Swapping unhealthy addictions for healthy ones?

[RocketBoy89]

I'm just curious as to what people have successfully swapped their "unhealthy addictions" for?

I'm asking just because I'm feeling pretty hopeless about my future and I can't seem to get through the day or function without relying on something - and the problem is I've recently been using alcohol to get the confidence to get up and out and function and I'm concerned that this can't end well. I've never particularly liked alcohol but the fact it's there, socially acceptable and cheap makes it all too easy to turn too. Over the past few months tolerance has increased and now I find myself drinking earlier, before I can eat and finding ways to drink it quicker to actually feel something - which are all worrying signs.

Sorry if my post is a bit incoherent, I'm trying to remained focus but I'm a little bit inebriated atm.

I'm currently on a script for heroin addiction and so am very concerned about swapping one addiction for another. I'm on my third subby script (the past two I reduced and came off completely successfully and then ended up back with a daily "roger rabbit" and back in treatment).

I suppose what I'm angling for is some hope from people that have swapped one addiction for another healthier option. Like I know people use exercise and I have in the past but I always seem to get to a plateau point where it's ineffective and I end up doing something unhealthy just to get through the day, to function and to go to work.



Rcktby89

 

[PotatoMan]

Homeless -----> Healthy Living

Since you are still on meds I'll assume you are not sober yet. You sound like you have the right mindset which is the "want" but you definitely gotta drop the alcohol. That's a nasty one. Going to the gym would be your answer for that as once you are regularly exercising drinking any form of alcohol completely defeats the purpose and is ultimately counter-productive.

It de-oxygenates the muscles thus stunting repair and growth.

Also physical dependance on that is something you'd be kicking yourself for. Leave it for the weekend?

 

[pinpoint]

I've managed to swap an opioid dependency with an intense cardio regimen recently. I'll exercise vigorously til I can't take any more and then hop in a cold shower. Once I'm done I get a high unmatched by any drug.

It's free, it's healthy & it eventually leads to sex with beautiful women

 

[nuttynutskin]

Going to the gym would be your answer for that as once you are regularly exercising drinking any form of alcohol completely defeats the purpose and is ultimately counter-productive.

I definitely will second that. I'm sure I've said it before on here, but going to the gym to lift weights has really been the best thing for both my mental problems and alcoholism. It helped that I already had prior experience lifting before my problems with alcohol really took off, but I feel anyone can get in and do something. Once you start making progress and build some momentum it will be that much easier to keep going and have less time and energy to think about your addiction.

 

[PriestTheyCalledHim]

It helps, and it's very good to do this but make sure you don't get 'addicted' to lifting weights and lifting too much, doing cardio and running or doing other types of cardio too much, obsessing about eating healthy, etc.

 

[GrymReefer]

During my early teens (14-17) I was a completely useless human being. I dabbled in lots of drugs, hung with the wrong kids committing petty robbery and would try to act like a hard ass. In actuality I was just a punk who needed an ass whooping, but due to who I hung with and my arrogance...the times I got the shit kicked out of me I still didn't learn my lesson. One thing that eventually lead to me realizing what road I was on was the death of quite a few close friends (how cliche) and the love for education. The love to just learn coincidentally made a few teachers my freshman year of high school talk some sense into me and explain that I need to be challenged. I'm sure they talked me up and a lot of it was filled with rhetorical b.s, but just to have someone recognize and appreciate something that I always kind of shadowed away helped spark the initiation to further myself. Sorry for that little rambling introduction it just a good explanation...

I eventually stopped hanging out with my old friends and slowly began a period of introversion. That gave me a lot of time to just read, read, read, and read. Also, considering I was homeless at 17 due to my parents not being able to deal with me (don't blame em') I had to have a couple jobs to support myself through high school. That was also a great lesson because I worked dead end jobs or blue collar ones which made me realize I didn't want to be someone doing this at 30 being unhappy. I wanted to be something that my parents were, but without the excessive student loans they incurred from their personal schooling and putting my siblings through school. (Father has a PhD in Business Science? I believe..a professor somewhere...Mother has Masters or she is currently working on her PhD in Sociology...she is a fed grr...oldest brother has a Masters in Literature? with a minor in creative writing...yet he manages 401ks lol...sister has 2 Masters in Foreign languages one is italian the other is arabic her minors are bizarre and now she is doing an accelerated BSN program for nursing...other brother has a Bachelors or a failed masters in Computer Science and programming...yet he runs his own farm and livestock LOL...)

Having all of this as a environment kind of forced me into finally getting some schooling (CNA license), but made me extremely skeptical of getting student loans due to how miserable they seem. Honestly, I was starting to slowly fall off the train to ever consider schooling, but CFC a moderator on the steroid forum kind of got that fire started a little bit again. Also, just reading other moderators personal posts (Pharmbiack, GF, flyhigh, trozzle) made me desire that kind of knowledge and intellect. I find it an extremely respectable trait and sometimes I just post information of what I thought was the correct notion hoping that they chime in and destroy my view and replace it with something proper. Better to be prepared, but fail than not be prepared at all, but still get killed.


