The addict thread (1 Viewer)

No addictions here. There were some years in the past, I might have had a bit too much whiskey on the weekend. I have however lived with an addict. My first wife, and her legally prescribed pain medication. Which eventually killed her. Probably the wrong kind of attitude to have here, but I don't have much patience for someone with a damaging addiction. I will help support someone in many ways if I can, if they are looking for help, but my personal experience with it makes me impatient and cynical.
 
Hoping not to make light of this thread, but I was addicted to coffee once. If I didn't have it, I would get a wicket headache. I went cold turkey for a while which seemed to break the addiction, but then when i switched work they had one of those fancy fresh grinder machines and you just had to push a button and put a cup underneath to get your fix. I started chipping again, but limited myself to one or two cups a day. I had tossed my machine at home, so didn't have any on weekends and felt OK. When COVID-19 hit and they closed down businesses here, I was cold turkey again. Eventually I caved and got a carafe. Still I think I'm limited myself OK. I make about a half pot and drink it over 2-3 days.
 
I don't think it makes light. You're talking about physical dependency and I have been exactly there with coffee myself. I was able to fix it just by tapering. When the doctors told me alcohol was killing me but that it wasn't safe for me to go cold turkey I tried to taper alcohol. I tried but my body wasn't having it. The other element for those of us who have taken our lives to ruin is the mental obsession. Imagine giving up coffee but thinking about it all day every day. I gave up alcohol for periods of time - sometimes months. But the obsession I had with it before I decided to give it up for good was just as bad. I was miserable. Its the hardest thing to explain to anyone how you know something is holding you back, killing you, that you may not even be enjoying it anymore and yet you cannot or will not stop.

But physical dependency is nothing nice in itself. That is more what my addiction with xanax was. When I was quiting, I no longer wanted it anymore but every three minutes I had a panic attack where I was certain I was dying. None of these things are fun.
 
thanks guys...although it's bittersweet as i found out that another old friend passed away on Friday from a heroin overdose...it wasn't all that shocking to hear, to be honest...still sad...
 
thanks guys...although it's bittersweet as i found out that another old friend passed away on Friday from a heroin overdose...it wasn't all that shocking to hear, to be honest...still sad...

pop I have had so many I’ve lost count. About five of them were close friends. Those of us who avoided that one are very lucky indeed.
 
pop I have had so many I’ve lost count. About five of them were close friends. Those of us who avoided that one are very lucky indeed.

same here...a dozen people from my old neighborhood are gone, some of them i was closer to than others...this guy was a good friend for most of my childhood and into my 20s...i haven't seen him in years but i know he was always on that edge...i think he was a good dude at the core but he was probably broken in ways that i will never understand
 
I'm addicted to SR.com and maybe my daily cup of coffee and sugar. Heh. But just reading through the thread reminded me of all of the friends I've known and lost over the years to addictions. I watched alcohol and drugs nearly destroy my parents/family. They sobered up when I was a teenager and I never got into any of the stuff they did.

I'm grateful for reasonably good health and with the wife and 4 kids, we've done pretty well. It's just cool to read about how some of you have recovered and that others can read this thread and start on their own journey when they are ready. Thanks all for sharing.

One day at a time. :9:
 

Create an account or login to comment

You must be a member in order to leave a comment

Create account

Create an account on our community. It's easy!

Log in

Already have an account? Log in here.

Users who are viewing this thread

    Back
    Top Bottom