7 ms·

As someone who struggled with cocaine, heroin and prescription opioid addictions throughout my teenage years, this resonates with me quite a bit, but I'm not su

by 0x420 12y ago

As someone who struggled with cocaine, heroin and prescription opioid addictions throughout my teenage years, this resonates with me quite a bit, but I'm not sure if I agree with the conclusions the author is drawing. I got clean with no help either - and yet, many years later, I still consider myself "in recovery." I view my recovery as a never-ending process; even though I haven't touched the substances themselves in ages, I'm still dealing with the consequences. Just hearing someone mention one of the drugs in a conversation is sometimes enough to make my mood plummet if I'm taken by surprise. I don't really hang out in environments where they're easy to obtain anymore, but if I ever find myself in one, even though I know on some rational level that I'd never touch them again, part of me is in great distress because I'd have a hard time saying no if they were offered to me. I think these types of articles tend to ignore the longer-lasting, psychologically debilitating consequences of addiction. It doesn't just end with going cold turkey. You need to be able to look at your thought process and identify where you go wrong, and I think programs like AA and NA give you the tools to do that. Obviously, they don't work for everyone, and they aren't foolproof, but I'm of the opinion that they still have some merit.

ugk 12y ago
Well said.
BigChiefSmokem 12y ago
You don't have answer this but I have to ask, did you find some other less severe addiction to cope - like marijuana for example? I ask because, well, your username.
- tekromancr 12y ago
  Your name would also imply some level of cannabis use. Also, cartoon racism.
  - ChristianBundy 12y ago
    Oh, do me next!
    - tekromancr 12y ago
      A very religious serial-killer.
      - dogecoinbase 12y ago
        And you're... a bodice-ripper spinoff of TekWar?
- 0x420 12y ago
  No, I was completely sober for a few years after kicking all the hard stuff. I acquired a taste for marijuana relatively recently, and while I do smoke quite a bit nowadays, I don't think of it as a coping tool, just something I do for fun when I have time to kill.
  - BigChiefSmokem 12y ago
    Interesting, I myself vaporize (I don't like smoke) but it is mostly for medical reasons (I live in California) as I refuse to take hard pharmaceuticals. My doctor agrees.
    - 0x420 12y ago
      Getting a vape has been high on my list of priorities ever since I've become more invested in my health, which incidentally wasn't a concern until after I began smoking regularly.
- erikb 12y ago
  You can be addicted to marijuana? It's the first time I read this. Or is it just something I interpret into your comment?
  - roel_v 12y ago
    Is this an honest question? I mean, really? I'm as pro-legalization as they come, but it is well documented (and well known) that yes marijuana is addictive. For example, you could start at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabis_dependence http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabis_dependence, then http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=marijuana+addiction http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=marijuana+addictio..., and work your way through 5 decades of research from there.
    - erikb 12y ago
      It's shocking that everybody talks about legalizing but nobody talks about that. Thanks!
  - ionised 12y ago
    You can become psychologically dependent on it. I would definitely consider myself being 'addicted' in that sense when I smoked pot. I didn't get any joy out of recreational activities I was engaging in unless I was high first. I always felt like like the buzz wasn't as good as it could have been if I were high. A few months after quitting that went away though. Weed also made me lazy and paranoid after a while, so it was actively damaging to me. I don't smoke anymore.
elliottcarlson 12y ago
Every one will have a different experience, and some people will need more help than others. I was a meth addict (but was also a frequent abuser of a large variety of other substances) and quit cold turkey during a cross country bus ride to the east coast. Ever since then I have been clean, and only take part in drinking alcohol. That first year was insanely hard, and the mere thought of meth would make my hands clammy, as if my body was still wanting it. I have no problems now with restraint, and I can be around people doing drugs and can easily sit back with no temptations. I didn't need NA or AA, but as you said, they still have some merit and may be the necessary crutch that some people require to get out of the hole.
- 0x420 12y ago
  Yes, that was more or less my point. I'm wary of analyses of addiction that try to conflate every survivor's experience into a single, monolithic thing. There are similarities, to be sure, but it's more complex than most people realize.
verisimilidude 12y ago
Your comment resonates with me quite a bit. During my high school years, I suffered a bad accident. My right forearm was pretty much shattered, almost amputated. For about a week after all the surgeries, I was on Vicodin 24/7. Just from that, I was addicted. The withdrawal was miserable, and obviously came at the worst possible time. That one week with Vicodin continues to have profound effects on my life, even now that I'm in my 30s. My fear of addiction convinced me to stay away from all drugs and even drinking. I socialized with people who didn't drink, and found activities that didn't involve partying. All of my social groups and hobbies, to this day, are the legacy of my total adult sobriety. I can't even imagine who I'd be if I didn't have that awful experience with Vicodin.
- wozniacki 12y ago
  Okay, I have long wanted to know this about alcoholics and alcohol relapse sufferers: Do one-time alcoholics - functional or otherwise - who have sought treatment and then completely quit drinking for a fair number of years, ever manage to go back to moderate & responsible alcohol consumption? or Is it pretty much a life of teetotalism, for them, after that? Do you know of any friends or family who have recovered and enjoy alcohol responsibly? My experience has been that almost all such people I know, resort to drinking non-alcohol fizzy drinks, fruit juices and other replacements, but never any booze, not even non-alcoholic beer.
  - cheshire_cat 12y ago
    Some people can do it. But don't take my words for it. I'd like to quote from a blog post of Nic Sheff: "Going into it, I figured that most of the stories would be like mine. But in interviewing these different addicts —addicts that have worked with some of the top addiction specialists in the country— I was surprised to find that quite a few of them have now, after an extended period of abstinence, been able to go back to drinking or smoking pot casually without spiraling out of control again. It was a baffling revelation to me. [...] Take the example of the crystal meth addict I mentioned above. His drug use really skyrocketed around the time he was diagnosed with HIV. [...] There was a direct connection between his environmental circumstances and his using, a concept that I’d never actually experienced. I used for no reason at all. But he had a reason." http://www.thefix.com/content/alcoholic-versus-problem-drinker-10080 http://www.thefix.com/content/alcoholic-versus-problem-drink... I don't think there is something like having no reason but he probably knows himself the best. You should check him out if you don't already know him, he wrote 2 books about his teenage meth addiction and his struggle for recovery.

by 0x420 12y ago

ugk 12y ago

Well said.

