Michael McNabb\u2019s substance to sobriety story begins with his service in Iraq. With the help of a supportive Army recruiter, he obtained a GED and was soon an infantryman. Shortly after reporting to his first unit, he was on his way to Tikrit.<\/p>\n
Speaking of deployment, he said that \u201cSome days were good and we would go out and do great things, and others were not so good.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael McNabb<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
It was after returning home that McNabb struggled to re-acclimate to civilian life. He turned to alcohol to cope with his feelings about himself and his memories, and later began using a synthetic drug.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt shut off my brain. Everything I wanted to escape from went away,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
After several attempts at rehabilitation and multiple altercations with family and law enforcement, McNabb eventually returned to where his VA journey started: the Bonham Domiciliary<\/a> Residential Rehabilitation Program.<\/p>\n This time it stuck. McNabb has been sober since 2014.<\/p>\n \u201cSomething about this place, the people here, especially the peers, [it] helped me overcome some tough times,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Today, McNabb works as an Environmental Management Service specialist at the Bonham Domiciliary where he helps keep the place clean and helps other Veterans battling substance abuse.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m able to give back and help the people in the same position I was in,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m not going to lie. It\u2019s still a struggle. But now I have tools and resources to help me cope. The best part is I can pass it on. That\u2019s how I can give back to my brothers and sisters.\u201d<\/p>\n McNabb credits his sobriety to the guidance of peer support specialists, the support of his wife, doctors, and the opportunity to help others. But he also\u00a0emphasized the importance of seeking help and support. He hopes that sharing his recovery journey offers hope for those going through similar struggles.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is light at the end of the tunnel. You just have to keep pushing forward,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
![<\/a><\/p>\nMichael McNabb<\/p>\n<\/div>\nIt was after returning home that McNabb struggled to re-acclimate to civilian life. He turned to alcohol to cope with his feelings about himself and his memories, and later began using a synthetic drug.<\/p>\n\u201cIt shut off my brain. Everything I wanted to escape from went away,\u201d he said.<\/p>\nEnjoying sobriety since 2014<\/strong><\/h2>\nAfter several attempts at rehabilitation and multiple altercations with family and law enforcement, McNabb eventually returned to where his VA journey started: the Bonham Domiciliary<\/a> Residential Rehabilitation Program.<\/p>\nThis time it stuck. McNabb has been sober since 2014.<\/p>\n\u201cSomething about this place, the people here, especially the peers, [it] helped me overcome some tough times,\u201d he said.<\/p>\nToday, McNabb works as an Environmental Management Service specialist at the Bonham Domiciliary where he helps keep the place clean and helps other Veterans battling substance abuse.<\/p>\n\u201cI\u2019m able to give back and help the people in the same position I was in,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m not going to lie. It\u2019s still a struggle. But now I have tools and resources to help me cope. The best part is I can pass it on. That\u2019s how I can give back to my brothers and sisters.\u201d<\/p>\nMcNabb credits his sobriety to the guidance of peer support specialists, the support of his wife, doctors, and the opportunity to help others. But he also\u00a0emphasized the importance of seeking help and support. He hopes that sharing his recovery journey offers hope for those going through similar struggles.<\/p>\n\u201cThere is light at the end of the tunnel. You just have to keep pushing forward,\u201d he added.<\/p>\nTo read more stories on substance abuse care and prevention, visit VA News and Information<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Michael McNabb\u2019s substance to sobriety story begins with his service in Iraq. With the help of a supportive Army recruiter, he obtained a GED and was soon an infantryman. Shortly after reporting to his first unit, he was on his way to Tikrit. Speaking of deployment, he said that \u201cSome days were good and we […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":4588,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,147],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4586","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-rehabilitation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4586","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4586"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4586\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4589,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4586\/revisions\/4589"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4588"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4586"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4586"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4586"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}](\"https:\/\/news.va.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/04\/Veteran_r1.jpg\"){kind=link}