Another High School Friend Died from an Overdose

In this week's episode, I talk about something that we are all too familiar with.

Earlier this week, I learned about an old friend of mine who died from a drug overdose. I admit that he wasn't a super close friend, but if he and I would have seen each other at a holiday party we would have gladly said hi to each other. He was a great guy.

I graduated with 147 kids in my class. So far in 2018, I can count 4 people in my graduating class who have died from an overdose.

Last year, I think it was 6 or 7 in total, one of which was a very close friend and it was a very painful experience.

It can be frustrating to see. My team and I work so hard to make this information available to people. No matter how much information and resources we put out there, we can't force other people to reach out and ask for help. I wish we could. I so badly want to find a way that we can make this recovery thing more appealing to people.

I try to always highlight the good stuff. I try to show, through my own experience and life that recovery is not boring and it's not some punishment and it's not some kind of sentence we have to carry out to pay for what we have done.

It's just a better way to live. Plain and simple.

If you are struggling, I beg of you to ask for help. You can reach out to our two treatment partners and they will be glad to help you. You can call the phone number on the website. You can browse through our rehab directory and find a place that is right for you. You can talk to your parents or your friends. You can call an AA hotline. Just say something! Tell someone!

Young people don't realize how fragile life is. It's not as though dying of an overdose is some crazy freak thing that never happens. It happens all the time, literally every day. If you are using, there is a high probability that you will die.

Just talk to someone, anyone. It will save your life.