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A Different Kind of Rock Star
In all my years, I have never encountered anyone who had the degree of addiction problems that you (Scott Gallagher) have had to struggle with.
Jane Marson, Social Worker
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
Unwilling to deal with my Dad's drinking problems, or follow his rules, I left home at age 17 to pursue a life of "partying". I ended up studying music at Toronto's Humber College and York University where a fellow bassist introduced me to Crack Cocaine (the slang term on the street for crack cocaine is 'Rock').
In a very short period of time, I drained my entire school savings for the year, pawned off and sold most of my studio gear, 'maxed' out my credit card, cleaned out the joint bank account I had with my girlfriend and got arrested by a S.W.A. T. team while down and out in a crack house. I was a 'rock star'. Not the kind I had imagined mind you.
A Healthier Addiction : Self Development and Personal Growth |
Having spent the money I had set aside to complete University, I opened up a newspaper to a huge one page add that said "Are you Spinning Your Wheels?" That was the understatement of the century. It was an advertisement by one of Canada's largest executive search firms looking for a headhunter. I figured that since I destroyed my chance at fulfilling on my own dreams, maybe I could make a career out of helping other people achieve theirs. It was through my career in headhunting that I was introduced to the personal growth and self-development industry. I found a healthier addiction. I took all the seminars, from Dale Carnegie, Stephen Covey, Zig Ziglar, Tony Robbins, Richard Bandler and countless others. My number one investment purchases were in developing myself. After all, Jim Rohn, Tony Robbin's mentor always said that if you wanted to be a success in business, you had better work harder on yourself than you do on your business. I went through hundreds of self-esteem tapes and personal development tapes which I would listen to back to back even in my sleep.
I quickly became a top producer in my field, went to a start up headhunting firm in my mid 20's and was quickly promoted to manager ahead of everyone else who all had more experience than me. I facilitated training programs for all those who wished to get ahead. And in 1989, I started my own search firm, The Executive Network.
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Chronic Relapse |
But despite my success, I could never quite get to where I wanted because I was continually plagued with alcoholism and other drug addictions. My only way of dealing with my original Crack Cocaine problem was to substitute with powdered cocaine and other addictions. I would get periods of clean time from alcohol and drugs followed by horrifying relapses. Eventually, I would keep going back to my drug of no choice, crack cocaine, where I would quickly destroy everything I had acquired and valued in my life over and over and over again.
I tried everything I could think of including therapy, religion, hypnosis, neuro linguistic programming, psychiatric help, you name it but I was beyond human aid. No one could help me. Even after finding no permanent relief in various Anonymous fellowships, three of the top mood disorder specialists in the country eventually diagnosed me with Bi Polar illness and Attention Deficit Hyper Activity Disorder and put me on all the meds. Despite all my addiction problems, my street smarts had me out produce most people in my profession.
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A Way Out! |
Eventually I found a way out. In 1999, while a patient at one of Canada's most successful 12 step treatment centres, I was told that whilst they produced the best statistical results from alcoholic addiction, people like me that were also addicted to crack cocaine had less than a 1% chance of staying sober for even one year.
Shortly after receiving the devastating news, I bumped into a man that would change my life forever. He too had destroyed his life through cocaine addiction but was 11 years sober at the time. I met with him a few times a week for about three months where he showed me a new way to live life. He impressed upon me that the key to me finding permanent recovery from my addictions was in me finding a purpose greater than myself. I was promised that if instead of playing the victim, I dedicated myself to living a life of absolute honesty, making amends and making right to all the people and institutions to which I had harmed - and above everything, made it my primary purpose in life to recruit and teach other addicts the way of life he had shown me, my desire to use drugs would be removed permanently.
I was excited. It was what my soul had been yearning for my entire life. And it made sense from all my developmental training in self-help. Zig Ziglar used to say "If you help enough people get what they want, you can have anything that you want". Now he was talking about money, yes; but the principle applied to anything in life. I wanted recovery from addiction more than anything, so I knew I had to give recovery in order to get it. I pursued this path with the same passion to which I went after the self-help movement in my early twenties. I discovered the answer to addiction was not self help but helping others. I have helped and will continue to help countless people suffering from any combination of various addictions. I even founded a federal non-profit organization that offers any and all addicts a powerful alternative to the group therapy discussion meetings often found in many of the anonymous fellowships.
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New meaning and purpose in life |
Today, my life has a meaning and purpose beyond what I could have ever imagined. As a person who has recovered from Bipolar II, ADHD, my addictions to alcohol, various drugs (including anti-depressants and other prescription medications), nicotine, caffeine, sugar, junk foods, money, and many other obsessive thinking patterns and avoidance behaviors, I facilitate group workshops, deliver keynote talks and perform personal one-on-one coaching with people suffering from absolutely any sort of mental obsessions or addictive behaviors. This is my number one passion in life. To watch seemingly hopeless people recover from their addictions and to see them help others do the same is a joy that words can not adequately describe.
For the past ten years, I've helped others to recover from:
- Major, hard core addictions
- Softer, secondary addictions which many people turn to after initial recovery
- Other kinds of addictive behaviour, smoking pot, co-dependency, abusive relationships, self harm, suicide attempts, prescription drug use, television, porn, internet, gambling etc.
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Three Key Principles |
My approach to addiction recovery is grounded in three key principles - absolute honesty, responsibility, and serving others. I help people who've tried and failed in traditional 12-step recovery programs to discover ways that work for them.
I am also able to identify addictions or self-limiting patterns in others, and assist them to:
- see the addiction (or block), and its impact on their life
- face the fears/embarrassment of admitting it, and
- find the solution they need to recover.
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Addictions Background for Scott Gallagher |
- Off cocaine, alcohol and other hard drugs since November 4th, 1999
- Also recovered from solvents, anti-depressants, prescription medications, nicotine, caffeine, obsessive sex, Bipolar II and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and various avoidance behaviours
- Worked with over a hundred addicts, one on one, for all kinds of addictions
- Founder of a federal non-profit, All Addictions Recovery Organization
- Started service meetings in all detox centres in Toronto
- Trained recovered addicts to take over leadership of all these programs
- Given numerous talks in various recovery fellowships
- Facilitated recovery workshops in two large jails in Gravenhurst and Bracebridge, Ontario
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Nobody gets left behind |
(A message from Scott Gallagher)
Many of us have addiction problems we're embarrassed about. Some are huge, like hard drugs or alcohol. Others seem small in comparison. But even the soft ones create misery, because they burden our lives and reflect a deeper pain within.
Yet for some reason, we just can't admit we've got a problem. We've tried 12 step groups before and they didn't work for us. We get one problem licked, but keep relapsing into other addictions, until we inevitably end up relapsing in the addiction that was killing us the most. Or maybe we don't even see how our habit is hurting our lives. So we're stuck. We're desperate for help. But we just can't find the answer.
I don't want to see people live their lives in secret, enduring endless addictions and dysfunctional behaviours, or dependant on medications if they don't need to be. I want to see them recover, for themselves, their families, their friends and co-workers. I want to see recovery become vitally available to anyone and everyone regardless of their unique, or even peculiar addiction patterns.
My experience is that all addictions are rooted in pain from the past, and that recovery comes from honestly facing and healing these mental, emotional, or if you like, spiritual wounds. It's worked for me, and for many others. It can work for you too.
On this Web site, I've shared my story and experience. If I can assist you as a speaker, consultant, or a one-on-one coach to help you through an addiction, please call me. It doesn't matter what your bad habit or addiction is, I just don't want to see anybody, and that means you, get left behind.
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