Michael’s experience and recovery in the military community
Published May 21, 2024
Michael joined the Navy right out of high school and was deployed to Bosnia, Spain, Guam and Hawaii. In the military, he learned to keep to himself and didn’t communicate with others when he was struggling.
What role did the military play in your addiction?
Before I got in the military, as high school kids we partied a little bit, but I didn’t drink like that. And after I got into the military, it just progressively got worse and worse. And then it was like we were partying almost every single day at some point or another. After I got out, I just never really slowed down with the drinking. I just kept on doing what I did. That time in the military, it really set things in motion.
What brought you to Face It TOGETHER?
I was drinking a lot, getting out of control, it was affecting my relationship at home and everything. Things were going kinda bad and then my friend who went to Face It TOGETHER suggested it. He said, "Hey, dude, call these guys. They helped me out, and I’m telling you it works." So I reached out, and right away somebody got in contact with me. I was just really impressed on how quickly the ball got rolling. I really think that was crucial with what was going on in my life and what I was doing. It helped me out a lot.
What changes have you seen in your life since then?
I’m a lot happier now. I’m thinking a lot clearer; everything feels like it’s moving a lot more smoothly. I’m handling situations a lot better. I’m not just pushing problems or anything to the side and going to pick up a drink just to forget about it. I’m actually looking at the issue and try to find a solution for it. Just face the problem and get it out of the way. Before, I wasn’t doing that. Before, I would just go and start drinking and hope that it would go away, but that was never the case.
What would you say to someone in the military community who’s reluctant to reach out for help?
I would definitely encourage them to go ahead and pull the trigger on it and go and see somebody. There’s nothing wrong with it. It’s one on one; you don’t have to worry about your peers finding out about what you’re doing... I feel like it’s just better to go off post for certain things.
If my friend didn’t tell me about this program, I don’t know what kind of mess I’d be in right now. I really appreciate Face It TOGETHER and I would recommend this to anybody who needs it. It’s awesome and I’m happy I did what I did. I’m a very private person and I don’t generally want to go talk to people about things, but I feel like I can really open up and put it out there with y’all. It means a lot.