{"id":46302,"date":"2020-11-18T06:17:01","date_gmt":"2020-11-18T05:17:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ccadicciones.es\/how-a-former-addict-views-his-recovery-process-the-story-of-raul-balam-ruscalleda\/"},"modified":"2020-11-18T06:17:01","modified_gmt":"2020-11-18T05:17:01","slug":"how-a-former-addict-views-his-recovery-process-the-story-of-raul-balam-ruscalleda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ccadicciones.es\/en\/how-a-former-addict-views-his-recovery-process-the-story-of-raul-balam-ruscalleda\/","title":{"rendered":"How a Former Addict Views His Recovery Process: The Story of Raul Balam Ruscalleda"},"content":{"rendered":"

It is not easy to get a former addict who has overcome their hell to talk about the experience of addiction treatment. Developing a drug addiction is one of the worst situations a person can experience. The most basic healthy habits are gradually abandoned, and a barrier of misunderstanding is established that isolates them from friends and family. The addict feels alone and misunderstood. Often, ashamed. The point arrives when the addiction controls their life and the person they were disappears. The experience of people who have recovered is that a complete turnaround is needed, that they can no longer continue even if they want to because their willpower is subject to the changes that addictive behavior has been producing. Sometimes, with the intervention of family, friends, and professionals, they find the option that works: contacting a detoxification center<\/a> and addiction rehabilitation facility to help determine how to escape from an absolutely self-destructive situation<\/strong>. <\/p>\n

We have the firsthand testimony of one of those cases, that of Ra\u00fcl Balam Ruscalleda, a chef with two Michelin stars and a former addict. Because of its value and what it contributes to all those involved in detoxification and addiction recovery processes, we present it here. In an interview conducted on RAC1 radio station, he explains what his healing process was like and the before and after of treatment. Below you will find the original podcast of the interview (in Catalan). <\/p>\n

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The Path to the Abyss<\/strong><\/h2>\n

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Ra\u00fcl Balam Ruscalleda is the chef of the Moments restaurant at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Barcelona, and has two Michelin stars. He is 44 years old, but says that he was reborn on March 5, 2013, the day he entered an addiction treatment center.<\/strong> Thanks to this, he quit alcohol<\/a>, cocaine<\/a>, and all the substances to which he was addicted. Ra\u00fcl reflects the experiences that many people who have had an addiction go through. From the moment consumption gradually takes absolute control of the individual, until the situation becomes unsustainable and the day arrives when, thanks to the advice of his primary care physician, he determines that the way out is to enter a specialized addiction treatment center. <\/p>\n

In the interview, Ra\u00fcl recounts how his occasional alcohol consumption increased to the point of waking up in the morning and not remembering why the trash can was so full of beer cans<\/strong>. As in many other cases, polysubstance use appeared, and his addiction pushed him to consume alcohol and cocaine<\/a>. According to him, drug use is not more typical of some people than others based on their lived experiences or unfavorable life situations: <\/p>\n

“It doesn’t matter if you’re a chef, journalist, or garbage collector. Drug addiction doesn’t understand social status.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Ra\u00fcl was aware that he had a problem and even often told himself that he was not going to use anymore. But he was not able to achieve it, and his abstinence phase barely lasted a day. He had depression and left his job. He even began to have paranoid attacks, thinking he was being watched or fearing that someone would enter through his front door. When asked if using drugs made him feel better in front of others, Ra\u00fcl acknowledges his sad reality: <\/p>\n

“It was all false, an image I had inside my head. From the outside, I was seen in a totally different way.”<\/p>\n

“Glamour? With drugs you end up alone, dirty, and hitting rock bottom.”<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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The Day His Life Changed<\/strong><\/h2>\n

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The turning point came in March 2013. That day, Ra\u00fcl’s family, aware that he had a very serious problem, showed up at his house to convince him to put an end to his situation. Together they first went to see his primary care physician who, after listening to his case, realized the need to put Ra\u00fcl in the hands of experts and told them that the solution was to enter an addiction treatment center<\/a> as soon as possible. That same night, Ra\u00fcl slept at the center. <\/p>\n

Ra\u00fcl explains that he is now aware that on that day he entered with a very strong addiction and a backpack loaded with problems because of the disease. As he says, <\/p>\n

“Quitting drugs was not the hardest part. The hardest part is changing habits. My entire environment and my actions revolved around drugs.<\/strong> I lived in chaos and had to learn how to treat myself, my family, everything.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And he remembers how difficult this process was for him at first:<\/p>\n

“It’s serious that a chef with two Michelin stars goes to a restaurant and doesn’t appreciate the food because he’s only focused on the bottle, on whether it’s empty and he should order another. That’s how it was until five years ago.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Undergoing treatment to detoxify from drugs is not a quick process. In Ra\u00fcl’s case, he spent the first three months admitted to the center. Afterward, he spent another year sharing an apartment with peers who were following the same process. More than seven years after starting his treatment, Ra\u00fcl is fully recovered and has regained control over his life.<\/strong> Even so, he is aware that addiction is something that will accompany him forever: <\/p>\n

“I will continue to be an addict all my life. But as long as I have no contact with psychoactive substances, everything will be fine. It’s hard to say, but I will only stop being an addict the day I die.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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There Is Hope<\/strong><\/h2>\n

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Ra\u00fcl’s story is just one of many examples of people who have fallen into addiction and have been able to recover. Because it is possible to return to a normal life.<\/strong> In Ra\u00fcl’s case, he still keeps in touch with his therapy group and, sometimes, when he has a bad day and alcohol appears in his mind, he calls a former peer to talk about it and support each other. His experience can serve as an example for those who have not yet taken the step. As he rightly says, <\/p>\n

“My parents have recovered a son.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And he has recovered the ability to live day by day without being a slave to alcohol or cocaine, living by making his own decisions.<\/p>\n

At CCAdicciones<\/a><\/strong> we have known thousands of stories like Ra\u00fcl’s, and knowing that there is a way out gives us strength to continue working in this very complex field. Contact us if you believe that you or someone you care about needs help to regain control over your life. <\/p>\n

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Original Podcast of the Interview on RAC1 9 – 11 – 2020 (Catalan)<\/p>\n