FORT SILL, Okla. (May 21, 2015) -- For the last two weeks Breaking Bad brought to you the story of Mike Anderson and Clayton Johnson, two men with a substance abuse problem. Anderson came to a breaking point when he was in a car accident with his two children while intoxicated. He sought help and learned to speak about his past. Johnson was encouraged by his wife to seek help after he developed changes to his mind and body. He enrolled in a 30-day program and returned with new determination. This is part three of the three-part story.
A NEW CHAPTER
For some, their story of redemption is a repeating cycle of struggle. They succeed for a time only to fail again and start over. Some never recover while others make a complete change in their life. When Johnson signed his contract to be part of the Army Substance Abuse Program, part of the contract was his agreement to abstain from drinking. While he's no longer under that obligation he still chooses not to. It has been six years since his last drink.
"I wake up every morning thanking God," Johnson said. "Some people lapse but thank God I never did."
Anderson said he drinks occasionally, he guesses perhaps once a month. He said knowing what happened in the past helps keep him sober in the present. He said he is also more attentive in picking the company he keeps, with the understanding that being around heavy drinkers will make it easy for him to fall back into the same kind of pattern. He chooses also to stay active and not allow himself to get bored.
"I don't sit around in boredom," he said. "Some people just sit around being bored and then they think, 'I'll just drink.' That's a big problem with a lot of people I talk to. (Drinking) a boredom breaker."
Johnson said part of his success was having supportive leadership in his unit. He said he had concerns because others in leadership positions do not handle news of their Soldiers entering ASAP as well as they could. Tough-love doesn't always translate as supportive to Soldiers, he said, and putting out information to a formation about a Soldier who had an incident isn't always helpful to the Soldier who committed the fault.
"It might have been just that one time, or maybe there was a death in the family. There are many reasons why a Soldier (might be seen as having a substance abuse problem)," he said. "It's OK for them to seek help. A lot of people believe they are going to get punished and it's not fair to the Soldier. The chain of command can't look at them differently if they speak up and say they need help."
Fran Alltizer, Alcohol and Drug Control Office program manager, said she encourages leadership not to broadcast the situation in an effort to break the stigma. She said some people are simply at a higher risk to be a substance abuser because of their family genetics.
"Oftentimes they are good people who have gotten into something they don't know how to get out of," she said.
Alltizer explained how some are predisposed through a biologically passed gene putting them at a higher risk of being substance abusers. These individuals could go their entire lives without a problem, however the moment they try a substance they are almost incapable of making the rational decision to say "no."
"It's not that way for everybody, but for some it's like it turns off the brain and they can't make decisions," Alltizer said.
She added others may have existing mental-health issues. They look for a way to deal with the issue and may self-medicate with alcohol, marijuana or any other drug. She said they may join the military in an attempt to break away from their issues and to get structure, however, when they stop using, the mental-health issues flare up, so they return to the drug of choice.
Taking the first step toward getting help can require courage, and Johnson admits he was scared the first time he went to ASAP. Now he encourages others by telling them all they have to do is walk into the ASAP building and tell them you need help.
"(The fear) gets better but you have to overcome your fear and you have to do it for yourself," he said. "Not anyone else."
Alltizer said anyone can come in for information without having to be assessed meaning, no one will know they were there and they can get help.
Once individuals are placed in ASAP, she said the change takes about six weeks. She said in the first week, many ASAP participants will say they don't know why they are there, or why they are forced to attend. In the second week they may admit what it is they did to be enrolled in ASAP. By the fourth and fifth week participants who are actively seeking change will start talking about changes in their family relationships or their work dynamic. She said almost all will comment on how much money they have now that they aren't spending it on substances.
Each counselor has a template and their group meets each week at the same time with the same people. New people can join an existing group and hear from people from all stages.
"The group helps the person to progress," Alltizer said. "No one is forced to speak but we want them to feel like they are able to."
Johnson said he believes younger individuals can be harder to reach because they don't take the issue, and therefore the program, seriously. He believes if Soldiers are forced to go, they aren't as likely to respond. Anderson said he tries to help those Soldiers transition easily by attending ASAP sessions and Alltizer said his presence has become an asset.
"There are a lot of people who go and feel like I felt and are too shy to speak up," Anderson said. "Or you're going to have people that are forced to be there and are resentful of the fact that their unit made them be there. I go to be an example, a bridge to help them."
Anderson said counselors will speak and the ASAP participants will see counselors as representatives of the very thing they don't want to be doing. Anderson sits beside the participants and talks to them or speaks first to make others feel comfortable engaging in the sessions.
"There's a lot of people that have it a lot worse than I did and I want to help," he said.
Since recovering from his alcohol problem, Johnson said he now feels better able to relate to Soldiers who are also struggling.
"My biggest joy now is talking one-on-one with people," Johnson said. "I pull them aside and talk to them. They look at me like, 'huh? You had problems?' But I went through the same process and you can overcome it."
Johnson said he doesn't miss drinking and doesn't think he'll ever take a drink again. Instead he said he finds other things to do like spending time with his family and children, going to church, reading and coaching his children's sports teams.
"Not everyone can say they are a success," Johnson said. "It's a blessing. I look at life and now I do all the things I didn't do before. It's a whole different chapter in my life. And it's a good chapter."
For more information on ASAP, call 580-442-4205/2691.
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