Michael Triolo, age 34
“The one thing that seemed to help me the most was this desire to help and support my peer on their path to sobriety. I think that this became the biggest milestone in my recovery. It gave me a sense of purpose.”
When I first started experimenting with substances at the age of 13, I didn't really like it. My introduction to smoking seemed uneventful. But when I drank for the very first time, I couldn't stop; I got drunk, and this was the beginning of a habit that only grew stronger.
Drinking and using substances were not really related to any trauma or mental health crisis. My life was actually pretty good. Basketball was my passion. It's what I wanted to do, and it's the one thing that made me feel the best. I played in freshman and sophomore year, and my basketball career seemed to take off as a junior when I was getting bigger, stronger, and faster; my vision was to play in college. And it was for that very reason that I transferred from Marin Catholic to San Rafael High School, simply to have a fresh start as an athlete. While it felt like I was a new person, drugs and alcohol became part of that. Both peer pressure and my lack of understanding of the consequences led me to smoking, drinking, and partying on weekends. And that's where things started to take off.
By the time I realized that I had a problem, it was almost too late. By then, I had already graduated to using other substances, and it just got out of hand—from marijuana and alcohol to cocaine and ecstasy. At age 17, I was prescribed opiates for sports injuries, and when my prescription ran out, I felt awful; that's when I became dependent on oxycontin. Around that time, I just graduated from high school. I got arrested when the police pulled me over and found opioid pills in my car. My parents bailed me out and made me go to rehab. But part of me was very fearful of the idea of recovery, the unknown.
It was a 28-day treatment program here in Marin where I experienced withdrawal for the first time. And that was horrible. I was nowhere ready to leave and go back home when the program ended. The discharge recommendations included 12 Step meetings and sober living aftercare. But I could not conceptualize any of that, and it didn't take long before I started using again.
I had to go through a lot more lived experience with using, getting in trouble with the law, seeking treatment, and dealing with physical and mental problems. I was stuck in that cycle for many years.
Each time I was in rehab, I completed the program because I had a genuine desire to stop experiencing the same consequences and the same cycles. But I hadn't learned the necessary tools and didn't find the right system that worked for me to achieve sobriety.
During those years, I had a total of six fentanyl overdoses. My last overdose and my last arrest led me to my 6th and final residential treatment program. The one thing that seemed to help me the most was this desire to help and support my peers on their path to sobriety. I think that this became the biggest milestone in my recovery. It gave me a sense of purpose.
And eventually, in 2013, I got sober. I went into Sober Living transitional housing, participated in AA and 12-step meetings, and developed a structure that actually helped me rebuild my life.
Before I started my sober life, I had gotten to the point where there wasn't any more room to sink deeper. And I knew that if I continued on the same path, there were only a few options left: going to jail or dying.
The combination of experiencing the negative consequences while discovering my passion for helping others, addressing my physical and mental health, and the support of my family, all led me to sobriety. And, ultimately, finding this calling has strengthened my new path in life.
I'm a recovery coach for the County of Marin and work with both substance use and mental health clients, providing case management and recovery services. I am helping people navigate through the treatment path while in recovery. I own a nonprofit organization and a sober living company in Novato for the past two years, which has been very exciting. I also started a new LLC, the Triolo group, providing individualized one-on-one recovery support for individuals with substance use and/or mental health diagnoses, and offering case management and intervention services, recovery coaching, sober companionship, sober escort, and alcohol monitoring.
Using drugs and alcohol definitely gave me a sense of control and instant gratification, despite the negative consequences. But it cost me my family at one point, relationships, friends. It cost me time in my life where I could have been doing just about anything. Things that many of my other friends did, but I didn't because I was in the throes of my addiction.
But I'm very fortunate to have the life I have today, to have been given the chance to rebuild again. My path has shown me that not giving up is key. While this is different for each person, because each experience is unique, I believe the most important thing when supporting those who struggle is meeting them where they are, looking beyond the consequences and finding out what's in there for the person. What are they getting out of using? My message to any of them is to never give up. Because you never know when it's going to be the time when everything clicks, when you know your dreams, your aspirations, when the stars are going to align, and you're going to find the right support or the right person to guide you through your recovery process. You just never know. If I had quit and given up, I wouldn't be where I am today. So yes, never give up.
