WCVB reporter shares his recovery story, resources to help others struggling with addiction, alcoholism
Updated: 6:58 PM EDT Jun 6, 2022
SHARE HIS STORY IN HOPES OF HELPING OTHERS. HELLO, TED WAYMAN. TED: HELLO, MARIA STEPHANOS. MARIA: WE’VE KNOWN EACH OTHER A LONG TIME AND WE ARE HERE FOR AN IMPORTANT REASON. THERE’S SOMETHING THAT YOU WANT TO SHARE WITH PEOPLE. SOMETHING I HAD NO IDEA. WHAT IS THE SECRET YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE? TED: I HAD PROBLEMS WITH DRUGS AND ALCOHOL. I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO SUFFER FROM SUBSTANCE ABUSE, IT’S A SECRET. THEY KEEP THE SECRET FROM FAMILY, FRIENDS, EMPLORSYE. I DRANK AND DRUG DIFFERENTLY FROM MY PEERS, AND I HIT A WALL. MARIA: TED HIT THAT WALL AND THEN MOVED THIS HOUSE IN WATERTOWN. IT WAS A DECISION THAT CNGHAED HIS LIFE. TED: I THOUGHT IT WAS THE WORST DAY OF MY LIFE, BUT IT TURNED OUT TO BE THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE. THE DAY I CHOSE TO GET SOBER. I JUST HAPPENED TO BE LIVING HERE WITH FRIENDS. SOME GUYS I GREW UP WITH MOVED INTO THEIR PLACE AND FOR THE FIRST COUPLE OF YEARS IT WAS A HAVEN FOR ME BECAUSE I WAS ABLE TO STAY CLEAN AND SOBER, WAS ABLE TO WORK, BUT I WAS REALLY ABLE TO KIND OF GET ON MY FEET AND HAVE THAT EARLY SOBRIETY TO BUILD UPON. AND WITHOUT A HAVEN LIKE THI IS, DON’T THINK I COULD HAVE DONE IT WITH THE SUPPORT OF FRIENDS AND , FAMI.LY MARIA: THE YEARS BEFORE TED GOT LPHE WERE RAW AND ALRE. ALL OF THAT DRINKING AND ALL OF THOSE DRUGS PUT HIM $30,000 IN DEBT WHILE WORKING AS A TELEVISION REPORR.TE TED: IT WAS BAD. NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNEW, BUT I HAD FINANCIAL TROUBLES FROM .IT I HAD PERSONAL PROBLEMS FROM IT. I DID NOT WANT PROFESSIONAL PROBLEMS. I KNEW THAT EITHER I WAS GNGOI TO HAVE A DUI OR I WAS GOING TO GET IN A JAM WITH POLICE BECAUSE OF MY DRINKING AND DRUGGING. AND I WAS GOING TO LOSE A JOB. I WAS LOOKING AT A LOT OF THINGS. I WAS STILL SINGLE. I WASN’T MARRIED, I DIDN’T HAVE ANY KIDS, BUT I WAS EMPTY. I WAS A BROKEN 28-YEAR-OLD KID AND I KNEW I HAD TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. I HAD MY LAST BEER HERE IN THE FALL OF 1990. I HAD IT WITH A GOOD FRIEND OF MINE WHO WAS SUPPORTIVE OF ME. BUT IT TURNS OUT HE ALSO SUFFERED FROM ALCOHOLISM, AND HE DIED SEVERAL YEARS LATER. MARIA: IT’S FUNNY, WE’VE BEEN TALKING YOU’REO SOPEN AND YOU , SHARE SO MANY THINGS AND THEN I SEE YOUR EYES GO SOMEWHERE ELSE AT THE END OF YOUR SENTENCE. AND I WONDER WHERE YOU GO. TED: I’M LUCKY. MARIA: THAT’S EXTLACY WHAT IT SEEMS. TED: BECAUSE NOT EVERYBODY GET SOBER AND T NOEVERYBODY STAY SOBER. MARIA: AND THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS ADDED A WHOLE NEW COMPLICATED LAYER TO ADDICTION. YOU SAID THAT THINGS ABSOLUTELY TOOK TOOK A TURN DURING THE PANDEMIC FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE. D:TE I THINK DURING THE PANDEMIC, IT ISOLATED SO MANY OF US. AND ISOLATION IS BAD FOR SOMEBODY WHO HAS A SUBSTANCE ABUSE PROBM.LE YOU TEND TO BE ALONE, DRINKING MORE, DRUGGINGOR