From a young age, Dave was exposed to alcohol by his family and friends. Unfortunately, these influences only seemed to exacerbate his underlying propensity toward addiction. Before he knew it, decades had passed and he no longer found joy or meaning in life\u2014constantly controlled by the alcohol required to keep his body going.<\/p>\n
After an old friend confronted him about his disease, Dave decided to seek treatment at All Points North Lodge<\/a> in Edwards, Colorado. Having 71 days in the program and 14 months of sobriety on his belt at the time of filming, Dave opened up about his experience with addiction and sobriety in the APN podcast episode<\/a>, Addiction Treatment Changed My Life: Recovery x Dave<\/em>. To learn more about his story, check out the full podcast episode or continue reading the article below.<\/p>\n Dave wasn\u2019t the only person in his family who struggled with addiction.<\/p>\n \u201cI come from a family that was heavily engaged in alcohol,\u201d Dave said. \u201cI had some childhood trauma and a lot of things that led up to getting to where I was.\u201d<\/p>\n At first, Dave tried to brush off the peer pressure. But eventually, it wore him down.<\/p>\n \u201cI kind of held off from the peer pressure and stuff for quite a while,\u201d Dave said. \u201cI mean, I didn’t start drinking until I was about 12. Then, I kind of went through the high school story\u2014you know, drank some and did some other things. During sports I didn’t do it. [But then in] college [I] kind of picked it back up [and this carried] through to my adult life.\u201d<\/p>\n Eventually, drinking became a way of life for Dave.<\/p>\n Not only was drinking a way of life, but it was also a way to escape.<\/p>\n \u201cI really struggled with anxiety from the childhood stuff and I used the alcohol as an escape,\u201d Dave said. \u201cUltimately, I ended up on heavy medication and heavy alcohol \u2026 Then, [my] body [became] accustomed to that method of treatment \u2026 and unfortunately it [became] a way of life.\u201d<\/p>\n Like many others who struggle with addiction, Dave found ways to make excuses for his behavior.<\/p>\n \u201cI was still successful in [my] career, still had a family, didn’t have all the true rock bottoms, but the drinking continued and got heavier,\u201d Dave said. \u201cThen the last few years it was full on alcohol. I was drinking every day. Sometimes it was the first thing I did. Sometimes it was the only thing I drank during the entire day. Sometimes it was several days [where] the only thing I had was alcohol.\u201d<\/p>\n Dave opens up about what it\u2019s like to go from having an unhealthy relationship with alcohol to watching it progress into something worse.<\/p>\n \u201cYou kind of lose sight of you,\u201d Dave said. \u201cYou lose the ability to really control [anything]. It becomes that obsession and that \u2026 craving \u2026 You react mentally once you get that first taste and it’s so soothing\u2014you just don’t want to leave that feeling. You keep going and going, even though you’re making bad decisions, and you know you’re making bad decisions \u2026 with this disease, you will continue doing it and making those decisions [until] you surrender to it.\u201d<\/p>\n What started out as another opportunity to drink later turned into something Dave didn\u2019t expect.<\/p>\n \u201cI went to a fraternity event. It was my buddy’s anniversary party [and] I was in his wedding,\u201d Dave said. \u201cI hadn’t seen a lot of guys in years \u2026 There were kegs. There was Jungle Juice. You know, there was plenty of drinking and partying going on. But I was the only guy sitting by the cooler drinking the whole time while everybody else was [socializing] \u2026 I sat there and at some point I just decided I was going to bed and I went and got in a tent that wasn’t even mine.\u201d<\/p>\n Dave needed something to change. Luckily for him, there was a special person in his life who helped him see the depths of his disease, inspiring him to seek treatment.<\/p>\n \u201cThe next day one of my [friends] called me and said, \u2018Hey, I’m really concerned about you \u2026 I’ll come and get you right now and take you to treatment, but if you don’t want to go then I’ll be willing to read the five-side burial ritual at your funeral because that’s where you’re going to be.\u2019 And that moment hit me like a ton of bricks. It was like lightning [struck]. I mean, it chilled me to my bone. I hung up and \u2026 started making phone calls [to go] to treatment. Two days later is when I arrived in Colorado.\u201d<\/p>\n Even though Dave had been dealing with his disease for decades, coming to All Points North was his first time in a treatment program.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the end, I was just so tired of drinking,\u201d Dave said. \u201cIt was no longer fun. It was just something I did out of necessity. So when I got [to APN] I was happy that I had a solution that might work. I had no idea what I was getting into, of course.\u201d<\/p>\n Upon arriving, many of Dave\u2019s anxieties were put to rest.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I walked in the doors, I had [this] first reaction of, wow\u2014this place is incredible<\/em>,\u201d Dave said. \u201c[Still, it was probably] two or three weeks before I \u2026 really truly let my guard down. [I had to] accept and get honest with myself that, Hey\u2014you have a serious problem both mentally and physically<\/em> \u2026 I was not in the best physical shape when I walked in this door. I was 80 pounds heavier and on a fistful of medications. [Now, I\u2019m] not on any of that thanks to this place.\u201d<\/p>\n Part of what worked so well for Dave was the impact the APN staff had on his healing journey.<\/p>\n \u201cMy first meeting was with Dustin, [an APN therapist],\u201d Dave said. \u201cHe was absolutely perfect for me\u2014instrumental, really. I’m forever grateful to him for what he was able to get me through and get me to see and how and his guidance [got] me through the steps [and] the pieces of the process.