BigChiefSmokem 12y ago

You don't have answer this but I have to ask, did you find some other less severe addiction to cope - like marijuana for example? I ask because, well, your username.

tekromancr 12y ago
Your name would also imply some level of cannabis use. Also, cartoon racism.
- ChristianBundy 12y ago
  Oh, do me next!
  - tekromancr 12y ago
    A very religious serial-killer.
    - dogecoinbase 12y ago
      And you're... a bodice-ripper spinoff of TekWar?
0x420 12y ago
No, I was completely sober for a few years after kicking all the hard stuff. I acquired a taste for marijuana relatively recently, and while I do smoke quite a bit nowadays, I don't think of it as a coping tool, just something I do for fun when I have time to kill.
- BigChiefSmokem 12y ago
  Interesting, I myself vaporize (I don't like smoke) but it is mostly for medical reasons (I live in California) as I refuse to take hard pharmaceuticals. My doctor agrees.
  - 0x420 12y ago
    Getting a vape has been high on my list of priorities ever since I've become more invested in my health, which incidentally wasn't a concern until after I began smoking regularly.
erikb 12y ago
You can be addicted to marijuana? It's the first time I read this. Or is it just something I interpret into your comment?
- roel_v 12y ago
  Is this an honest question? I mean, really? I'm as pro-legalization as they come, but it is well documented (and well known) that yes marijuana is addictive. For example, you could start at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabis_dependence http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabis_dependence, then http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=marijuana+addiction http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=marijuana+addictio..., and work your way through 5 decades of research from there.
  - erikb 12y ago
    It's shocking that everybody talks about legalizing but nobody talks about that. Thanks!
- ionised 12y ago
  You can become psychologically dependent on it. I would definitely consider myself being 'addicted' in that sense when I smoked pot. I didn't get any joy out of recreational activities I was engaging in unless I was high first. I always felt like like the buzz wasn't as good as it could have been if I were high. A few months after quitting that went away though. Weed also made me lazy and paranoid after a while, so it was actively damaging to me. I don't smoke anymore.

elliottcarlson 12y ago

Every one will have a different experience, and some people will need more help than others. I was a meth addict (but was also a frequent abuser of a large variety of other substances) and quit cold turkey during a cross country bus ride to the east coast. Ever since then I have been clean, and only take part in drinking alcohol. That first year was insanely hard, and the mere thought of meth would make my hands clammy, as if my body was still wanting it. I have no problems now with restraint, and I can be around people doing drugs and can easily sit back with no temptations. I didn't need NA or AA, but as you said, they still have some merit and may be the necessary crutch that some people require to get out of the hole.

0x420 12y ago
Yes, that was more or less my point. I'm wary of analyses of addiction that try to conflate every survivor's experience into a single, monolithic thing. There are similarities, to be sure, but it's more complex than most people realize.

verisimilidude 12y ago

Your comment resonates with me quite a bit. During my high school years, I suffered a bad accident. My right forearm was pretty much shattered, almost amputated. For about a week after all the surgeries, I was on Vicodin 24/7. Just from that, I was addicted. The withdrawal was miserable, and obviously came at the worst possible time. That one week with Vicodin continues to have profound effects on my life, even now that I'm in my 30s. My fear of addiction convinced me to stay away from all drugs and even drinking. I socialized with people who didn't drink, and found activities that didn't involve partying. All of my social groups and hobbies, to this day, are the legacy of my total adult sobriety. I can't even imagine who I'd be if I didn't have that awful experience with Vicodin.

wozniacki 12y ago
Okay, I have long wanted to know this about alcoholics and alcohol relapse sufferers: Do one-time alcoholics - functional or otherwise - who have sought treatment and then completely quit drinking for a fair number of years, ever manage to go back to moderate & responsible alcohol consumption? or Is it pretty much a life of teetotalism, for them, after that? Do you know of any friends or family who have recovered and enjoy alcohol responsibly? My experience has been that almost all such people I know, resort to drinking non-alcohol fizzy drinks, fruit juices and other replacements, but never any booze, not even non-alcoholic beer.
- cheshire_cat 12y ago
  Some people can do it. But don't take my words for it. I'd like to quote from a blog post of Nic Sheff: "Going into it, I figured that most of the stories would be like mine. But in interviewing these different addicts —addicts that have worked with some of the top addiction specialists in the country— I was surprised to find that quite a few of them have now, after an extended period of abstinence, been able to go back to drinking or smoking pot casually without spiraling out of control again. It was a baffling revelation to me. [...] Take the example of the crystal meth addict I mentioned above. His drug use really skyrocketed around the time he was diagnosed with HIV. [...] There was a direct connection between his environmental circumstances and his using, a concept that I’d never actually experienced. I used for no reason at all. But he had a reason." http://www.thefix.com/content/alcoholic-versus-problem-drinker-10080 http://www.thefix.com/content/alcoholic-versus-problem-drink... I don't think there is something like having no reason but he probably knows himself the best. You should check him out if you don't already know him, he wrote 2 books about his teenage meth addiction and his struggle for recovery.