drug addiction
 

Hi everyone I just joined this forum. I have recently begun to depend on drugs to get through life. I am a marijuana addict I am stoned the majority of my life and when I don't have weed I resort to pain killers, dxm, xtc or whatever else I can get. I've tried to quit multiple times but then i'll buy a sack and be right back where I started. I know weed is not physically addictive and it's all in my head but it is still very hard to quit and it is interfering with my life in many ways. I was just wondering if any of you have overcome addictions or have any tips to help me quit.

Thanks,
Enzo

We've got many members with their own stories of overcoming drug addiction. I'll just wait for them to raise their hand and volunteer some advice.

Go to a narcotics anonymous meeting asap. There are many people there that can help you get moving in the right direction. You'll also find that you aren't alone with this situation. You can find meetings on-line, through a local hospital or through any therapist's office.

Here's a link to find meetings:

NA Meeting Locator

And since you are on-line, here's another good link to Narcotics Anonymous:

Narcotics Anonymous, NA, homepage

Good luck, and like Halx said, you'll hear from more people on here so stay tuned.

Thanks for the replies and the links. I made an appointment with my old psychiatrist to see if he can help with the anxiety and depression weed has caused and maybe he can help me get sober. It's ridiculous because I don't even like getting stoned anymore but I do it anyway. I've been to rehab for alcoholism and marijuana abuse but it didn't help at all. It's like either im an alcoholic or a weed addict, I can never stop both. And due to the fact that i'm 19 I have gotten multiple drinking tickets along with a possesion of marijuana ticket in the last year and a half.

I never went to a shrink or a meeting. I simply said I was done. I was tired of the baggage it carried and hurting myself and my friends. It was difficult.. but I found things to replace the addiction. It helped tremendously early on because it would take my mind off of the cravings and the desires to do them. I was on coke pretty heavy.. at one point it was at least an 8ball a day habit.

I'm not going to blow sunshine up your ass and tell you that it's going to be easy.. but seriously, you're taking a huge step in just acknowledging that you have a problem with things. Once you identify the problem you can then start a solution plan to over come the problem.

Exercise is something that a lot of people turn to when they want to overcome an addiction.. partly because it takes your mind off the smoke, but also because it feeds the body and you see the results just like you feel the results when you get high. I turned heavier into music.. and the lives of my friends. I haven't done the candy now for like 4 years or so..

just take it slow and know that know matter what you can always adjust your plan and revamp it if something just isn't working.

Exercising definitely helps but I have to not smoke for a few days to have enough energy and motivation. But snowboarding season is here so maybe that will give me something to take my mind off drugs. Props on quitting coke I can't imagine how hard that must have been If I'm having such a hard time with a mental addiction.

you don't have to stop for a few days prior.. just do something..anything.. if you don't do anything you'll be right back where you were/are.

I just don't have the energy when I've smoked and I have insomnia, which is why I started smoking weed daily, so I'm usually exhausted during the day. But I plan on not smoking for at least a week so I'll probably do a lot of mountain biking this weekend. I live in the foothills of pikes peak so there are beautiful trails basically in my back yard. Thanks for the replies this forum seems cool with lots of interesting topics.

You're pretty new here so you haven't had the full TFP experience yet. I can assure you that you'll get nothing but encouragement here, and combined with the professional help you said you're going to get, I'm looking forward to seeing you progress through recovery.

What I want you to do right now is dump out any alcohol you have, then throw any drugs/mess you have abuse or can abuse in the toilet and flush them; the last thing you need during a difficult time is temptation.

I second what MSD says. Just to clarify, "mess" means paraphenalia, likes rolling
papers, bongs, pipes, etc....

Do you have any friends who don't use? Maybe they've suggested you stop? Let them know your intention.

Most of all, get professional help. Do what they say.

AA and NA are there to help. Most (but not all) of the folks I've met there are pretty cool. You can talk to them.

