How to maintain sobriety and be happy

[jasperkent]

^ all good suggestions ^

I would add:

Focus on today. Regretting the past and/or worrying about the future are pointless and self-destructive wastes of energy. Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow may not come. All we really have is today. Savor it if you can. If you are struggling, remember that you only have to get through this one 24-hour period.

Find reasons to be grateful. It may be difficult at first, but you can exercise your gratitude muscle. For instance-- I don't have much but I do have a roof over my head, plenty of food, a dog that loves me, and a few friends. Also, my five senses are intact and I am relatively sane. I can walk. I am not in jail. I am very fortunate and I try to remember that.

 

[MadHatterMike]

Very good question..wish I knew one that actually worked for me anyways but in the end the pull from wanting to feel different always wins.

 

[psych0Naut!Lus]

Very good question..wish I knew one that actually worked for me anyways but in the end the pull from wanting to feel different always wins.

Seems like my present plight. I only get so far recently not even several months before life’s circumstances have me saying fxck it again usually with something benign but then it spirals out of control as it warps my decision making abilities and impulse control and once one impulse in particular is acted out it seems to always lead me off to “the races”

I feel better when I don’t binge that’s what I know for sure

 

[Lil'LinaptkSix]

Avoid Triggers and Temptations

This can be almost impossible (imo we -optimally- have to deal with the root issue so that we can be anywhere at anytime and remain staid) but your post is filled with some solid information, IMO/E.
Thanks for the input.
Peace

 

[Keif' Richards]

I want to add a little bit to some of what we've already discussed here. I think we've made a lot of good points.

With the relatively recent nationwide explosion of Methamphetamine usage, things have changed a little bit. For a lot of people, Methamphetamine addiction is not a new phenomenon. Here in New England, it was never a thing until the past decade when it first made appearances and it's only been the past 3 years that it has become a true catastrophe. Every bum downtown has Meth in his pocket, even if he doesn't have a dollar to his name, he'll have some Meth. It's just flooded up here.

My point is, a chronic Methamphetamine user is going to need significantly more time and care to get better. Someone who is a chronic user of Methamphetamine and does all of the typicals like staying up for a week or two at a stretch will likely need at least 2 weeks of intense psychiatric care before they could be able to even attempt to digest something like Alcoholics Anonymous. You can't just plop one of these guys in the chair and expect it to go well.

I would say the same thing for an Opioid addict, however, the issues faced with insanity are not the same as those faced with Methamphetamine. I'm not really sure what the solution is or should be. I do feel that these folks need intensive intervention to get better.

I feel badly saying all of this, as the end of the point is that there is nothing of this sort anywhere. You can likely get into a psychiatric ward, but the paradox is that it's extremely difficult to get anyone to do this voluntarily and a person will typically only be held against their will for 72 hours, just long enough to start the process, get released and restart the cycle. At any rate, this is a onversation we need to be having.

There is a substantial amount of stigma leveled against Methamphetamine users even among those addicted to other substances. I don't want them to get left out just because they're difficult.

 

[Dead Machination]

Once I got "clean" I had to move locations to really get on with my life and be happy.

Being around the same places, and people was just too much. I was constantly running into old associates who were still using, bringing my kid into bathrooms I used to shoot up in, having to avoid stores that I wasn't allowed back in, and being able to cop in 5 minutes from 10 different people. It was stressful, and, I believe, it made my recovery much more difficult.

I know that moving people, places, and things, isn't an all encompassing solution, but I told myself that if I could stay clean off of hard drugs for 3 years, than a move would probably be beneficial. Moving alone wasn't going to keep me clean, but once I was already clean, it REALLY helped me get better.

Where I live now people don't know me as a junkie or thief. I'm known as a productive member of my community, and I feel that I'm treated as such. I haven't shot up in a bathroom, or stole from a store within 500 miles of here. My neighbors trust me to have spare keys, and the cops have no idea who I am, and nor should they.

My life is far from perfect, but I feel that I'm generally happy, and that happiness came after I was able to have a fresh start in a new location.

 

[EvidenceOfTheResurrection]

I saw the post title and immediately made an account to reply. I wish I knew the answer to that very question, and it is something that I find myself thinking about in more and more meaningful ways the older I get. I damn near typed a five paragraph essay on my story and the circumstances that led me to being here, but... this post is about you. It doesn't matter what I say or how I say it, but it is something that I know resonates with many in this life, and I hope one day - you will know it and feel the same. Or better yet - in an even more triumphant way than I know I do at times.

