One man takes literal steps to fight his addiction to methamphetamines.
There are many treatment rograms to help individual with substance abuse, but one man decided to walk 6,500 miles across the nation to fight his drug addiction.
Richard Remus started his self motivated “Miles Against Meth Abuse” to wean off of a seven and a half year meth addiction.
Remus started using meth in result of long hours of work and multiple days with out rest. He started smoking meth before and after shifts at work. Remus had a family and house, but meth became an addiction and Remus was able to put all his belongings into his car.
He tried different programs that Remus said never worked for him. He went form Arizona to Las Vegas to try to recover on his own. Remus would move from different places to avoid long term friendships that could potentially draw him back to addiction.
Remus studied scientific-based recovery programs and created his own understanding and way to recover from his addiction. Remus identified with the choices he has made, understood why he made those choices and literally decided to take steps to better his future.
Remus said “I was at the point of realizing I had taken a lot from my community and owed a lot to my community. I knew I was on a road to recovery when I started caring about other people.”
He started his journey of “Miles Against Meth Abuse” in October in Boise, Idaho, walking 10 to 20 miles a day. He says that each region represents stages in an individual that struggles with meth addiction. From when one is a functioning addict that goes through the struggle of breaking the habit after they hit rock bottom.
Since Remus began his journey he has drawn in some close friends and helped them wean off of there addiction to meth including and ex-fiancée. “I wanted other close friends to recover, and so far a few of them have.” Remus said.
Remus commented “I had to admit that yes, I was powerless over my addiction, but that the only way I lost that power was if I introduced the drugs into my system. I had to force all my wrong back onto my own shoulders and realize how much damage I had done”
The journey cost Remus about $400 a month. He has gone through three pairs of shoes; has gotten sick twice and has had a couple of uncomfortable encounters in Nebraska and was caught in a tornado break where he posted to footage on his Facebook.
Since the journey began Remus has learned a lot about different cultures across the region, but most important he has had time to reflect on himself and his addiction, “I was a careless and inconsiderate person before my addiction and it just became worse in the process. I realized there had to be some major changes in myself even without the drugs, and that’s when I really started to see things differently.”
This past Thursday Remus was in Daleville, Alabama. He said this was going to be his turning point to start walking toward the West Coast. He hopes to be in San Diego California by August. When Remus is finished with the walk he plans on writing a book of his experiences and hopes to inspire other addicts to fight their addiction as he did.