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Functional addict.

E

Ethan8

Bluelighter
Joined
Jun 1, 2014
Messages
122
Do you consider yourself a functional addict, you still workyour job ,your hobbies ,your use is secret to friends etc thus making your life more solitary.

Are you happy with your use ,is it strict [prescribed or self prescribed] .

Do you sometimes slip up etc?
 
Unfortunately i consider myself a functional addict,and i think that has played a major part in still not getting sick of drugs.

When you have things that keep you on "planet earth",its harder to realize that you need to change.

I have a clean gf who never touched drugs,can come up w money,have food and shelter,and obviously all this make me think that i can "pull it off"(being a functional addict) but deep down i know that unless i change my ways,its not gonna end well...
 
There can be "functional drug use" (ie recreational use), but the term "addict" to me just seems to inherently imply that someone isn't in complete control of their shit.
 
Burnt Offerings said:
There can be "functional drug use" (ie recreational use), but the term "addict" to me just seems to inherently imply that someone isn't in complete control of their shit.
Click to expand...

I agree with this statement. I thought by definition someone who is addicted is someone who continues to use even when there are negative impacts on their life. Someone who has a "problem" is more of what you are describing, though it seems like its all the same in a sense.

I see what you mean though and I can say for myself no only because if not for my family I would be homeless with nothing. Its easy to say "I have it under control I dont spend more money then I need to" but when that is like 90% of your pay and you dont really have to buy anything else it is not the same as being functional because as i said without my family I would have no where to live. I think in the end it is hard to find truly functional addicts, most have support systems such as food stamps or something. Thats not to say they dont exist I just feel like they are more rare then we may think because a lot of people do receive outside support.
 
I certainly was!
I gained 2 Psychology degrees, AND worked as a counsellor for many years!
Admittedly, as my boyfriend was also my dealer (h) I guess I never had to commit any crimes to keep the lifestyle up.
Incredibly, non of my colleagues ever noticed...
Sadly, after my partner went to jail the game (predictably) changed, and now (after 10 years!) I'm just finishing a Subutex/Suboxone treatment program
But yes, it can be done, depends on your circumstances xx
MG
 
But don't you feel that having a secret of that magnitude (opiate addiction) takes something away from whatever in your life you are still "functional" at? I too got my BA (and most of my BSW) / held down jobs and relationships / made friends etc, while doing opiates daily for 5 years. No one found out until a couple of years ago, at which point circumstances made me realize i was no longer functioning well.

Now i guess i feel like having to keep that secret, made me a lot less real in my day to day life. And i wonder how good that was.
 
I consider myself a functional addict... I have no problems keeping a job, my GF is happy, and if I'm being honest everyone I wouldn't want to know about my drug problem doesn't, even if I'm high around them. It should be said that I'm more of a low level addict, in the sense of dependency that is, I have a strong mental addiction to many, many substances that don't cause physical dependency.

I use all opioids, but I don't exactly have an IV heroin addiction and I make sure I'm dependent solely on kratom, and heroin, oxy, dilaudid etc are more of my "treats". So yeah, I don't think my love for drugs is causing any problems in my life as of now, and I plan to keep it that way. I do think this thread would be better suited for DC, I'm sure those fellas would have alot to say.
 
I think there are more "functional" drug users/addicts out there than most people would believe. (I worked as an addictions counsellor for years and trust me, some of my clients were what many would term 'pillars of the community!'). But you know what I reckon the real issue is here?
LEGALITY
If our drugs of choice were viewed in the same light as alcohol then we wouldn't need to live "double lives" would we?
I think it's completely hypocritical we live in a society where nicotine and alcohol are available everywhere and are heavily taxed, and yet the illicit substances, well for the love of god, don't tell anyone about that!
 
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