Corey Mathany-Lund is three and a half years sober. However, it was not an easy journey to get here.
“I always say my addiction is my addiction. It started when I was young, not with alcohol, but with food, I didn’t just get to substances on day 1,” said Mathany-Lund. “By the time I graduated high school, I was really overweight, and at some point I got to 300 pounds I ended up having gastric bypass surgery. Pretty quickly after that I started drinking a lot because I couldn’t eat to fill that gap and in a pretty short amount of time, it was getting out of control.
He went through several treatment programs in a short amount of time.
“I really wanted to get sober but I didn’t want to put the work into it, and I didn’t,” said Mathany-Lund.
After finally becoming sober for several years, Corey relapsed. And after some ups and downs, he eventually found the Avera Addiction Care Center.
“They helped me here, I got sober, I was able to talk to people," said Mathany-Lund.
Treating Addiction
Hannah Statz DeVries, MD, is a psychiatrist with Avera Behavioral Health. She says while addiction is treatable, the way that it's treated it is going to look a little bit different for every person.
"We are looking at physical health, mental health, social well-being, we are looking at where do you live, who do you work with, who are your supports, how do we set people up for the best success, and we know if we are just focusing on one or two of those things, we are not going to get the job done,” said Statz DeVries.
“I became more willing and I started listening to the point where I pulled the stuff out from inside of me, and it wasn’t so much that I had time to work on it here, but they had time to listen to me,” said Mathany-Lund.
Life In Recovery
Corey continues to live his life in recovery, which is a key part of living a sober lifestyle.
“Treatment isn’t just 28 days, it’s a lifelong recovery," said Statz DeVries. "When it becomes the lifestyle, it’s 'why would I go back to use, I feel so good, I feel so happy, I’m not anxious anymore, I can’t believe I was there,' and that is what life should be, what recovery should look like."
“I have a life back, a good one that I am proud of, I’m proud of the person I’ve become,” said Mathany-Lund.
Learn more about resources and the Avera Addiction Care Center.
