“Twenty-one years. Twenty-one year drug addiction. Whenever you’re using, you’re embarrassed. You don’t want people to know, so the first thing you do is stop talking to your friends and family. You cut them off,” reflects Trey, a Groups Recover Together and Anthem member.
“I lived my life for 20 years feeling like I was alone.”
Opioid use disorders affect more than 2 million people in the United States. More than 130 people die every day from opioid-related drug overdoses and that number is likely higher since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I started getting high taking pills and smoking weed when I was 12 years old,” explains Trey. “After that, it progressed and just kept progressing. Having a habit to support as something that you have to have everyday, you will go to any lengths to get it.”
“Trey’s story is not uncommon,” says Eric Bailly, Business Solutions Director of Anthem Behavioral Health Clinical Strategy. “Many who live with substance use disorders experience a level of discord with families and work. It can really have a profound impact on someone’s ability to thrive. We understood early on that helping people with opioid use disorder get connected to the gold standard of treatment: medication-assisted treatment but we wanted to make sure that it was a holistic approach.” To do that, Anthem partnered with Groups Recover Together.
Holistic medication-assisted treatment at Groups
“The experience a lot of people have with addiction is one of isolation,” says Cooper Zelnick, Chief Growth Officer at Groups Recover Together. “Successfully overcoming addiction is about people with common problems finding common solutions. We believe in bringing together the best of evidence-based medicine, the most cutting-edge research on how to treat this disease, and community: with peers and support. We’re helping people not only have access to really great doctors, but also access to hope.”
“At Groups, I got to sit down and share,” remembers Trey. “Sharing for me is one of the most important parts of recovery. Groups and Anthem gave me hope. They gave me the life that I built now. They made me into a loving father, a loving husband, and somebody who people can count on again.”
“When we are empowered to deliver care in a holistic way,” continues Zelnick, “when health plans focus not only on evidence-based medicine but also things like counseling, outcomes are stronger.”
Hear more about Trey’s recovery journey and holistic addiction treatment services in the video above. Ready to start your own recovery? Call us today to get started.
