Austin Reed | From Cystic Fibrosis, ADHD & Addiction to Sobriety & Successful TV & Radio Personality

<p>Austin inherited his addictive genes from his father’s side of the family.  His father’s mother had schizophrenia, and many of his other family members have bipolar disorder.  At the age of 3, Austin was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis.  The doctors told his parents that he would have about 18 to 19 years to live.  It was tough growing up having that hanging over his head, which would lead to depression and anxiety issues early on in his life.</p> <p>As a kid, it was tough for Austin to his schoolwork and remain focused.  He learned later that he had ADHD.  He would have trouble just sitting still in class, and even doing small tasks or projects were difficult to finish. </p> <p>Early on, Austin became obsessed with the world of broadcasting.  It was one of the only things that kept his attention and later developed into a career.  At age 9, he had a broadcasting studio built in the basement of his parents’ house.  He would create his own shows for public access in his hometown.  The local news came out to do a story on him and after that, it propelled him even further into broadcasting.  At the age of 17, he already had a job with the local FOX television news station in Portland.  This is when his drug use and experimentation started to take off.</p> <p>At the age of 19, Austin had his first experience with ecstasy.  The feeling he got from that first time was amazing, and he started doing it every weekend.  The depression he felt every time he would come down was really tough for him to deal with, so eventually, he was able to quit doing it.  He moved to New York & began acting.  He had some small TV roles, but eventually went back to news broadcasting, getting a job in New Mexico.</p> <p>At this time, Austin’s mother had a heart attack, so he moved back to Oregon to be closer to her.  In Medford, there was no cystic fibrosis clinic, he wasn’t getting the care he needed.  He was getting really bad headaches and was prescribed Vicodin.  This started his new addiction, where he was taking 3 pills every 4 h