Bobby-Jo Šulák — Pacewicz Of Mente Corpo Spirito & Native Translations CZ On How To Achieve Great Success After Recovering From An Addiction
Never GIVE UP, no matter how hard you think it is!!! Life becomes much easier once you break free from addiction. I hated the shackles of trying to score every day and make sure I had drugs every day. It gets tiring and it is not fun.
When people are trapped in a severe addiction, it can feel like there is no way out and there is no hope for a better future. This is of course not true. Millions of people are in recovery from an addiction and they go on to lead successful, fulfilling and inspiring lives.
Authority Magazine started a new series about women who were able to achieve great success after recovering from an addiction. The premise of the series is to offer hope and inspiration to people who feel trapped in similar circumstances. As a part of this series we had the pleasure to interview Bobby-Jo Šulák — Pacewicz.
Bobby — Jo Šulák — Pacewicz is a registered nurse, social worker and trained counsellor working in the areas of trauma, abuse, domestic violence, bullying, addiction, mental health and wellness both with adults and teens. She also has her own translating business, counselling service and business selling wellness and lifestyle products both online and is opening a brick-and-mortar store in February 2025. She is also a huge advocate for animals and volunteers a lot of her time to animal welfare and also volunteers for an organisation helping and assisting women who have been trafficked. She also co-manages a women’s wellness group on Facebook and assists women in DV situations and single mums in active addiction. She is now in the process of wanting to register an NGO to assist women who are leaving domestic violence situations. She lives with her husband, 2 children and her 8 rescue cats.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood “backstory”?
Thank you for allowing me to share my story and I hope that my story may inspire others to overcome addiction and lead their best lives! My childhood was kind of stable with a lot of arguing in it, until it wasn’t. I was born in Melbourne, Australia to migrant parents from what was known back then as Czechoslovakia. My parents broke up when I was very young and then I just moved from place to place with my mum. My parents decided to try again several times and of course it didn’t work out and my mum left. I remember vividly coming home from school to an empty house and my mother nowhere to be seen and my dad still at work. When he arrived home, he stated he was sending me to my aunt’s place to live. I didn’t think the idea was too bad at the time because during my childhood we as a family spent a lot of time with my dad’s sister and her family. Little did I know it was to become the end of my life as I knew it. My aunt was quite wealthy and treated me very much like Cinderella or the poor relative and tormented me mentally in the most horrific of ways and this left a huge mark on me and knocked a massive dent into my confidence and self-esteem. The abuse was constant even from my uncle at times and both my cousins with their sarcastic tones and constantly tormenting me that I was adopted and so on. It is a lot to take on for a young kid who whilst living there assumed her mother didn’t care and felt abandoned. The abuse came to a grinding halt when my aunt left to go skiing with her 2 children and left me in their home to feed the animals and look after the house. It was during this time that I began to hang around with a mixed crowd of people and began taking drugs. At around this same time my mother came looking for me, and my best friend at the time told her what was happening with me and I finally went home to my mum’s place, who I had thought for so long did not want me. Unfortunately, though the damage had already been done. In saying that, my mother saved me somewhat from the abuse at the hands of my aunt.
Do you feel comfortable sharing with our readers how you were initially introduced to your addiction? What drew you to the addiction you had?
I was already experimenting with smoking cigarettes and dope from around the age of 11 or 12 and it escalated to heavier drugs from there. I started attending raves at a young age and was mostly using uppers and then the heroin kicked in as a method of coming down so I could function again on Monday to go to university and work. It was a merry go round. I actually hated heroin the first time I tried it, but it then became my drug of choice for more than half of my life. My escalation in use was also exacerbated by the fact that my first serious boyfriend was using heroin for some time before I knew about it and then offered it to me and that was the end.
As you know, addictions are often an attempt to mask an underlying problem. In your experience, what do you think you were really masking or running from in the first place? Can you explain?
At first, I enjoyed being high, and then it turned ugly and I needed it to hide my feelings, emotions, and the sense of low worth that my aunt had instilled in me. I also battled with the fact that I thought my parents did not care about me but that was so untrue and my aunt used me as a pawn in her spite against them. She constantly told me how I will never amount to anything, I will work as a hooker on the street, I am worthless, I was not wanted and so much more. This plays havoc with a child’s mind.
Can you share what the lowest point in your addiction and life was?
Oh, my goodness, there isn’t just one. There were thousands of low points which accumulated and accumulated to the point where I could no longer live this way anymore. I guess some of the lowest points were human services taking my daughter away (but I fought tooth and nail to get her back and I did), losing my nursing registration, overdosing in my nurses’ uniform around the corner from the hospital I worked at and having to be taken there to be resuscitated and many of my near-death experiences and living rough in boarding houses, on friends couches and emergency accommodation. Even though I lived like this I still managed to work or make money but all my finances went to drugs.
Was there a tipping point that made you decide that you needed to change? Can you please share the story?
There were many tipping points but the one that really made me think long and hard is when my ex-husband left me for a young waitress at his work. He lied to me over and over that he wasn’t seeing anybody even though my gut told me something was not right. We continued to live in this turmoil and using drugs together. One day he was working outside of the city and I drove back to the city to score drugs and of course as you do you cannot wait to use them so I pulled over and had mine and I overdosed. I was saved just in the nick of time. From that day on I had in my head that I need to get out of this life and be the real me. The person I am today and always have been. Not long after this as I had another knock on the door from children’s services, I packed up our belongings and moved to Prague. I have never looked back since.
