My 10-year career in healthcare was just starting to take off as a new graduate nurse, but my life was beyond busy.

Two jobs, nursing school, and volunteering with two community organizations filled my days and nights. The stress and pain of separating from my long-term fiancé became too much, and I turned to substances like so many others in high-pressure professions. My addiction spiraled, ultimately leading to the revocation of my nursing license.

From about 2017 until 2020, I was in a rehab inpatient program, partial hospitalization, and intensive outpatient programs. Through all those experiences, nobody ever asked me what I wanted or needed or who I was. They basically boiled me down to a diagnosis: substance use disorder.

I wanted to get better, but I was frustrated. I knew that no readymade treatment approach would address my illness. I also knew that there were many others like me who were suffering and either would not admit they had a problem or were not getting the help they really needed.

In time, I found an approach that worked for me. With the help of Recover Out Loud meetings, church, medication, and therapy, I started to turn my life around, piece by piece. If you’re somebody who’s been using for a while, you can’t just stop. It takes time. You need to believe in yourself and love yourself first to see big results. That’s the first step! For me, the next one was to accept that God has a path for me, and that I had to find it.

Since the spring of 2021, I’ve remained steadfast in my recovery with no setbacks.

- Jose G. Lopez, Supervisor, Food Services at Columbus Regional Health