Until now, no one understood the severe wound that adoption inflicts on the psyche of adopted children. The deep-seated mental issues that many adoptees silently suffer from are only now being uncovered.
My Life Before Getting Help and What It's Like Now
I've suffered from the dis-ease of alcoholism/addiction since I was very young. I was adopted at birth by two extremely loving parents, but for reasons I have only recently became aware of (thanks to the help from Beit T'Shuvah), I suffered unconsciously for decades from feelings of "less-than" and "not being apart of" which led to major anxiety, attention deficits and crippling social phobias.
My issues with alcohol started at a relatively young age (around 9 yrs old) when I came across some sweet smelling Peach Schnapps I found in a cupboard in my family's house. The moment that liqueur hit my lips, that warm feeling reaching all the way down to my stomach, and when that alcohol hit my system, I immediately felt a sense of comfort and relief that I didn't know possible! All those feelings of "less-than" and "not apart of" disappeared. ALCOHOL WORKED! It wasn't until much later I would recognize it's devastating effects.
Back then, Professionals knew very little or nothing about the effects of adoption on all involved and the feelings and emotions adoptees go through growing up so there really wasn't any standard types of therapy. I wasn't much of a social kid to begin with as a result of all this so as soon as some of the neighborhood kids/school kids started experimenting with other substances, I jumped right in the middle as alcohol and drugs seemed to be my ticket to the "in-crowd", and I knew that drugs and alcohol would take me out of my head, albeit temporary.
Needless to say, I chased that original comforting feeling that drugs and alcohol gave me for most of my adult life, because one, it worked and two, something I also found out in my 20's, is that I had a genetic predisposition to addiction. Both of my biologicals battled with this dis-ease as well. I came to find out that those predisposed to alcoholism and drug addiction metabolize these substances differently than "normal" people. Although alcohol and drugs were devastating my life and the lives of everyone around me, it was the only solution I knew that stopped temporarily the mess that was going on inside my head.
What Happened
As a result of the deep soul-searching work I've done so far and the support that has been so freely given to me at Beit T'Shuvah, the amazing opportunity to train and run in the L.A. Marathon and my daily program of recovery here, I'm now on a path to long-term recovery and will be able to live a life that will be one of which is beyond my wildest dreams.
The L.A. Marathon (http://www.lamarathon.com)
Now about the L.A. Marathon. Beit T''Shuvah has been involved in the L.A. Marathon for years. Residents both past and current are encouraged to sign up and begin training for the race. It' aignt easy, but it's do-able! (I've got some blisters on my feet now and I vomited twice the first week during training..Yuck!) Some of the prior race participants from Team Beit T'Shuvah who are still sober today and living amazing sober lives say that they could have never stayed sober if it wasn't for the discipline, stick-to-it-tiveness, hard work and perseverance that they learned and they needed to accomplish such a task as this Marathon. This marathon and training, like recovery itself, is hard work.
Here's a video from some of last years BTS Marathon Team Members
So far, for the past 3 weeks, every Tuesday and Thursday morning at 6am I've been involved in 2 mile training runs. In addition, we also did a 3 mile Sunday run the first week, a 4 mile run the second Sunday and a five mile run today (11-19-17). We will be training every week like this, increasing miles up until a few days before the race. I want to look back next year with over a year of sobriety and be able to tell others that are new in recovery, like I am now, that this training and marathon played an integral part in my recovery, so that they too can embarque on a beautiful journey for themselves.
Our training schedule gets more rigorous as we get closer to race day and we will also be doing a smaller half-marathon race (10K) in the beginning of December in Santa Monica.
I still am a resident in treatment at Beit T'Shuvah and desperately need your help! I need Sponsors, hopefully like you, to help with the costs of supporting my training, gear, marathon entrance fees, transportation and associated costs. My goal is to raise $3000 so not only my costs are covered, but so I can give anything left over to the Beit T'Shuvah Team to help cover the costs of residents who are less fortunate and cannot raise any funds on their own, but wish to take part in this amazing opportunity.
About Beit T'Shuvah (http://www.beittshuvah.org)
Beit T'Shuvah is a Coed Jewish Drug and Alcohol Treatment Center located in West Los Angeles where about 70% of the residents, like myself, are on "scholarships" and can't afford to pay for this magical treatment center on their own. Although BTS is a Jewish Treatment Center, around 25% of the residents are non-Jews from all denominations. It cost around $12,000 to house, feed and treat each BTS resident per month and much of their operating expenses are received thru community donations.
I encourage you to learn more about Beit T'Shuva and what it does for our community as it is helping me work through my issues and become a better person through awareness and sobriety. I also encourage you to visit the link below. Proceeds from this donation page go directly to Beit T'Shuvah's Marathon Team. Together, we can save Souls!
If you'd like to contact me directly, just to say hi, say some encouraging words or to tell me that your gonna kick my ass if I don't finish this Marathon because you made a generous donation, please call my cell at 323-325-1079. I can also help you to get involved in the Marathon and it's training if you'd like. Most importantly, if you or someone you know is in need of alcohol or drug treatment, call me as I'd be more than happy to help in any capacity!!!
If you'd like to get involved and/or help our Marathon Team finish the L.A. Marathon in March, please visit http://bit.ly/running4recovery
Many thanks for reading this -- and don't forget to forward this to anyone who you think might want to get a better understanding about adoption, alcoholism and addiction!