Successfully managing a substance abuse disorder is a persistent, yet
ultimately necessary task. Any form of recovery program will eventually
ask the user that they recognize and address the people, places and things
that correlate to substance use and abuse. Suddenly, your environment and
your social interactions become suspect to a hypercritical level of
introspection.
I had moved to north Philadelphia at a tumultuous and trying time in my
life. Though I initially felt refreshed moving across the city, the ever
presence of glassine baggies, used hypodermic needles, the pinned pupils
and the glacial shuffle of those afflicted became a reminder that I may
feel finished with my past but the city is not ready to extend me such a
luxury.
