162 Touched By Addiction with Ryan162 Touched By Addiction with Ryan
You're Sober! Now What?
Ryan reflects on his journey from intense teenage addiction and mental health crises to faith-centred recovery and a busy, purposeful life. The conversation highlights strict rehab, grace-filled second chances, and using personal experience to support others through Touched By Addiction.
40:04•16 Dec 2021
Faith, Hustle and Second Chances: Ryan’s Young Recovery Journey
Episode Overview
- Resentment towards God and authority can fuel addiction, but can also be addressed through honest spiritual work.
- Even the strictest rehab environment may not "stick" until a person genuinely chooses to stay and engage.
- Experiencing undeserved grace and compassion can be a powerful catalyst for real change.
- Reading and studying spiritual texts helped Ryan shift from constant crisis to functioning and finding purpose.
- Sharing recovery stories openly can challenge stigma and show that former "troublemakers" can become leaders and helpers.
“I refuse to be silent about my addiction. I refuse to be silent about my struggles. But I also won't let it define me.”
Curious about how others navigate their sobriety journey? This conversation with Ryan from Touched By Addiction zeroes in on faith, second chances, and what it means to build a life beyond drugs and alcohol. Ryan, just 21, looks back on a childhood in a loving Christian home overshadowed by money worries and a growing resentment towards God and authority.
By 14, his drug use had escalated far beyond typical teenage experimenting, leading to heavy substances, selling drugs at school, frequent psych ward visits and multiple mental health diagnoses. As he puts it, "I was simply living to get high. There was never a moment where I was sober." After a stark ultimatum from his parents, Ryan entered a strict rehab programme convinced he’d get clean only to sell drugs afterwards.
Early recovery was chaotic; staff and peers doubted he'd ever stay sober. He recalls being told he had "a one in a million chance". But a pivotal moment came when he was asked to leave treatment, and instead dropped to his knees, begging to stay. That act of grace from the programme leadership, which he calls "one of the first expressions of demonstrated Christian love" he’d ever seen, became a turning point.
From there, Ryan threw himself into reading the Bible, theology textbooks and reshaping his responses to pain and authority. Today he’s off medication, studying to become a pastor, working full-time, involved in youth ministry and supporting others through Touched By Addiction. He jokes about the "massive bags" under his eyes as proof of the hustle, proud to be "a go-getter" building the ordinary life he once thought impossible.
This episode speaks to anyone who’s young in recovery, wrestling with faith, or wondering if change is really possible. What kind of comeback story are you ready to write for yourself?
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