Expelled from ivy league, drug addiction, what now?

I will be brief in telling my story…

I was accepted to an ivy league school in 2012. At the end of my freshmen year I failed one class, which left me with only 8 credits. I needed 7 to advance to sophomore status. So, on the suggestion of my dean, I took a year off, worked, and took classes at another university. On the surface, everything went well for me this year (got good grades, preformed well at my job), but in truth I had developed a very serious drug addiction that was consuming most of my energies (emotional and physical). I returned to my university the following fall, bringing with me an acute dependence on opiates. At the end of the semester, I passed 3 of my classes, but failed to turn in a final paper for my fourth class so I was dismissed (I was on academic probation for my missteps during my freshmen year).

After being dismissed, I told my family about my drug problem and I went to rehab for 6 months. I then proceeded to take classes via an extension program at a local university. Things started off ok, but I was struggling with depression and anxiety, so my grades ended up quite poor.

Now, 3 months later,I really do not know what recourse I should take to get back on a productive track towards completing my degree. The university I originally matriculated into and was then dismissed from still does not know about my drug problem.

Any ideas on how I should proceed? I did very well in high school but since then my life has been one episode of self destruction after another. I hope to turn it around though…

Also, I can go into further detail into any aspect of my situation if it makes it easier to offer guidance, just let me know and I will reply promptly.

thanks

The most important question is what are your goals? What do you want out of university? It is never a great idea to just go to college because you have nothing better to do. If you can answer that question for yourself and then make a plan to pursue it, you might have a better chance at fighting off depression with whatever professional help you seek. Counseling and medication (if needed) is not sufficient if you don’t have something positive as a goal.