She opened up about her journey.

Former addict given just 5% chance to live after setting herself on fire explains how she finally got sober
Crystal Raye says she was filled with ‘instant’ regret as she recalled the moment she lit the lighter
Emily Puckering
Emily Puckering

A former drug addict has opened up about her journey to sobriety after she set herself on fire, admitting people are ‘not ready for the answer’ when they ask her about her scars.

Addiction is a devastating disease, affecting the lives of millions around the world, and it’s a sad reality that many lives are lost every year as a result.

While it’s estimated by the National Institute on Drug Abuse that approximately 70,000 to 80,000 people die from drug overdoses in the US each year, many people are able to eventually overcome their addictions and go on to live healthier and happier lives.

And one of those people is Crystal Raye.

Crystal, from southern California, had a childhood filled with grief, chaos and substance abuse – something she has opened up about with LADbible’s Minutes With series.

Her first trauma came when her father died in a drink-driving accident when she was a young child, which was followed by her mother’s struggles that led to drug use.

And after being exposed to certain people in her mom’s family, Crystal then experienced ‘every type of abuse there is to experience in your life’ by the age of just nine.

Crystal Raye struggled with abuse and addiction from being a child, which resulted in a devastating incident involving a can of gasoline (LADbible Originals)
Crystal Raye struggled with abuse and addiction from being a child, which resulted in a devastating incident involving a can of gasoline (LADbible Originals)
Crystal’s first experience using hard substances
Crystal started using drugs in her own home as a child, with it ‘quickly becoming the way to fit in and socialize’.

“And to think back now, it turns my stomach to think about that but, that’s how we began socializing at a very young age,” Crystal recalled to LADbible. “And I would continue to use substances in some form or another for most of my adult life after that.”