Good luck! I look forward to hearing more from you.

This also works, but I intended to say "meds" but my iPod autocorrected it. The first part of my encouragement to quit is to remove temptation. You wouldn't counsel a gambling addict in a casino, and I wouldn't want someone I was trying to encourage to quit substance abuse to be surrounded by his vices.

Find out what has happened in your life that is making you abuse substances. That is the key. Being honest with yourself is a tough road to go down, and even more difficult if you do it alone.

Try and figure it out before you bottom out and lose everything.

The first step though is admitting you have a problem. Build on it before your life passes you by.

I wholeheartedly agree. Sorry for my interpretation.

It would really help if you learned about addiction. It concerns me that you think there is a difference between alcohal abuse and other methods of self-medication. There is a common underlying problem. That's why I recomended NA. 99.999% of addicts cannot simply stop on their own; it is much more complicated that that.

You are in recovery for life. Until you understand how you got where you are in the first place it is nearly impossible to get out. It helps to have help and support. If you really want to make a change it comes from within. I'm sorry to hear that you've been through rehab for alcohal and weed previously. For many people it takes much more than one time. Recovery is a journey, not a destination.

Thanks for all the positive and helpful responses. Drinking isn't a problem anymore so I don't have any alcohol to pour out but im going to take your advice and get rid of everything drug related. All my drug problems basically started because of my insomnia. I couldn't go to school because I had a terrible sleep pattern so I missed alot since 7th grade and started getting terrible grades. I am very smart and creative and was very athletic as a child. I also was the most anti-drug and alcohol kid I knew until sophmore year. The only reason I started smoking weed regularly was because It was the only thing that could make me fall asleep. But now it doesn't even do that, when I get high I just get terrible anxiety.
I can barely remember what has happened in the last few years. I used to have a lot of really close friends but now I feel like I don't have any friends just some people to go party with who don't care about me. Now struggling with depression, bi-polar disorder, insomnia, social anxiety and dependence on drugs I have no clue what to do. So i'm starting with getting rid of the drugs which will probably get rid of the anxiety and maybe I'll be able to get on a normal sleep schedule. And now that I see how bad pot is messing with my life I think it will be easy to quit and luckily I haven't gotten addicted to any other drugs I was dumb enough to put into my body.

Depression, bi-polar disorder, and insomnia are things that a doctor will be able to help you with. Keep looking forward, and remember that if you can't do it alone it's because addiction is a deeply rooted psychological and medical phenomenon and not a matter of will power like previous generations treated it.

A couple of weeks ago I had my one year sober anniversary. I quit drinking without attending any meetings or medical help, but that was after many failed attempts to quit, cut back, etc.

I'm not knocking NA and/or AA, both have helped many people get & stay clean/sober. Read up what they're about, & definately attend some meetings if their programs sound right for you. If you know that you can't do it on your own, attend some meetings, get a sponsor to help you through the rough spots.

Don't delude yourself by thinking that cutting back will work, it'll always be temporary. Chances are good you'll have several failed attempts at quitting, as you might have already experienced. Don't beat yourself up when it happens, tell yourself that at least you know that you have a problem, & you're trying to get over it. To state the obvious, it will help immensely if you're serious about getting and staying sober.

Some people claim to experience some kind of epiphany when they sober up, but don't count on a sudden miraculous turnaround. The problems that you're having while using will still be there when you're sober. Sobriety will help you to see things more clearly, but it'll still be up to you to solve your problems & make good things happen.

When push comes to shove, you are the one has to make the decision whether or not to use. Good luck, and please let us know how things work out for you.

If you want to talk, you can access my email through my profile.

And Anormalguy has a good idea offering a way to talk to someone; PM me for my AIM name if you need to talk to someone. My work computer is on AIM pretty much 24/7

There is a lot of wisdom in what these folks wrote. Please, please, pay attention to them. I've read what MSD says elsewhere on the board, this is someone who has deep knowledge of the medical effects.

