My name is Jared Shaw, I am 34 years old and a grateful recovering addict. For more than a decade I was a slave to prescription pain medications and alcohol. I started out in High School at Davis High popping pills with friends and drinking. Oxycontin took over my life after High School, I continued to struggle with substance abuse through failed attempts at college and through various forms of employment. At the time, I did not understand why I needed drugs and why others could go without. I had friends that were “normal” and could drink just one drink. I couldn’t! I didn’t learn about what was wrong with me until I checked into my first treatment center in the mountains of Park City on January 8, 2007.
That first attempt at treatment changed my life. I was taught that I had a fatal progressive disease, and that I needed to “believe in a power greater than myself.” I graduated that program and stayed sober for roughly 18 months. But, then the disease slowly took me over again. I started to think I could control my drinking and drug use. I started taking pain medication again as well as drinking. For the next 5 years I started to kill myself a little more everyday. I am lucky to still have organs that function and that I was not among the many who die from this disease. I decided to check back into treatment on January 6th of 2015 and have been sober since. It was in that treatment center where the idea of “Recovery Strong” came to me. I want to help people, like me, get healthy and feel alive again! I love fitness and recovery. I feel it is a vital part of my recovery and I want help spread the word!!