GateHouse Treatment Founder Nathan Irvine is the special guest on week 12 of the Hope Dealer series hosted by GateHouse Treatment CEO, Ed McDonough. Nathan shares his experience strength and hope this week from how he came from a hopeless state of mind to a person in long-term recovery and how the 12 Steps transformed his life to mold him into the man he is today.
Nate always saw people who were fulfilled with their lives, never feeling that he turned to drugs and alcohol at the age of 13 which got him through the next ten years of his life. Nate first entered a detox at 18 after admitting to his mom that he was a drug addict and needed help. This spiral out of control continued for years, with Nate going in and out of treatment centers. Nate talked about the powerlessness and unmanageability he experienced in his active addiction, never admitting that he was an alcoholic. He always thought his problem was strictly drugs, that he could still drink alcohol and smoke marijuana. After realizing that any mood or mind-altering substance was what his problem was another piece of the puzzle fell into place.
Every time after coming out of treatment Nate had dreams and aspirations but was still drowning in guilt and shame of what he had done to his life and his family. It finally took Nathan losing everything that he had never lost before, as far as possessions, he was able to maintain the façade that his life was going well while hoping to die through his drug use. Entering his last detox and treatment center Nathan was approached by a man that he used to party with told him he has clear, precise instructions for Nathan to follow to recover from the hopeless state of mind and body. Knowing that this man had walked a very similar path to Nathan and had somehow managed to get a year sober, Nate decided he had nothing left to lose.
As time went on and Nate’s sponsor kept taking him through the steps, he realized that blaming his actions on the events of trauma and abandonment in his past were things that many in recovery have also experienced. Realizing that we cannot blame our choices on our past Nate finally started to heal and get those deep dark secrets out.
“There is a way to actually recover from this, be happy and enjoy life” Nathan pointed out. After completing the 12 Steps, Nathan wanted to pass on what had been given to him and had a completely different outlook on life. This spiritual experience Nate had gone through sparked the light that has since turned into a blazing beacon of recovery and fellowship in the form of GateHouse Treatment.
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