I didn't realize I was having problems until alcohol took them away.

Daniel had to learn a lot of lessons to get to day one of sobriety. At 15, he discovered marijuana. Despite it giving him crippling anxiety, he continued on thinking maybe it would make him feel better. Because of the addiction,  that became the pattern with every substance that ever touched his lips. He recognized his patterns were destructive and kept telling himself that this time would be "different." But he was all in. Daniel ended up losing his job, resorting to dumpster diving and using meth and opioids. Upon losing his son, things in his world got real quiet. Then his wife left and he had lost everything. Then one day, he decided he didn't want to live the way he was living anymore and entered treatment. He was awarded his son back and things got much better over time. He currently has a a live streaming talk show centered around all things substance use and a streaming studio in his home. The gifts of sobriety are a beautiful thing.