Recovery is hope. Recovery is restoration. Recovery is redemption!
My name is Paul Webb. I am a native of Charleston, WV, and I entered long-term recovery on July 12, 2016, at Recovery Point Bluefield after a long struggle with uncontrolled substance use.

Growing up in Charleston, I always felt like something was missing, that I was different and did not belong. I did not have many friends, and the ones I had, I often pushed away in some manner or another. As I grew older, I hoped this innate awkwardness would cease or at least be mitigated as I matured. However, this was not the case. I still did not feel as though I belonged and remained an outsider.

Once I joined the workforce, I still felt isolated from others and quite lonely. However, I found that once I started using substances that altered my state of mind and did so with other “like-minded” individuals, I was part of something. That something was not very constructive in my life; however, I did not feel as set apart, at least for a while.

Over time, my substance use and associated activities became more and more obtuse and out of control. I pushed away my few friends and ruined several meaningful romantic relationships, leaving myself lonely again. My actions became more extreme and over time I had multiple encounters with law enforcement and altercations with others and became stuck in what seemed like a never-ending hopeless cycle.

About 9 years ago, I was at a low point in my life. I had lost everything and was in a state of utter misery. I did not want to die, but I could not stomach the idea of continuing to live the way I was. I was working at a local Wal-Mart, and I met who I would discover was a person in recovery who had found the help he needed from a recovery center in Louisville called the Healing Place. He told me how, when all else failed, and he was at the end of his rope, he gave one last effort, a last-ditch effort to recover – and it had worked. He had been in recovery for several years at this point.

I initially attempted to brush off this encounter as some type of crazy coincidence because I was having a difficult time believing that after all the stuff I did, God would place someone in my life with the answer, the solution to my dilemma. I knew I had nothing to lose and everything to gain by trying one last time to “clean up.” I discovered that while there were no Healing Places close to me there were two recovery centers based on that model. I initially tried to get into Recovery Point Huntington, but the waiting list there was very long. I was made aware by an unexpected person who had my best interests in mind when he told me about Recovery Point Bluefield, also known at the time as Four Seasons Recovery. I was accepted in a week and from there I started my recovery journey.

Once there, I learned the true nature of addiction and that addiction was a disease rather than just a result of being a “bad person.” I learned to trust others again, reestablished my connection with my Maker, and started to sort out the “wreckage of my past.”. Sure, it took a while, but the effort and trials were surely worth it as I soon started to feel better about myself and built a robust support network. Over time, I regained my driver’s license, bought a car and a house, and am currently enrolled in college at Bluefield State, working on a BA in Social Sciences. I found purpose in life again. I believe that Recovery Point helped me rebuild my relationships with my God and others, giving me the hope to do so, seeing through the faces and actions of those around me. Today, I am blessed to be able to work with others fulfilling what I believe to be my purpose. I currently work there as a PRSS working with clients and sharing my story daily.