A titan in the addiction recovery space recounts how close he came to the edge.
Chris’s story is actually quite well documented—it’s a literal documentary, that he produced (find it here). He’s spoken about his experience dozens of times, including as the keynote to Health Canada’s National Summit on Addiction Recovery. His involvement in the recovery space today is broad and comprehensive, ranging from day shifts in the emergency room as part of a crisis intervention team, to being appointed to the World Health Organization’s Strategic and Technical Advisory Group on Mental Health, Neurological and Substance Use Conditions.
He is an absolute inspiration, a force to be reckoned with.
He was also once in the throes of a serious opioid addiction that almost claimed his life. Rocked by the sudden passing of his father as a young adult, Chris discovered that opioids numbed the pain of trauma. At the time, he thought that it was helping him function and move forward. “I remember taking Percocets and it was just like, it was the only time I’d ever felt an alleviation of that stress,” he says. “And then your tolerance goes up as you take more and more. Next thing you know, I was doing five 80 milligram Oxys a day. That was two years of my life, and I lost everything that meant anything to me.”
He says it wasn’t any one thing that helped him overcome his struggle. A multitude of factors aligned, including an altercation at a grocery store, a dog who was in the right place at the right time, an unexplored interest in filmmaking, and a confrontation with mortality.
Life and death were two very realistic coexisting possibilities depending on the decisions I made moving forward.
He chose to explore filmmaking. He started then finished methadone treatment and embarked on creating the documentary mentioned above—a cross-Canada cycle, with stops in many towns exploring the extent of the opioid crisis. The experience built a huge network of interest and support for Chris, catapulting him to the place he is today.
He says, “you’d be surprised how far you can go from the point you thought was the end.”
Chris’ story is an example of the good that can come from finding meaning and purpose from your darkest experiences. But circumstance, stigma, and bad luck leave many others with different outcomes. Remember: opioid dependence can happen to anyone, anywhere—keeping an open mind and open heart can go a long way in helping curb the impacts of this widespread issue that touches all Canadians.
