Former addict given just 5% chance to live after setting herself on fire explains how she finally got sober

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'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."

After becoming a young mom and escaping a violent relationship, Crystal dabbled with substances - though she stayed clean during her two pregnancies. However, being prescribed pain medicine for a bad back during her second pregnancy resulted in a dependency upon prescription drugs, which resulted in her using them between the ages of 21 and 30.

Crystal's drug use then graduated to methamphetamine and eventually heroin: "Whatever I could get a funny feeling from, whatever I could numb my feelings and that same old coping mechanism that I had."

'Non-existent self-esteem'

Her mental health plummeted, and her self-esteem was 'non-existent'.

After losing custody of her teenage child due to her drug use, things took a life-changing turn one day when the person who had abused her as a child showed up at the trailer she was living in.

"As soon as I saw his face, I stood up and, like, came flying out of the camper door. I can't remember exactly what I was saying to him, but exchange of words," she recalled.

"I was angry, instantly mad. And out of the corner of my eye, I saw my gas cans sitting there for the chainsaw that I had at the time. And thought... nothing's ever gonna get better, he's never gonna leave me alone.

"I would be better off because he won't bug me anymore, and everybody would be better off 'cause I'm not gonna be a burden."

This is when Crystal started pouring gas over herself.

Crystal before her injuries (Supplied)

'I instantly regretted my decision'

"And I could taste the gas, it was burning my eyes," she said. "And I could feel it running down my body, and I looked at him and lit the lighter, and it didn't light. And I lit it again. And I instantly regretted my decision."

Crystal was immediately engulfed in flames, with her remembering how she could smell her skin and hair burning, and taste the gas.

Thankfully, a tote filled with rainwater was able to extinguish the flames, and Crystal was rushed to the hosptial, where she was told she had just a five percent chance of survival.

A long and brutal recovery then followed, with Crystal admitting that she had 'lost her whole identity'.

'My eyes were stitched shut'

"The first time I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the mirror... I was, like, shocked 'cause I had no hair, my eyes were stitched shut, I had no ears, most of my nose was gone now, my mouth doesn't open the same, I lost my whole identity.

"Everything that makes you a woman, my breasts are now disfigured, everything."

Sadly, Crystal fell back into drinking and drug use as a coping mechanism - but it was a childhood friend who reached out to her years down the line that changed her life.

Crystal would often call this friend in the middle of the night to 'unload her trauma', but one day he got sick of it and gave her an ultimatum.

Watch Crystal's full Minutes With episode below:

The ultimatum that would change Crystal's life

After buying her a plane ticket in October 2022, he said to her: "If you do not get on the plane, I cannot afford to get a new one, and I don't wanna hear from you again. If you don't get on this flight, just don't call me anymore."

Crystal got on the plane, and though it wasn't easy, she's now been 41 months sober.

"It's taken a lot of coaching, coaching myself, but I really do love myself these days," she said of her sobriety when asked about her feelings of self-worth.

"I'm glad that you asked that because part of my recovery too I look at myself in the mirror, in the eyes, in the morning. And I am the first person that I tell, I love you, Crystal."

She added: "A lot of people when asked about my fire, my burn injury, scars, whatever, most of them, they expect it to be like a more honorable way that it happened. They're not ready for the answer.

"I have really been working on sharing my story more with the world to honor the little girl inside of me that survived and experienced it all, and to show people that beautiful things can come from our darkest moments, and you are not too far gone."

If you want friendly, confidential advice about drugs, you can call American Addiction Centers on (313) 209-9137 24/7, or contact them through their website.

Or if you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available through Mental Health America. Call or text 988 to reach a 24-hour crisis center or you can webchat at 988lifeline.org. You can also reach the Crisis Text Line by texting MHA to 741741.