Growing up Tyler always had money, food, a roof over her head. She doesn’t remember what led her to take her first drink. She just knows that she was in a very depressed state her whole life. Her mother never believed in mental illnesses. Acting out and filling the void with alcohol and pills made Tyler feel good. By the time she was dating another user she began drinking heavily, using cocaine and having “Adderall nights” where they would stay up all night using. Not even an overdose could end her use. She woke up the next morning and continued to cycle, ultimately leading into smoking K2.

Things changed for the better when Tyler went to college. She stopped drinking, she started working out and began eating right. She was sober for 8 months. It was a traumatic incident that pushed her towards relapse where she was binge drinking and using meth. She couldn’t quit meth. She loved it. Her life was consumed by meth. She always needed one more hit. She knew she had to quit but she couldn’t. Even the passing of one of her friends from an overdose again couldn’t stop her as she fell further down the dark path of addiction trying to cope.

Pushed to the brink of her drug abuse Tyler let it all out and revealed everything to her mother: the meth, the pipes, her cocaine, her pills. Everything. She asked for help. 14 hours later she was on a flight to Vegas for treatment.  She spent thirty-four days in inpatient. Tyler is eternally grateful for the experience as she learned so much of who she is today. She learned why she went through these things, why she relapsed and just how to think straight.  It still amazes her how you get back in return what you put in. She knows that if you put in the effort it will work for you.

She also thinks about her friend who passed away from an overdose and how, at the time, she realized if she’s not ready to do it for herself yet she can do it for him. She can make him proud.