Heuristic
Bluelight Crew
- Joined
- Mar 26, 2009
- Messages
- 3,263
There are some great ideas/links in this thread. Glad so many people are willing to share their stories and help each other. I fully agree that there are two components to quitting: stopping the use/abuse of the drug, AND increasing positive habits, positive thoughts, and positive goals. Those who have been addicted for a long time may find that they've alienated any number of their friends who don't use, that they've given up more positive habits and goals, and that they've distanced themselves, or stopped thinking about, career goals. So it's quite easy to feel as though all you have is the drug. It's more difficult to see how setting aside the drug allows you to regain what you've lost, and to drive forward to better things. But, of course, as you set aside the drug, you CAN learn to either heal old friendships and or make new ones; to repair career/educational damage, and to forge ahead towards new achievements; and to discover or re-discover a variety of positive experiences and habits in life that you've been missing.
Someone above said that if you really want to quit, then you are able to quit on your own; willpower is enough. The contrapositive to this rule is: if you cannot quit on your own, then you do not really want to quit.
That's simply wrong.
It depends on the individual. Some find themselves able to taper and leave on their own, but for those deep in addiction, I think the weight of the empirical evidence is that willpower and desire aren't enough by themselves.
Willpower and desire to quit ARE enough, though, to allow an addict to get some access to tools to quit, and to discover what tools work best for them. For some it might be NA. For others it might be rehab. Different tools will work for different people.
Imo an individual trying to quit should, if able, find a good therapist, who focuses on a cognitive therapy approach to substance abuse, and, in conjunction with that, try the different approaches to quitting that are available, such as NA, such as rehab. The therapist will be able to provide you with feedback on your choices, how you're approaching your decisions, the progress you're making, how you're handling setbacks (everyone has them; they're normal) and will have access to information and tools that you may not have discovered on your own. That individual will function as a guide, whom you will be able to use both to end the abuse of the drugs and to achieve more positive goals in your life (career, relationship, health, athletic, etc.).
There is nothing shameful or weak about using tools, like cognitive therapy, like NA, like rehab, to achieve your goal. Frankly, it is a far greater sign of weakness to NOT seek out those tools, and use them. We wouldn't get very far as individuals or a species if we didn't seek the help and knowledge of others to advance ourselves. Can you imagine the early modern human being, depressed and discouraged after his group had another losing encounter with a tiger or mastodon, deciding that it would be "shameful" to figure out how to use spears to solve the problem? Or the contemporary human being who thought his bone should really be strong enough to heal the fracture on its own, without medical assistance?
People get addicted for a variety of reasons. There's nothing shameful in it. There is a residual effect in our society, deriving from an outmoded view of human nature which thought any sickness, disease, etc., to be the result of an inherent "bad character," which encourages us to be ashamed of being addicted. This view applied with special force to mental ailments. We still feel its effects. It's annoying, it's archaic, and when it stops people from using the tools we've developed to heal problems, it's harmful.
Good luck to everyone out there fighting to heal and drive forward. The tools are there, and the goals are achievable. Do not get discouraged by setbacks. They happen to everyone, and they occur in every human endeavor, whether it's going to the moon or quitting a habit. They can be a catalyst for greater progress if you use them. Learn from the setback, and move forward.
Someone above said that if you really want to quit, then you are able to quit on your own; willpower is enough. The contrapositive to this rule is: if you cannot quit on your own, then you do not really want to quit.
That's simply wrong.
It depends on the individual. Some find themselves able to taper and leave on their own, but for those deep in addiction, I think the weight of the empirical evidence is that willpower and desire aren't enough by themselves.
Willpower and desire to quit ARE enough, though, to allow an addict to get some access to tools to quit, and to discover what tools work best for them. For some it might be NA. For others it might be rehab. Different tools will work for different people.
Imo an individual trying to quit should, if able, find a good therapist, who focuses on a cognitive therapy approach to substance abuse, and, in conjunction with that, try the different approaches to quitting that are available, such as NA, such as rehab. The therapist will be able to provide you with feedback on your choices, how you're approaching your decisions, the progress you're making, how you're handling setbacks (everyone has them; they're normal) and will have access to information and tools that you may not have discovered on your own. That individual will function as a guide, whom you will be able to use both to end the abuse of the drugs and to achieve more positive goals in your life (career, relationship, health, athletic, etc.).
There is nothing shameful or weak about using tools, like cognitive therapy, like NA, like rehab, to achieve your goal. Frankly, it is a far greater sign of weakness to NOT seek out those tools, and use them. We wouldn't get very far as individuals or a species if we didn't seek the help and knowledge of others to advance ourselves. Can you imagine the early modern human being, depressed and discouraged after his group had another losing encounter with a tiger or mastodon, deciding that it would be "shameful" to figure out how to use spears to solve the problem? Or the contemporary human being who thought his bone should really be strong enough to heal the fracture on its own, without medical assistance?
People get addicted for a variety of reasons. There's nothing shameful in it. There is a residual effect in our society, deriving from an outmoded view of human nature which thought any sickness, disease, etc., to be the result of an inherent "bad character," which encourages us to be ashamed of being addicted. This view applied with special force to mental ailments. We still feel its effects. It's annoying, it's archaic, and when it stops people from using the tools we've developed to heal problems, it's harmful.
Good luck to everyone out there fighting to heal and drive forward. The tools are there, and the goals are achievable. Do not get discouraged by setbacks. They happen to everyone, and they occur in every human endeavor, whether it's going to the moon or quitting a habit. They can be a catalyst for greater progress if you use them. Learn from the setback, and move forward.
AAAlllllllllll on my own. No brainwashing necessary. Will power people. Regulation. Rehab may help some, but it has really fucked up a lot of my people. Also, statistically the relapse rate is huge. I think its time for the 12 steps to die. But, thats just my opinion.
thats my mantra when I get down, look at the drugs like they are your worst enemy for which you have NO love!
