HOPE
FLOATS
By // John Doe*
D
rug addiction is a scary
thing. I remember sitting
in class when I was a
kid and listening to the
traumatic stories about what drug
addiction did to people. I never
wanted to be like that.
I bought into the stigma that
drug addicts were a certain type
of people and I was not like
“those people.” I was an athlete.
I had been a highly competitive
swimmer since I was 5 years
old and had always told myself
there was no way I would ever
be consumed by addiction. I was
consumed by wanting to be the
best athlete I could be.
Swimming eventually led me
to a sport I loved even more:
water polo. I put all my time into
becoming great. I practiced six
hours a day in high school and
never did anything to jeopardize
my chances of success. Even
though alcohol and drugs were
always around, I never used
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them. I was part of a team
that was gunning for the state
championship and had personal
goals to play water polo in college.
Addiction was going to be the last
thing that held me back.
During my senior year, I injured
my shoulder. It was minor, but was
accompanied by a lingering pain
that was hindering my ability to
throw a ball. I needed a solution…
which I found in prescription
painkillers. I remember getting
prescribed them and people
telling me to be very careful. But
I wasn’t concerned about the
potential for addiction. Besides,
they were prescribed to treat my
symptoms of pain.
Things were going well. We
won the state championship and
I received All-American honors.
I took the next step and started
playing water polo at a large
university. I had some injuries
here and there, and always
treated them the same way: I
would go see my doctor and get
a prescription for pain medicine.
One thing I never realized was
that painkillers had a funny way of
killing my emotional pain as much
as my physical pain.
College water polo was so
competitive that I started to use
pills as a way to give myself an
edge. They helped me deal with
competing against some of the
best athletes in the country. At
educate
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sportsmanship
*A client at the John Volken Academy, an addiction recovery program with treatment centers in Vancouver, British Columbia;
Seattle; and Phoenix.
times, I couldn’t keep up. I was no
longer a big fish in a little pond.
When I look back, this is where I
developed a real drug addiction.
The painkillers I was using for
a physical advantage were now
giving me an emotional advantage.
The problem was that the pills were
making me physically dependent
and when I didn’t have them, it
took a major toll on the way I
played. This became a vicious
cycle. The more drug use hurt me
athletically, the more depressed
I became. The more depressed I
became, the more drugs I used in
order to feel emotionally better.
I used to think I was invincible
when it came to addiction.
Addiction is a disease that can
affect anyone with problems. The
thing we never realize is that we
are all faced with problems. That
is part of life. It’s important to be
your best, but it’s also important to
realize that being your best doesn’t
mean you need to compromise
your integrity.
As an athlete, I made the
mistake of compromising my
integrity by using pills. Dealing
with athletic injuries properly is
important and taking medication
isn’t always bad, but it’s important
to recognize when you’re not using
your medication properly. There is
a big difference in treating pain on
the outside versus treating pain on
the inside.