I'm sorry I've been out with a few friends and went to the bar and I'm completely rambling. Motive of story....

You should find something you love that you wouldn't consider a “substitution” per say, but more so a positive replacement. If you feel obligated to force yourself to rid of a habit and pick something that you don't necessarily want, but think it would benefit than you're going about it all wrong. You should have the desire to create the change. Only then can you facilitate the need to become better.

In the end though everything should be done in moderation, though that observation doesn't mean a thing to my generation. We exist as the generation of instant gratification and excessive implications.
It is only going to get much worse before we finally get better. Sorry for terrible grammar... I'll probably edit this post in the morning.

Swapped trolling and robbing with reading and self education.
swapped excessive drug use with exercise and getting crazy technical with dieting regime. Usually over complicating the equation.
swapped my social life for my bizarre supplement antics that has almost become an addiction (good or bad? ehh subjective matter still)

 

[NICKELTALENT]

The first thing that came to my head reading this was hit the gym. Then i saw thats what every1 else said and i was like yes m8's! But seriously gym is a great time filler and it can be addictive. Once you've started making proper gains or fat loss and people start noticing and complimenting you - YOU WONT WANT TO STOP!
It just takes some motivation to get started

 

[OsamaBeenNoddin]

Although I'm still very much addicted to H, I can say that exercise definitely helped through the periods when I was off dope. The key is to find an exercise you like, it doesn't have to be going to the gym. I would play basketball and skateboard for hours and would get a full workout out of that and would enjoy myself while doing it. So find a sport or something that is active to keep your mind off getting high is my best advice

 

[RocketBoy89]

Cheers for all the responses guys - much appreciated! It's certainly encouraging that so many of you have successfully used exercise as an alternative healthy outlet/habit. Where I'm at, at the moment is that I have no motivation or get up and go, so the initial foray into regular exercise may take a real push...

One thing I'm slightly concerned about is how my arms and hands will take it, I say this because recently I've been getting cramps and this weird thing where I almost loose full control of my arm and/or hand (sometimes it's like a spasm but mostly it's just very uncomfortable and it's like my arms and hands are forced into this odd position which is not good when you're handling crockery!). My job at the moment is a pot wash in a kitchen, so physical and a lot of repetitive actions i.e. picking up plate after plate and drying it and it only happens occasionally and after I've been at it for a while continuously. I'm an IV drug user and have been for a few too many years now, so am assuming it's to do with circulation or lack there of - I've ruined all the veins in my arms and all but the smallest ones in my hands too) - Anyway my point is, or should I say my concern is that this will interfere with the type of exercise I'd like to do.

Tbh it really scares me because if I'm having these problems now at the age of 25 and in the height of summer (so it's plenty hot enough) then god knows what condition they'll be in, in another decade...

Has anyone experienced similar issues and if so did they improve with time or did they get worse and was any medical aid required?

Take care out there,

Rocketboy89

 

[GrymReefer]

Exercising promotes the development of new blood vessels. Will it completely erase the damage you have already done? I couldn't possibly say.

Should you use that as a deterrent to not workout? Hell no. Find a way around it. Best thing to do is start doing very intensive stretching to hopefully stretch out any scar tissue and slowly get your body adjusted to moving again.

I believe in extreme circumstances surgical intervention can improve that scar tissue, but that should be your last resort. I'll do a little research into any vitamins, herbs or amino acids that could help you and I'll send you a P.M with some ideas. I'll send any sources,studies, or research things that I used to source it from so you don't think I'm feeding you any B.S

 

[RocketBoy89]

Cheers for that GrymReefer - t'is mucho appreciated!

Yesterday I actually did my first bit of what I'd class as "intensive exercise" for the first time in 6-7 years - I mean I'd been waaaay over thinking it all and I think partly just putting it off and concerning myself with worries and what ifs and I just thought you know what? Fuck it - lets just give it a crack and do a few basic exercises utilising my body weight at home... And you know what? It did feel pretty good even with the small amount I did. Y'all will probably laugh at my pitiful "workout" but I just did

3 x 12 Deep Squats
3 x 30 secs split jump lunges (plyo) with 30 sec rest between each set
5 x Close Grip Chin ups (I impressed myself with that!
1 minute hold Plank
3 x 8 Press Ups (disappointed with the small amount but at least it all leaves plenty of room for improvement eh?!)

And the mad thing is - I am bloody sore today! My upper back, chest, legs and gluteus maximus are all achy but it's a good positive pain if you know what I mean

So thanks for all the encouragement I got off you guys because if I hadn't spoke to a few peeps on here I know I'd have carried on telling myself "I wish I was fit and could exercise, I will get around to starting it sometime soon... but not today, maybe tomorrow or next week etc etc". Blah!
I plan to keep it up because I can already imagine it being quite satisfying seeing improvement in the amount of repetitions I can do and what not...