Can you tell us the story about how you were able to overcome your addiction?
Maintenance therapy on Suboxone helped me immensely to get rid of the physical cravings and keep them at bay. It was once I overcame the physical cravings that I started working on my mental health and wellbeing and dove into changing my life. I moved with my 2 children to Prague from Australia and it was the best decision I have ever made, besides deciding to stop using. I also turned to work and building my career which I had completely neglected whilst in active addiction.
How did you reconcile within yourself and to others the pain that addiction caused to you and them? Can you please share a story about that?
This is a lifelong process once you decide you want to stop using and fix those wrongs. There were so many people in my life I had wronged but the most important were my parents and my children. Thank God I have a very supportive family and they supported me every step of the way in my recovery and this was a huge boost for me and made me want to make them proud of me even more so and never disappoint them again.
When you stopped your addiction, what did you do to fill in all the newfound time you had?
I launched myself into work, self-learning, made time for myself and learnt how to be ME again! I also took the time to spend as much time with my kids as possible and reconnect with them as they are the loves of my life. I wasn’t really doing that before as was running on autopilot and my life revolved around my addiction.
What positive habits have you incorporated into your life, post addiction, to keep you on the right path?
I would definitely have to mention here CONSISTENCY — as I was consistent in my addiction, I am definitely consistent with my businesses and in my life. Life is about being consistent to achieve your goals, slowly but surely.
PERSISTENCE — again as I was persistent during my addiction in getting what I wanted and needed, I am the same in my personal and business life. My kids say that I am a little too persistent at times ha ha. But I always get what I want.
CONFIDENCE — When in addiction I was confident and this has followed me through to my recovery as I learnt to live with confidence, even though it was shown to me by the wrong means. I am now a very bubbly, vibrant and confident person in all that I do and I want to instill this in other women and empower them too. Life after addiction can be achieved and it is the best as it makes us so much stronger.
RESILIENCE — During my addiction I overcame so many obstacles, changes in my life, deaths of friends, seeing murder victims and so much more that I really am thinking about writing a book. I had to adapt and be resilient and keep pushing on, no matter what the circumstances were that I was in.
EMPATHY — I have always been an empathetic person and even in addiction I would help others who were less fortunate than me. They say that those who have nothing to give, give the most!! This is so very true.
Can you tell us a story about the success that you achieved after you began your recovery?
My biggest success and triumph in life are my 2 beautiful children of whom I cannot be any prouder. Growing up in a life of chaos and destruction, they have turned out to be beautiful, empathetic, sensitive souls. My husband is also my greatest support and without him I wouldn’t be where I am today. My success in my personal and business life truly came from within and my need to want to help others which is something I have wanted to do my whole life, but when stuck in the roundabout of addiction this is not possible. I now know that I am making a difference in people’s lives as well as animals and this is what makes me get out of bed every single beautiful morning!!
What character traits have you transferred from your addiction to your current achievements? Please share both the positive and negative.
Ha ha I am not sure if this is positive or not but I am ruthless. I was ruthless in active addiction and did not care whose toes I stepped on and I would walk over dead bodies to get what I wanted. I am the same in the success of my businesses and am very particular in how I do and achieve things.
Diligence and hard work — I have always worked even throughout my active addiction times. Although I was often homeless and moved from place to place, I always managed to work to make money and this is something I am very proud of and I want my children to see that hard work always pays off. Just as it has in my recovery.
Can you share five pieces of advice that you would give to a person who is struggling with some sort of addiction but is ashamed to speak about it or get help?
Wow there is so much I could say here. I think it is really important to want to undertake recovery of your own accord and not because somebody wants you to or is forcing you. You will never follow through until you, yourself are ready to face your demons, be accountable and want to change your life.
Don’t be too hard on yourself if you slip up and fall. This is part of the recovery process. Baby steps and consistency. I cannot count how many times I tried to get clean and sober. We all fall during our lives and recovery is no exception.
Keep busy! This was key for me as I did not attend a rehab centre or counselling or therapy — I decided to make the change and just went for it! In saying that I had to keep myself busy at all times so I would not think about drugs and wanting to score. I took my Suboxone and kept busy and I think the Suboxone saved my life in many ways.
If you can, create a support network around you of people you truly trust. My family were my lighthouse in the dark.
Never GIVE UP, no matter how hard you think it is!!! Life becomes much easier once you break free from addiction. I hated the shackles of trying to score every day and make sure I had drugs every day. It gets tiring and it is not fun.
We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.
I would love to meet Anthony Kiedis from the Red Hot Chilli Peppers as when I read his book, I just so understood the life he led away from the band as well as the pain, shame and misery that goes along with it. Thanks, Anthony, for telling your story, getting and staying sober and inspiring others to do the same.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
I hope I have inspired some of you to seek help so if you would like to undertake counselling for addiction, trauma, abuse or life in general, please do not hesitate to contact me via my Facebook page — https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61566401724443
If you would like to take a look at our e-shop for lifestyle and wellness products then please take a look at — https://www.facebook.com/groups/808740518030577/
If you would like to make contact, I am Bobby Pacewicz online on Facebook! Take care all of you!
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
Thank you so much for allowing me to share my story.
Bobby-Jo Šulák — Pacewicz Of Mente Corpo Spirito & Native Translations CZ On How To Achieve Great… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.