ME. AND I SAW IT BECAUSE I WORK WITH A LOT OF PEOPLE IN RECOVERY AND THEY SAW THE NUMBERS OF PEOPLE THAT NEEDED HELP SKYROCKET. THAT’S WHY I’M’REACHING OUT TO OTHERS TO KNOW THAT THERE IS , HOPE FOR RECOVERY, THAT IF I CAN GET CLEAN AND SOBER, ANYBODY CAN GET CLEAN AND SOBER BECAUSE THERE’S A LOT OF RECOVERY RESOURCES OUT THERE FOR PEOPLE AND IT CHANGES LIVES. MARIA: YOU’RE VERY GRATEFUL. D:TE ABSOLUTELY. THERE IS A SAYGIN IN RECOVERY, IF I’M GOING TO KEEP MY RECOVERY, I’VE GOT TO GIVE IT AWAY, WHICH MEANS I GOTOT EXTEND MY HAND OR AT LEAST BE AN EAR TO SOMEONE BECAUSE I CAN’’ HOLD ON THIS THING BY MYSELF. I’VE GOT TO EITHER EXTEND MYSELF TO SOMEBODY WHO’S LOOKING FOR A RECOVERY, WHETHER IT’S A FALYMI , FRIEND. THERE ARE SO MANY RESOURCES OUT THERE AND I’VE SEEN WHAT HAPPENS TO PEOPLE WHEN THEY ARE IN RECOVERY. IT CHANGES THEIR LIFE. AND SOMETIMES I LOOK IN THE MIRROR BECAU ISE KNOW IT CHANGED MY LIFE. MARIA:
Advertisement
WCVB reporter shares his recovery story, resources to help others struggling with addiction, alcoholism
Updated: 6:58 PM EDT Jun 6, 2022
Thirty-one years after getting clean and sober, WCVB reporter Ted Wayman says he wants to share his deeply personal story to help others during a difficult time. The time is right to share his story, he said, because of the challenges he’s seen others face during the pandemic. “If I can help one other person or one other family, that’s a good thing,” he said. “A lot of people are very private with their sobriety and that’s totally fine — that’s their story — but I feel so many things have changed in this country and I’ve seen so many people suffer through addiction and alcoholism. People have to understand that recovery is possible and there’s a lot of places to get help.”Recovery resources:Lake Avenue Recovery outpatient servicesThe Willing House sober livingGreater Boston Addiction Treatment outpatient services2nd Act community outreach and education via theaterResources for RecoveryAlcoholics Anonymous (AA) Narcotics Anonymous (NA) Smart Recovery self-management and recovery trainingAl Anon for anyone who loves someone with a drinking problemLearn to Cope peer-led support network for families/friends of those affected by addictionMy Recovery online meetingsRecovery Dharma Buddist addiction healingACOA Adult Children of Alcoholics
Thirty-one years after getting clean and sober, WCVB reporter Ted Wayman says he wants to share his deeply personal story to help others during a difficult time.
The time is right to share his story, he said, because of the challenges he’s seen others face during the pandemic.
Advertisement
“If I can help one other person or one other family, that’s a good thing,” he said. “A lot of people are very private with their sobriety and that’s totally fine — that’s their story — but I feel so many things have changed in this country and I’ve seen so many people suffer through addiction and alcoholism. People have to understand that recovery is possible and there’s a lot of places to get help.”
Recovery resources: