A Candid Discussion About Substance Abuse Recovery

Stephen Sundquist overdosed on heroin twice in one day and had to be resuscitated. If not for emergency healthcare workers, he would have died. Stephen shares his story in hopes of helping that ONE person to change their life.

• Nationally Certified Intervention Professional

• Business Development Representative at Clean Recovery Centers

• Recovering Addict

• Advocate

• Public Speaker on the topic of his personal experience dealing with opioid addiction and recovery

Where can I follow Stephen?

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stephen.sundquist.1

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-sundquist-ncip-518a14100

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Ssundquist89

Stephen had a promising baseball career. He had aspirations of becoming a pro baseball player, but he ended up hurting his arm and started taking prescription meds which started him down the path to a hopeless opioids addict. From a prescription all the way to heroin.

At 21, his parents had an intervention on him and said he needed to get help, but at that point he was not doing it for himself, he was doing it to please his parents. He did not want to feel the way he was feeling. He went to a treatment facility for the first time his life, complained the whole way through it and did the bare minimum in a 28 day stay.

Stephen resisted help for years. He was finally forced to face his problem after the paramedics resuscitated him twice in one day. On February 28, 2017, when he left work he overdosed while he was driving. The paramedics found him unresponsive in his car. He woke up in the hospital and was told he was lucky to be alive. He would have died if they did not find him. He left the hospital, went home and took another dose of heroin. The same paramedic crew that just saved him 5 hours prior to the second overdose found him unresponsive at home.

Stephen went to several treatment facilities, but it wasn't until the 6th or 7th time that it finally clicked. Putting together all of the information he received through treatment, he finally started to take action and allow for help.

Soon after his last treatment facility experience, he began a path to helping other people with substance abuse challenges. The best gift of sobriety is helping others and “watching the light turn on in someone else’s eyes.”

Stephen has been dedicated to helping other break the chain of addiction for over 4 years and has found his life purpose in this cause.

There are a lot of people that are turning to substance use to get through the anxiety of this pandemic. One of the causes of relapse at the moment is isolation, boredom, etc. It is so vital to have human connection to stay sober.

How do you help a loved one? Give them an ultimatum if they do not seek help. Do not enable them.

Stephen is a public speaker, particularly at schools and to young people. He covers several topics including suicide, worthlessness, hopelessness, and not fitting in, etc. He also speaks about the 4 stages of life:

1) Childhood/Upbringing

2) High School Years

3) Addiction/Struggle

4) Road To Recovery.

There is no discriminiation on whom addiction affects. No one begins using drugs recreationally at a young age. It is usually a result of depression, anxiety, self-esteem issues, divorce, trauma, and so on. This is the time to intervene because as people get older, recovery becomes harder.

There is no better time than RIGHT NOW to get help. Reach out. Help is out there. People are afraid, as was Stephen, to reach out, but overcoming the fear and taking that first step saves lives.

If you are struggling, be sure to have a routine, self-care, meditate, pray, eat healthy, exercise, and seek help. Write a schedule, keep yourself accountable, and have a list of people to contact. Stephen had to learn to create routine by doing regular tasks like laundry, cooking, and self care. He was able to add in learning to play the guitar and has found music to be a huge tool in his recovery.

It’s all about learning who you are and what you like to do. Get out into the world and experience the beauty of nature. We have to go out there and try it.

Thanks to our sponsors of this show:

• Forever Forward Financial - https://www.facebook.com/ForeverForwardFinancial

• "When the Dust Settled" a book by Joe Potosi available at Barnes and Noble and Amazon - https://amzn.to/3ezZGmu

• Don Lawson Music - http://www.reverbnation.com/donlawson

• Building Beyond Me - http://www.buildingbeyond.me/mocwithtiffany

Thanks for watching. If you like what you see, please share it so that your friends can see it too.

Make sure to subscribe to this podcast so that you get a notice when a new show is added.

Click here to subscribe to our YouTube Channel http://www.youtube.com/MOCwithTiffany?sub_confirmation=1

There is no reason for you to suffer in silence any longer. Many people know the way out and they can help you. You are not alone.