\u201d<\/p>\n At APN, Dave was able to dive into the issues driving his addiction that he previously left unaddressed for years.<\/p>\n \u201c[Dustin] challenged me to overcome some of my fears, to be able to forgive, and to process some of my inner demons \u2026 I can remember [one time when] he asked me how I was doing and I sat down and kind of gave him what I thought \u2026 was a very good answer. It was a script. You know? \u2026 He just sat there and looked at me and goes, \u2018I don’t even know who you are when you say stuff like that. Why don’t you tell me a little bit about you and what you’re really going through? Quit being a therapist and tell me about what’s going on inside you.\u2019 \u2026 I hated it at the time, but now [I realize it was all] systematic and [that] those things were done for a reason.\u201d<\/p>\n One of Dave\u2019s biggest concerns about getting sober was how it might have impacted his personal life. However, he came to find that the outcome was far different from what he initially expected.<\/p>\n \u201cYou know all the things that [people say] when you’re in active addiction and all the fears that you have about how life can be fun at all on the other side [really affected me],\u201d Dave said. \u201cI thought\u2014what am I going to do? [But] I’ll tell you firsthand \u2013 at least from my experience \u2013 that life is a hundred thousand times better [sober]. It’s way more fun. The people that are your true friends are still there. The people that were just around for the party [are gone and] that’s okay.\u201d<\/p>\n Today, Dave lives a very different life from before, a better life than he even imagined.<\/p>\n \u201c[Before], everything that I like[d] to do in life was taken away by this disease,\u201d Dave said. \u201cNow, I’m totally different \u2026 I eat extremely clean. Mentally, I’m totally different because \u2026 I’m more engaged with my family. I’m more engaged with my kids. I go on vacations. I’m willing to try new things that I would never have tried before. [Previously], I was completely shut down and now I’m completely open and eager to try new things and truly live a sober life.\u201d<\/p>\n Now that Dave has healed from his addiction, he has some things he\u2019d like to share with others who may be facing similar situations.<\/p>\n \u201cWhether you’re an alcoholic or an addict or whatever\u2014life isn’t always skipping through fields of daisies,\u201d Dave said. \u201cThere’s difficult times, no matter. But it’s how you approach that and I think that being in recovery and \u2026 being self-aware prepares you to be able to handle those challenges without going back to the old ways of flying off the handle.\u201d<\/p>\n For Dave, APN provided him with the space and skills he needed to do that.<\/p>\n \u201cI’m extremely grateful for some of the people that I had an opportunity to work,\u201d Dave said. \u201cAPN and its staff is what changed my life. I’m a totally different person mentally and physically and I owe it all to this place.\u201d<\/p>\n If you\u2019re interested in learning more about All Points North and our addiction, trauma, and mental health recovery programs, submit our confidential contact form<\/a> or call us at 855.934.1178<\/a> today. You never know how good your life can get when you allow yourself to receive the gifts of sobriety.<\/p>\n Listen and watch the Dave\u2019s episode of Recovery x APN below, and find more episodes on YouTube<\/a>, Spotify<\/a>, and Apple Podcasts<\/a>.<\/p>\n \ufeff<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Written by Samantha Carter From a young age, Dave was exposed to alcohol by his family and friends. Unfortunately, these influences only seemed to exacerbate his underlying propensity toward addiction. Before he knew it, decades had passed and he no longer found joy or meaning in life\u2014constantly controlled by the alcohol required to keep his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":35679,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2,310,309,312,319,314],"tags":[32,272,394,105,330,296,66],"class_list":["post-40517","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-resources","category-addiction","category-mental-health","category-pschiatry-psychology","category-relationships","category-social-club-alumni","tag-addiction","tag-alcohol-addiction","tag-alcohol-addiction-recovery","tag-alcohol-addiction-treatment","tag-alcohol-use-disorder","tag-alcoholism","tag-mental-health"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/apn.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40517","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/apn.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/apn.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apn.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apn.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40517"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/apn.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40517\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apn.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35679"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/apn.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40517"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apn.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40517"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apn.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40517"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Born and Raised on the Bottle<\/h2>\n
Using Alcohol and Drugs as an Escape<\/h2>\n
The Intervention Dave Needed<\/h2>\n
Coming to Treatment for the First Time<\/h2>\n
Life-Changing Staff at APN<\/h2>\n
Life is Still Fun Sober<\/h2>\n
Reflections to Share<\/h2>\n
More From Dave<\/h2>\n