Mark - Voices of the Street

Anxiety was planted in me from childhood and has followed me ever since. I discovered that drugs could numb it - and that it got even worse if I stopped. That's how I became trapped: I was simply too afraid of the consequences of quitting.

Cocaine starts as a party drug, but quickly becomes a fixed part of my weekends. I spend from my food budget, lie to my girlfriend, and I can see it's going wrong. I go into treatment, and it actually goes well - until one day I see a friend inject themselves. A week later I'm sitting with a needle in my arm. From that moment on, everything is about the next fix: how do I get the money, and when can I take it?

As a drug user, you spend 23 hours feeling good for one hour. Many are mistaken when they think people in addiction are weak - it takes enormous resources to get money with withdrawal raging in your body while also functioning in that environment.

For many years I've looked down on myself and felt ashamed. In May 2025 I met someone who looked at me differently. It awakened something: I'm not lost, I have value - for myself and for others. That was the starting shot for me to do my best today to get out of my addiction and create a different life.