This week, Michele Ingram shares her personal journey through addiction, recovery, and faith. The conversation covers Michele's struggles with substance abuse, her time in treatment, the impact of family dynamics, and how her faith helped her overcome challenges. The episode also touches on the tragic loss of her brother and the role of faith and community in healing.
Key Takeaways 💡
Michele began using alcohol and marijuana at age 13 as a way to self-medicate unresolved trauma. Her addiction escalated over the years, including heavy methamphetamine use and involvement in drug selling and transporting, even internationally. Despite her addiction, she was able to function well professionally, holding high-paying IT jobs and managing teams, which masked the severity of her substance use.
Her addiction led to legal consequences, including an eight-year probation sentence after methamphetamine was found in her camper. During probation, Michele continued to use drugs, often timing her use to pass drug tests, and even resorted to harmful methods like drinking baking soda water to try to mask drug presence. Eventually, after multiple failed drug tests, she was given the choice between prison or drug treatment and reluctantly entered a nine-month treatment program.
Michele describes the treatment program as highly structured with phases that grant increasing privileges, such as phone calls and work release, contingent on following strict rules. The initial phase included two weeks of isolation due to COVID-19 protocols, which caused severe anxiety and panic attacks. Despite initial resistance and bitterness about being in treatment, she gradually engaged with counseling, group activities, and church services, which helped her begin healing.
During treatment, Michele’s faith deepened significantly. She began attending church regularly, reading the Bible, and eventually decided to be baptized, a deeply emotional and symbolic moment for her representing the washing away of sin and a new beginning. Her father, Royce, who had recently become an ordained minister and started a jail ministry, baptized her, marking a powerful milestone in her recovery and spiritual journey.
Michele’s brother struggled with severe addiction and legal issues, including violent behavior and incarceration. Despite efforts by their father to minister to him and encourage faith, her brother died in prison, likely due to drug use while incarcerated. This loss was profoundly difficult for Michele and her family, but she maintained her faith and leaned on her support network to avoid relapse, recognizing that running from pain only delays facing it.
Michele emphasizes the importance of faith as a foundation strong enough to withstand life’s hardest trials, including the death of loved ones. She reflects on the biblical teaching that trials refine faith like fire refines gold, removing impurities and strengthening character. Her recovery and faith journey illustrate how perseverance, community support, and spiritual growth can empower someone to overcome addiction and tragedy.
Throughout the episode, Michele highlights the misconception that addicts are lazy, explaining the immense effort and complexity involved in maintaining addiction while functioning in daily life. She also discusses the logistical challenges of entering treatment, the emotional toll of withdrawal, and the critical role of accountability and support systems in sustaining sobriety.
The podcast concludes with encouragement for those struggling with addiction to keep fighting and seek community support, such as the Vine recovery group that meets weekly. Michele’s story serves as a testament to the possibility of transformation through faith, perseverance, and the support of loved ones and recovery communities.