On a side note I did use drugs this evening after work and banged up 2w & 1d - so I'm hoping the more I get into exercise the less I'll want to IV copious amounts of narcotics because there two completing opposing things to do - exercising and looking after yourself and then going out and injecting heroin and crack so fingers crossed I'll get more into working out and less into shooting up class A's huh?!

Anyway sorry if I rambled on a bit, I'm on a bit of a high right now... Take it easy and take care out there all of you, Rocketboy89

 

[BlueEyesAL]

As an opiate addict in understand the need to feel good or to dull bad feelings. My dependency didn't come from recreational use but rather a very bad car accident which resulted in 3 yrs of heavy pain meds via pain pump. Prior to this, and even during the portion of recovering when I could start walking and moving again, I was addicted to exercise. People don't think or exercise addiction as something that would be a problem,but it goes along the lines with eating disorders, often go together hand in hand. What starts out as an innocent goal to get healthy and in shape becomes a compulsive behavior that takes over ones day and mind 24/7, which is not healthy. As someone who spent hours a day working out and was a fitness model, I was miserable and I had no life outside the gym and my diet. When i left the gym I was so exhausted and sore that I'd go to bed when it was still light out. I had "the" body yet no one ever even saw it other than the few times I actually went out somewhere else. Please don't let yourself get to this point. To the original poster, overcoming one addiction is enough good for the time being, and you don't need to have a "healthy addiction" because simply put there is NO healthy addiction You can start doing things that aren't harmful to your body- ANYTHING that you enjoy that isn't a deterrent to health and is legal,is a good thing..Just remember that when you sober up,you will be making the biggest step and that's something to be incredibly proud of. Nobody on earth understands that the hardest thing to beat or overcome is opiate addiction, and if you can beat it you can do anything you put your mind to. God bless!

During my early teens (14-17) I was a completely useless human being. I dabbled in lots of drugs, hung with the wrong kids committing petty robbery and would try to act like a hard ass. In actuality I was just a punk who needed an ass whooping, but due to who I hung with and my arrogance...the times I got the shit kicked out of me I still didn't learn my lesson. One thing that eventually lead to me realizing what road I was on was the death of quite a few close friends (how cliche) and the love for education. The love to just learn coincidentally made a few teachers my freshman year of high school talk some sense into me and explain that I need to be challenged. I'm sure they talked me up and a lot of it was filled with rhetorical b.s, but just to have someone recognize and appreciate something that I always kind of shadowed away helped spark the initiation to further myself. Sorry for that little rambling introduction it just a good explanation...

I eventually stopped hanging out with my old friends and slowly began a period of introversion. That gave me a lot of time to just read, read, read, and read. Also, considering I was homeless at 17 due to my parents not being able to deal with me (don't blame em') I had to have a couple jobs to support myself through high school. That was also a great lesson because I worked dead end jobs or blue collar ones which made me realize I didn't want to be someone doing this at 30 being unhappy. I wanted to be something that my parents were, but without the excessive student loans they incurred from their personal schooling and putting my siblings through school. (Father has a PhD in Business Science? I believe..a professor somewhere...Mother has Masters or she is currently working on her PhD in Sociology...she is a fed grr...oldest brother has a Masters in Literature? with a minor in creative writing...yet he manages 401ks lol...sister has 2 Masters in Foreign languages one is italian the other is arabic her minors are bizarre and now she is doing an accelerated BSN program for nursing...other brother has a Bachelors or a failed masters in Computer Science and programming...yet he runs his own farm and livestock LOL...)

Having all of this as a environment kind of forced me into finally getting some schooling (CNA license), but made me extremely skeptical of getting student loans due to how miserable they seem. Honestly, I was starting to slowly fall off the train to ever consider schooling, but CFC a moderator on the steroid forum kind of got that fire started a little bit again. Also, just reading other moderators personal posts (Pharmbiack, GF, flyhigh, trozzle) made me desire that kind of knowledge and intellect. I find it an extremely respectable trait and sometimes I just post information of what I thought was the correct notion hoping that they chime in and destroy my view and replace it with something proper. Better to be prepared, but fail than not be prepared at all, but still get killed.


I'm sorry I've been out with a few friends and went to the bar and I'm completely rambling. Motive of story....

You should find something you love that you wouldn't consider a “substitution” per say, but more so a positive replacement. If you feel obligated to force yourself to rid of a habit and pick something that you don't necessarily want, but think it would benefit than you're going about it all wrong. You should have the desire to create the change. Only then can you facilitate the need to become better.

In the end though everything should be done in moderation, though that observation doesn't mean a thing to my generation. We exist as the generation of instant gratification and excessive implications.
It is only going to get much worse before we finally get better. Sorry for terrible grammar... I'll probably edit this post in the morning.

Swapped trolling and robbing with reading and self education.
swapped excessive drug use with exercise and getting crazy technical with dieting regime. Usually over complicating the equation.
swapped my social life for my bizarre supplement antics that has almost become an addiction (good or bad? ehh subjective matter still)