Drug addiction continues to be an issue in the United States, and the health and wellbeing of countless people has been destroyed due to substance abuse issues. Crystal meth is particularly problematic because it is cheap, highly addictive, and extremely damaging. Almost everyone has seen a picture of a crystal meth addict’s transformation, and it is quite concerning.
People may look happy, healthy, and youthful, but just a few months of addiction cause a shocking transformation. While addicted to methamphetamines, people forget to eat, dropping weight rapidly. They also tend to feel sensations of itchiness or crawling bugs on their skin, which causes them to pick at scabs that do not heal because the drug hampers recovery time. Meth will also harm teeth and prevent people from caring about tooth decay, causing many meth addicts to lose all of their teeth. The end result is normally a person who looks years older after just a short time using meth.
Fortunately, there is hope if a person can recover from a meth addiction. This image of a woman addicted to meth who has decided to get sober shows that the transformation is just as shocking when they stop using the drug. After the brother of a former meth addict posted her pictures online, many people were reassured to learn that it is possible for a meth addict to regain their youth and health. When these images were posted on Reddit, they quickly went viral.
In the first image, the woman looks like she is starving because her bones are jutting out at every angle. Her hairline is receding, and the makeup she has caked on does not hide the scabby, roughened texture of her skin. In the second image, when she has been clean for 90 days, she looks years younger and far healthier. She has already regained most of the lost weight, so she does not look emaciated. Her eyes have lost the crazed look, and her skin and hair are starting to recovering from the damaging effects of meth.
Some people online criticized the brother because they felt that it was invasive to post pictures of his sister’s battle with meth. However, the sister quickly came to his defense and explained that he had her full permission to share the images. The young woman wanted to share her story with others to show that there is hope for recovering from meth. The woman told detractors, “I wanted to show people the effects of what meth can do to you and hope to inspire some people who are in addiction or in the process of recovery like I am.”
She added, ““ didn’t even realise how disgusting I looked while I was using until after I got clean and realised how awful I looked. I just remember seeing others going about their normal lives wondering if I would ever have the ability to live a serene life clean and free of meth-anyone who has been addicted knows exactly what I mean by that. I truly wish the best for anyone trying to beat this nasty addiction…and just know there IS a light at the end of the tunnel.”
Though we all know how horrific meth can be, it is reassuring to know that addiction does not have to be a death sentence. Meth is very harmful because it constricts blood flow throughout the body, but the human body is incredibly resilient. Once a user stops abusing meth, it is possible for them to regain their health. Though it takes a lot of dedication and help to recover from a meth addiction, this brave young woman’s story has shown that it is possible.