I know of how it affected, and affects, my life. I'm still struggling, but things are WAAYY better now, and it's getting easier.
If I've fallen 1000 times, I must have gotten up 1001 to still be here.

I'd be happy to PM anytime. Sharing experiences can make it easier. :thumbsup:

Get to your doc, your bi-polar disorder is likely the cause of the insomnia and depression as well as the social anxiety.

The only other advice I have is to quit self-medicating, it doesn't work. I know it's not easy, but seriously it's that simple. I used to have a serious drug habit...If I overcame mine, anybody can.

/edit
I just realized I probably didn't help at all.

I loved smoking pot. Seriously, I loved everything about it. It's been better than 10 years since I've done it, and I still miss it sometimes. I smoked better than an 1/8oz. a day, every day. I can tell you that until I changed playplaces, playthings, and playmates, I could not successfully quit. I quit for 18 mos.one time, As soon as I started hanging out w/ my old friends, it was a matter of weeks before I was smoking again.

Know that you need to do something productive. It doesn't matter what, but get out of your head...it's a dark and scary place if it's anything like mine. Join a club, get involved w/ charity work, just do something!

Don't smoke weed for 5 more minutes, when that 5 minutes is up, then work on the next 5 minutes and then the next....it gets better, I promise!

Pick some form of exercise you can zone out to (swimming, running, etc) and push yourself. Once you get in shape I promise there is no better sustainable high. You feel great, sleep great, and pain almost becomes a joke.

Welcome, Enzo. :)

Been there, done that. What I learned was this: Life will be tougher to get through when it gets to the point that relationships are lost. What you're doing isn't really helping you.

Loads of great advice in this thread. I wanted to add that often, we don't want to burden others. But don't be afraid to lean on those around you who care.

I know it firsthand because I have addiction in the genes from both sides of the family and I have to keep a close eye on my drinking so I don't let it get out of control. On top of that, I'm very bothered by the stigma attached to mental illness in our culture that prevents people from getting help when they need it. I'm also disgusted by the old-fashioned attitude that addiction is about willpower when every study and report makes it clearer and clearer that it's every bit as much of an illness as things that are routinely treated and well-understood. Willpower plays a part in it, but it takes more.

Since I posted I have not touched any drugs except for sipping on some beer, and I feel great. I have taken all your advice and gotten rid of any paraphernalia and have started going on long bike rides every morning. My sleep schedule is back to normal and my depression has gone away and it's barely even been a week. I've been able to buy things that I enjoy with all the hundreds of dollars I would have been wasting on drugs. Now that I'm feeling back to normal im going to go back to school and get my diploma. It feels really good waking up early in the morning and having the whole day to do stuff instead of sleeping all day and getting high. Thanks for all the input some of your advice helped me a lot. Now I just have to stay sober and I can get my life back on track.

That's great news! One day at a time might be a cliche, but it's good advice.

Really? A week and such progress? Oh my. That's incredible. Keep it up!
( Don't beat yourself up too badly if you fall.)

One day at a time. Whatever happened yesterday (use or not) doesn't matter. Tomorrow, and whatever it may
bring, doesn't matter. Just today. Don't use today.

It's awesome that you are feeling so successful so early on. Good job keep up the positive attitude. If you are taking up exercise that may help you with your insomnia, quite often it does. Also give yourself a gift. Keep a jar and save the money you would have blown on the smoke in it, eventually you will be able to buy that new sound system, motorcycle or whatever may float your boat. Good luck to you though!

I would emphasize being treated for an underlying psychological issue if you have suspicion you might have one. When you're depressed, daily drug use starts to look like a worthwhile alternative. Much drug use is self-medication for another issue, and obtaining illegal drugs is typically far simpler and sometimes cheaper than navigating our convoluted health care system. And tragically, the less resources you have available, the more vulnerable you are and the harder it is to get properly treated at all.