Aaron C. Age 31 Sober since: 9/24/10

Aaron C. Age 31 Sober since: 9/24/10

What drives someone to seek a life without alcohol and drugs? Aaron C., a 31-year-old born in Mexico and raised across the United States, shares how a mix of social anxiety, secret-keeping, and access to pet medications pushed his using to extremes.

You’ll hear how a shy teen, too anxious to sit in a school cafeteria, ended up hiding in bathroom mirrors for a year, then later found comfort in sneaking tequila and stealing opiates from the animal hospital where he worked.

Aaron explains how being a veterinary technician gave him access to morphine, buprenorphine and even fentanyl, and how his medical training led him to teach himself to inject: “I remember the first time I put it up against my arm… I breathed in a little too quickly, and then it just went in.” The conversation moves through overdose, self-harm feelings, and a rapid slide from “functioning addict” to buying heroin downtown.

Mike and Aaron talk frankly about suboxone, failed attempts to quit, and the small streak of luck that helped Aaron get enough clean time to let recovery take hold. There’s also an honest look at machismo and Mexican culture, the stigma of asking for help, and what it’s like being one of the only Latin men in many meetings.

Aaron describes how long-term sobriety hasn’t erased his insecurities, but has given him tools: connection, community, and the willingness to keep doing step work, including multiple fourth and fifth steps. For anyone who’s relapsed on “just this one last time,” or feels like a misfit in recovery spaces, Aaron’s story might feel very familiar. His simple advice to newcomers?

Don’t be so hard on yourself and, as he puts it, “just keep coming back.” If you’re wondering whether there’s still a chance for you, why not see what you recognise in his journey?