05/07/2025
My name is Joshua Dressel, and I am in recovery.
I had 17 āday ones.ā Seventeen times I walked across the threshold into detox, each time hoping it would be the last. In my heart, I didnāt want to hurt my family anymore. I was exhaustedāphysically, mentally, and spirituallyāfrom the obsession with the drug that was slowly killing me.
I didnāt want to feel that pain anymore. But the mental obsession had its hooks in me. Even knowing the destruction it caused, I kept going backābecause I didnāt yet know how to live without it.
What changed? I realized I had to get in the middle of the boat. I surrounded myself with people in recovery, people who were willing to pour into me, to share their experience, strength, and hope. I had to listen. I had to stay close. I had to want it more than I feared it.
And today, I thank God that I didnāt have to make it across that threshold an 18th time.
If youāre out there sick and suffering like I wasāplease reach out. You donāt have to go through this alone. Let today be your day one⦠the start of a brighter, more beautiful future.
Youāre worth it.