Zara shares her own story as a recovering drug addict and alcoholic sober since she was 22 years old.
Adopted and Foster teens /adults are the highest minority of people to be over represented in mental health facilities and prisons.
They are at four times the risk of committing suicide than a regular teen.
Even though we have these statistics, I believe that the coloration between the two is still over looked.
For me, as an addict, using drugs and alcohol was a way to run from a deep pain and void. No one at the time knew how to help me deal with, what I now know, is a deep grief.
I believe in order to truly recover we need to heal our grief and loss, feel it, face it in a gentle way in order to move forward.
When I share about my journey of addiction and being adopted I talk a lot about the grief and healing.
I was lucky enough to get sober when I was 22 years of age and have had tremendous support over the years.
I find working with the teens and their families incredibly rewarding. After someone that has struggled myself to be able to have found a sense of purpose by sharing about it is indeed an incredible gift.
I tell my teens that all the time, that they to, one day can talk about being adopted and help educate.
I also like to share that it really is possible to lead a very happy fulfilling life sober even with unresolved issues and inspite of not having all of our answers.
