"Positive and engaging help"

My journey has been ongoing for a while now. I have been a user of illicit drugs for longer than I remember (since my early teens in any event). At the beginning of my care, I felt fairly low and broken. Whilst I thought that I was beyond help, I was prepared to try any avenue of help offered and am glad that I did.

The help that I have been provided with by STaRS over the last 18 months has helped in restoring my confidence and begin to get a handle on my drug use. It helps greatly that I've found the support given by my Care Co-Ordinator to be non-judgmental, empathetic, encouraging and very human, rather than a periodic "box-ticking" exercise. By being put at ease I've been able to open up and engage about my feelings - something I struggle with - and obtain advice and put in place measures that have seen my drug use decrease and, as a result, I have been able to provide a good run of negative drug tests. In addition, I have found my mental health improved for the better and anxiety lessen.

We have also discussed other facets of my life eg. suffering from what is known as "Impostor Syndrome" that may trigger my drug use, as we work together to tackle how I react to these issues on a day to day basis without always resorting to using.

One of the most beneficial pieces of advice that I have put into practical use is to not aim to high too soon, but set targets that are realistic. As a result of being realistic I have been able to exceed my own self imposed targets and I hope to continue in this manner. I try to do at least one positive activity each day and this in itself has led to promotions at work and a recent house purchase. I'm not perfect - far from it - but with the positive and engaging help I've been provided with, I'll hopefully continue to improve and maybe be able to update this story as my journey progresses in the right direction. :-)