How I Hid My Addiction

I was a heroin addict for three years. The three years before that, I would take pretty much anything you put in front of me. That was, of course, before I went to treatment. But my parents didn't know I did anything aside from smoking weed occasionally and drinking from time to time.

I am writing this article because I was lucky (and so was my family) that I didn’t die from an overdose or end up in prison. But not everyone is so fortunate. When my parents finally did catch on, it was because I got sloppy—partly because I was trying to quit on my own and partly because my girlfriend at the time got caught.

None of that matters though, because hopefully, my opening up about how I would operate will help someone else get caught and force them to change their life before it’s too late.

I was always on edge; it was quite a job to hide my secret life. I would go to school or work and lie to my family about how much time I intended to be there. Before I was in college or had a job, I always professed to have somewhere to go to, such as a club, a friend's house to study, or some event. I learned how to disappear without anyone questioning it. I tried never to give them a reason to think I was lying, and I always kept a backup stash, so that if they refused to let me go out, I would be good.

The biggest “reasoning” I had was that I wanted to be “fair” to my family. I worked hard to make it so they would never even suspect I was so far gone.

The more time went on without any incidents, the less anyone had suspicions. This is why I think it is hard to catch people using drugs before they get to the point that they don’t care anymore. Because if you are trying to catch them, you should know that they are working just as hard, if not harder, to make sure you never find out. Once they reach the point they don’t care who finds out, their habit is devastatingly bad.

You should be suspicious:

• If they are never home
• If they seem secretive
• When they start coming home really late at night
• When their eyes don’t look right
• When they are quick to have a reason for conflicting stories

What can you do?

If you suspect they are using drugs, search their room. We have some excellent articles about searching for someone’s drug or alcohol stash.

Another thing you can do is to drug test them, but if you are going to do so, do not give them a warning. I faked drug tests when I was in high school. If you are worried that they are going to fake it, we have an article about how to fake a drug test that explains the way it can be done. Remember that refusing a drug test is pretty much an admission of guilt.

If you think someone you love is using, but you are not sure and want a professional opinion, please give us a call. We have professionals with years of experience who can give you a free consultation and advice.