VIA UPWORTHY by Rajiv Narayan

Folks have a lot of preconceptions about how people become addicted to hard substances. A lot of these notions are based on the media and the way drugs are portrayed on TV and in the movies.

See the story below — how closely does it match your expectations of what drug addiction is like and why people turn to drugs?

This isn’t an official anti-drug PSA, and there’s no celebrity endorsement or after-school-special musical score. But hearing honestly about addiction from someone who knows intimately what it feels like — the highs and the lows — is incredibly powerful. Way more powerful than an egg in a pan, if you ask me.

It’s worth listening to the whole thing, but here’s the part that really sums it all up:

“Heroin is a wonder drug. Heroin is better than everything else. Heroin makes me who I wish I was. Heroin makes life worth living. Heroin is better than everything else. Heroin builds up a tolerance fast. Heroin starts to cost more money. I need heroin to feel normal. I don’t love anymore. Now I’m sick. I can’t afford the heroin that I need. How did $10 used to get me high? Now I need $100. That guy that let me try a few lines the first time doesn’t actually deal. Oh I need to find a real dealer? This guy is a felon and carries a gun — he can sell me the drug that lets me find love in the world. No, this isn’t working. I need to quit.”