For years - I was 100 percent okay knowing that I was going to die early, and I would rather face that time in an alcoholic blackout of bliss and drug abuse than be sober. Almost a decade, I tried just about every sober recovery approach under the sun or that the law would push me towards and nothing really worked for me.
I would never say a negative word about any type of harm reduction, sobriety/treatment program, or ANY sane approach to seeing another person... simply try to live. Whether its a program or asking for tips in a forum, I see it all the same now.
We have this - unfathomable existence. Makes your stomach turn at even the thought of questioning what it means and seeking out a deeper meaning, or purpose. It can be beautiful at times and also wretched. Unfair and polarizing... with no real second chances.
And the real kicker... for all that we know, it is finite. Every second of every minute is one that we will never have again.
The third time I went through alcohol withdrawals - I thought I found that early end that I was 100 percent okay with. Alone and hallucinating a form of mental and physical hell that changed me in a way I'll never forget. That darkness made seeing the light at the end of the tunnel something real.
Life... it changes constantly. Live. Keep focusing on moving forward. Every step you take to get sober, or reduce what you're doing to harm yourself, is another shot... at everything.
Setbacks? Relapse? - Try to learn from it, but if you're thinking about those things that means you're alive and trying and that's what matters.
A purpose in life... and finding happiness in sobriety?
Yeah, that's likely the harder part of the equation, or you just might find its the easiest.
I know right now I'm replying to this post instead of working on the material I should be for a meeting I have to host at work in the morning.
I find a greater purpose in every word typed here than all that I will do at work.

PS - these replies above mine that are much more tenured already have the answers spelled out to a T haha. As much as you might here similar recommendations, or even how simple something may sound... You will find they likely end up being the most profound.

Xoroth "Second, and this is related to a "purpose", I suppose, you need to find things to fill the time you would be spending doing drugs, things that make you feel fulfilled/excited/happy. Find a hobby, or multiple hobbies."
huge advice... something new or old it doesn't matter and its even better if you can find something that you can do with another that supports you.

tonight... I made an account here and replied to you hah.

Dreamflyer "Just keep trying and *never* give up. As John Lennon said, "Where there's life, there's hope."

I've been struggling with multiple addictions (alcohol, opioids, benzos) for over 25 years. Every day I just try to do my best. Sometimes I do well, sometimes not so much."

^^That is pretty much the more eloquent way of summarizing my huge wall of text right there. This is probably the best way to state ...all that I too have surmised on my journey too.


Truly my friend... I wish you well, and I mean that, with every fiber of my being. I don't know you nor you I, but I like to think this is what it is actually all about. If not for you, then selfishly for me. You got this.
Much Love

It is not finite, or at least not over after this physical life. Anyone watching enough nde’s, like randy kay, will realize this. Not to mention the research (eg video by “inspiring philosophy”, like the case for the soul). But there is absolute forgiveness too so is ok

 

[Keif' Richards]

Very few people get held for just 72 hours, at least in my State. The only way you're held for 72 hours is if you sign in voluntarily (I.E. you come to the hospital yourself and sign in). If you get pink slipped you're staying for at least a week, if not two or more. Just enough time for you to stabilize from psychosis, only to get released back on the streets. In our current system that's all the mental health agencies care about. Getting you stabilized. They don't really care about aftercare unless you have a court order/law is enforcement involved.

When it comes to meth, a lot of these homeless people are using it as a survival aid, in addition to getting high. I mean it gives you the energy to panhandle all day without eating, it gives you the energy to do whatever. I've had friends who are/were homeless, and it's a rough, tough life out on the streets. Often times drugs are necessities of survival.

That's great. That's the way it should be. I personally feel there is an advantage in holding someone for a shorter duration, as there is less impetus or responsibility on the physician(s) to find a solution as "that takes time they don't have". I'm speaking to profits and such with this point. 72 hours is not long enough to observe and really fix someone.

Here in Burlington, VT (where we only have one hospital for the metro mind you) the policy has gradually shifted from a psychiatric hold to simply sedating a person for several hours until the worst of the psychosis is over and they discharge them. I do work in shelters here and I see a lot of these guys all the time. I know their names. You see people on Meth go from normal, to looking tired, to looking dirty, to looking very dirty, to looking crazy, to looking inhuman. When people reach the end stage, you seem them more psychotic, more frequently until you don't see them anymore. I don't know if they die or if they completely lose their shit permanently, but you don't see them anymore.

Again I'll say, it's depressing, because even in the United States, with all of our money we don't have 1/10th of what it would take in terms of manpower and time to actually help all of these Methamphetamine addicts. They have to decide to get off on their own, which is difficult. I've used Methamphetamine probably a dozen times in my life and I've stayed up for a 2 or even 3 days once and on that third day, you reach that precipice where you know you can either sleep or keep going and if you keep going, each day is gonna make it harder to get off.