Former meth addict shares incredible transformation

A woman who was addicted to meth has shared her incredible transformation three years after quitting the life-destroying drug.

A mother-of-three who became addicted to meth has revealed how she managed to quit the life-destroying drug.

Sarah Bird, who is originally from New Zealand, found herself spiralling after her relationship with her son’s father fell apart. Initially, she turned to alcohol, before becoming addicted to meth.

“I’ve had a lot of mental health issues my whole life, but I didn’t ever really deal with them. I was diagnosed with ADHD when I was 11 and I never really dealt with that,” she said.

“And then I was diagnosed with manic depressive disorder (now called Bipolar disorder) when I was like 15.”

She said after having her three children her hormones went “crazy” but she suppressed it, and when she split from her ex she began to look for anything to numb the pain.

Sarah pictured during her addiction. Picture: Supplied

She said that trying meth was exciting and she wanted to keep chasing the high, saying it was almost as though she was part of a secret club. But subsequent times she used the drug were never like the first time, she admitted, and things quickly took a turn for the worst.

“I had a full time job as a hairdresser at the beginning of this, and then all of a sudden I started to become unreliable and dishonest,” she said, adding she no longer felt in the zone.

“I quickly lost my job and then lost the house I was living in and then my now-husband Adam, who was doing it too.”

Sarah said she had to move into her mother’s house after losing her own home. Thankfully, she was able to hide her addiction from her children.

Sarah started using meth after splitting from her son's father. Picture: Supplied

Three years ago, a handful of things happened that made Sarah realise it was time to get help for her addiction. Her children were getting older, and she realised they were going to start to notice things. She was also badly assaulted, and she realised this would continue to happen if she stayed on the drug.

Sarah also ran into repeated trouble with the law, with the last charges she faced being very serious. She felt that if she kept going down the path she was on she was going to end up dead or in jail.

“I remember thinking to myself, the week before Christmas, I was extremely suicidal at this point,” she said.

“I was like, ‘I don’t want to be here anymore. I don’t want to do this. I’m so depressed with no money or in trouble. We’re behind on rent and kids starting to pick up on things’.

“I remember thinking to myself, ‘I’ve got to do something’.”

So, she went to Adam, who was a functioning addict, and said it was time to get clean.

Sarah during her meth addiction. Picture: Supplied

Sarah and Adam both went to their parents, who had known about their addiction for about three years. They explained they wanted to get clean, and part of that was getting out of their rental because a new living situation is vital for recovery. The pair also sat down with Sarah’s children and told them what had been happening. It was a difficult conversation but one that they felt needed to be had.

“They were like, ‘Oh, we never knew’. They just knew sometimes I had to go out or we slept a lot sometimes,” Sarah said.

A variety of moments inspired Sarah to finally get clean. Picture: Supplied

On January 4, 2021, the pair went cold turkey at home. They slept for four days and Sarah’s mother had the kids during this time. After that, the pair decided it was time to do “normal life things”. They packed up their rental and moved. Sarah reached out to an addiction recovery service called Lives Lived Well, who set her up with Narcotics Anonymous meetings virtually. She also joined F45, and found the community and motivation she had been searching for.

However, it wasn’t easy.

“My whole thing now is I want to share my story and I want to be able to offer support or intervention to people that need it because everyone deserves to be clean and free,” she said.

Sarah and Adam have been clean for three years. Picture: Supplied

“Everybody believes the addicts choose an addiction but it is addiction. I think too many people are too quick to judge addicts and they don’t understand that if we’re given the right support, and we can find it within ourselves, we can be really good humans.”

A lot has changed in Sarah’s life since she went into recovery. She’s gone back to full time work, married Adam and the two have built a life together. Her children are advocates for sobriety, even intervening at parties when they see someone being offered drugs. Sarah also runs an Instagram account documenting her journey to sobriety.

She said she feels more inspired than ever and pleads with any addicts who are ready to become sober to put their hand up for help, as there are countless support services available.