to Bristol. I tried sobriety and the 12 steps but soon started using again and by 18 was injecting heroin and crack daily. I remained a chronic addict for 4 years before finally meeting a girl I liked and got myself clean which was no mean feat. Things were good until 2008 when my half-sister told me that my dad had spied on her getting changed as a teenager and had gotten into bed with her – the real reason my mum left was his gaslighting her caused a nervous breakdown so my whole life came crashing down as I reassessed everything.
At the same time my brother told me about being abused by our maternal grandfather, something that I remember happening to me but, being younger, I wasn’t sure was real – I thought it was a nightmare at the time. So I found out that my father had caused all this, my mother had abandoned me to his care, and that both I and my brother were sexually abused by our grandfather. I (Bill Lee Burroughs) relapsed. HARD. I made a conscious effort to relapse and I now had the financial means to use heavily – I spent £500 a day injecting heroin and crack until the money ran out and my wife decided enough was enough and divorced me.
I’ve Been To Detox/Rehab Twice
So as of today, I’m ‘clean’. I don’t use it but I am on maintenance: 38mg methadone, 30mg diazepam, and 240 mg dihydrocodeine daily. My life story is more complicated than this and is not all doom and gloom – I (Bill Lee Burroughs) have, somewhat surprisingly, had a very interesting and enjoyable life: I’ve fallen in love, got married, traveled the world, seen and met some amazing musicians, eaten at some of the best restaurants in the world, etc so I don’t want everyone else thinking it’s all doom and gloom but my life has constantly been overshadowed by my addiction. I’ve been to detox/rehab twice and since the birth of my gorgeous daughter in 2018 I’ve been sticking to my prescription but I’m not quite where I’d like to be yet which is opioid and benzo-free.
I’m looking forward to the next chapter in my life but enjoying the current one very much as well.
The post Recovery Story – Bill Lee Burroughs appeared first on Addictionaide.