My name is Sonam Tsering Sherpa Chairman of Nasha Rahit Samaj Nepal or Drugs Free Society Nepal and still a recovering addict. I have been clean and sober from my addiction problems from the last 13 years and at present helping other people indulged in drugs and alcohol problems by helping them to recover and giving shelters to them. 

My first addiction started through mild drugs like weed etc. then later got indulged with hardcore substance like brown sugar and many other substances during my college life back in 1984/85. The cause of my addiction was curiosity of the reaction of the substances, lack of family attachment, feeling of machismo and the of course the circle I was hanging around. I was living in darkness/hell during my addiction period. I was shying away from friends, society and my circle was getting smaller day by day. I was not living in reality, either always high or always searching for the next dose, never was being progressive in life even though I wanted to do something, but always got stuck with the substance, I became a slave to the substance I was using. I became so selfish that I thought or felt for anybody or anything but just how to get the substance. I used feel and said to myself I got to get rid of it, but the craving never left me. Finally one fine day I realized it was killing me and was at the same time was running out of my pocket money so I finally decided to quit but couldn’t do it on my own so I went searching for help cause I couldn’t do it on my own. Those days there was no recovery center so finally I met a senior doctor from Patan Mental hospital. He got all the information required from me but told I needed to have my guardians to sign a document that the hospital would not be responsible if anything went wrong cause it was their first treatment to addicts and didn’t want to take the risk saying that during my short period of addiction I had consumed accessibly high quantity and almost all kinds of drugs in the book. I was admitted to Patan mental hospital for a month and half tranquilized for two weeks. Till I got admitted in the hospital my parents nor anybody knew I was in drugs cause I never did drugs in public and not many people knew what drugs was at that time. This was my first experience getting out of hell. 

Life went on, I went to Switzerland to do my further studies. We used to drink beverage casually but was okay. Came back to Nepal, got involved in family business, tourism and hospitality. Used to drink in the evening after work with friends and clients till 15 years back when I broke up with my wife. I stared drinking heavily to escape the feeling of being separated and being lonely, trying to escape the pain in me. Used to go to work but after work used to go home and stared drinking alone accessibly to much till morning 3-4 am and used to sleep till the alcohol trip left me. Used to go to office, work for some time without much concentration and at times didn’t even go to work. I just kept on drinking and sleeping without eating. Till one day I said to myself I’m killing myself for no reason and I had a life to live and was responsible for my daughter and my family business so I called a friend of mine who ran a recovery center and asked him to give me a space for a month till I get recovered from my alcohol problems. I stayed at his center for a month and wanted to leave but he told that I had to stay longer to get fully recovered, so I carried on till he left the world 4 months later. I didn’t know what to do since there was no one to take care of the center, then I realized probably I was chosen to help people like me to recover from the slippery edge of addiction and here I am till this date with more responsibilities helping more of underprivileged people to free themselves from the hell of addiction. I am thankful to God, all the people those who supported me during my time in darkness of addiction, helping me to come to reality of life and now helping me to help all those people from their addiction problems. Being part of the center with my responsibilities over 95 recoveries residing and recovering center also has a big role in me to be addiction free cause I still fear the temptation in the outside world of my center Drugs Free Society Nepal or in Nepali Nasha Rahit Samaj NepalNow I believe being a living testimony or a living example of addiction and winning addiction. So if I can do it so can other addicts live an addiction free life. Now I believe I am making myself useful in the society for good. Thank you all for reading my testimony.