the cult of steps

[user name1]

rehab they say.. therapy and a pair of new shoes, you'll feel like a new person. but you cant get therapy until you deal with your addiction. how? rehab! better to stick it up your arm with your one pair of raggedy jeans. dont let them turn you into a robot goddamnit.
12 steps my ass! never got past step one nor wanted to..
the world of rehabilitation is a business just like a bank or a casino. they don't see a person but dollar signs.
i know for a fact that ppl that get out of rehab think that they're sick, like they have to avoid this place and that smell, that person and this movie.. and when they "cave in", and they do "cave in" they dont go snorting H twice a week like they did before, they go and rob someone and shoot it cause they're "sick" and the old school 12 steppers pumped theyre brain with such frightening stories about how they will go from snorting to injecting and that they will turn to crime if they dont admit that they are powerless and lowly creatures and guess what? thats exactly what happens. so dont go to rehab and dont find a sponsor if you chose to use drugs then your brain believed its what u need best and when u want to get clean, i mean really then you will. this world needs to change.. your not sick and your not powerless, everything we do we choose to do. its not the dark ages and there aint no witches anymore. youre not possessed by some demon. some like to play tennis and some like to smoke crack or weed or to stick a needle in the arm. thats it.. enough brainwash and killing ppl. righteous 12 steppers your welcome at me with the wrath of the good book and the almighty power of christ the savior. go ahead and crucify me i dont give a shit...

 

[3m1l]

Strong words.And very true i found a way to ease wd in good way.Lyricas and alcohol. Everyone should use those 2 to every addiction problem.much easier to stop H/subu/fent/wd?s

 

[Loaded4life]

Strong words.And very true i found a way to ease wd in good way.Lyricas and alcohol. Everyone should use those 2 to every addiction problem.much easier to stop H/subu/fent/wd?s

Im not a doctor but i dont think is right?!?! Counter productive

 

[3m1l]

yea. Its a great drug gives you proper high and takes mental disprders awya when in wd

 

[MrRoot]

I guess there are non twelve step rehab programs in the States too?

Atleast SAMHSA has got guidelines for standardized rehab programs and it doesn't involve twelve step ideology as mandatory part of rehab but instead something that can be encouraged outside the rehab facility but I don't know how many of the rehabs actually are following SAMHSA guidelines.

Here in Finland all of the publicly funded or publicly bought (the facility is private corporation but the patient payments are paid from public healthcare) rehab facilities don't involve twelve step stuff in their treatment but there are some twelve step oriented as well as Minnesota model rehabs but you have to pay on your own to get treatment in those facilities.

I went through 60 day rehab a bit over month ago and it has helped me alot and I haven't been using stimulants, benzos, GABAergics or opioids the whole time after the rehab.

Substance abuse disorder is a real sickness that can be diagnosed and treated but being powerless is not part of "real" treatment procedures and they actually dig into empowering the patient and his psychosocial network.

 

[user name1]

damn right my friend! for some its intimidating to think they have a choice whether to use or not but for me its a lot easier to w\d knowing that everything i do i choose to do. we are not sick with "addiction" as the author is not sick with writing or the taxi driver sick with navigating if u get my drift.. we all do what we choose and its not us who need rehab but the banks and the filthy rich and the methadone clinics, fashion designers and exploiters of men!

thanks for your tip, i think its a good one. i will try that if ill find some lyrica..

 

[cj]

I guess there are non twelve step rehab programs in the States too?

Atleast SAMHSA has got guidelines for standardized rehab programs and it doesn't involve twelve step ideology as mandatory part of rehab but instead something that can be encouraged outside the rehab facility but I don't know how many of the rehabs actually are following SAMHSA guidelines.

Here in Finland all of the publicly funded or publicly bought (the facility is private corporation but the patient payments are paid from public healthcare) rehab facilities don't involve twelve step stuff in their treatment but there are some twelve step oriented as well as Minnesota model rehabs but you have to pay on your own to get treatment in those facilities.

I went through 60 day rehab a bit over month ago and it has helped me alot and I haven't been using stimulants, benzos, GABAergics or opioids the whole time after the rehab.

Substance abuse disorder is a real sickness that can be diagnosed and treated but being powerless is not part of "real" treatment procedures and they actually dig into empowering the patient and his psychosocial network.

I tried really hard to find a non 12 step rehab a few years ago in the states. It was impossible unless you wanted to go to narconon the church of Scientology sponsored one. Even the university rehab I went too was based on the 12 steps. It's bullshit.

 

[Xorkoth]

I have had the same kind of thoughts. So often it almost seems like they replace addiction to drugs with addiction to the twelve steps. It's dug into your brain on a daily basis that you're powerless. So much of your thoughts are focused on avoiding your addiction, that your life is still dominated and controlled by your addiction. I truly believe that we are not powerless, and thinking we are powerless allows us excuses. I was addicted to opiates for 10 years, ending with wishing for death and hating myself, and then I finally quit. I didn't quit all drugs, and I never went to meetings or anything, though I did see a drug counselor for a while. I can say with confidence that I am no longer an opiate addict. I will never touch them again, and I'm comfortable saying that. It's been over 4 years and I don't even think about them at all anymore, it's not a part of my life anymore.

However, I know people for whom AA/NA worked and it improved their lives. I just disagree with the approach and I think it's quite harmful for many people.

 

[MrRoot]

SAMHSA has a register of evidence-based treatment providers.
https://www.samhsa.gov/nrepp

 

[Soul137]

I go to SMART recovery meetings. There's no 12 steps; no sponsors; no chips counting days (a slip up is not considered a "relapse." You do not go back to 0 because that just undermines any/all work done up to that point). It's just a group of people with a set of tools (mostly based in CBT, and secondarily DBT). They freely admit that nobody will find them all helpful, but almost everybody will find some of them helpful. People with all sorts of maladaptive behaviors are welcome, so in the same room as drug addicts you have gambling addicts, sex addicts, food addicts; and everyone is treated the same. And it's amazing how much I as a drug addict can relate to a food addict. We're all avoiding things and replacing it with comfort.

We're not fucking powerless. We're not at the mercy of some "higher power." We just developed unhealthy coping/defense mechanisms in response to the path of our lives (with genetics involved obviously) that make it harder to tolerate the world in a more "normal" way. The only goal is to tolerate distress in a more healthy and manageable way, and to enjoy time on this Earth without falling into destructive patters.

They don't play into the endless cycle of: Feel guilty about your past ?> pat yourself on the back for the present. There are no speaker meetings. Everyone gets to talk for a little bit, and anyone is free to respond at any time (with some etiquette of course, but no hard and fast rules).

They never pretend to have the answer like 12 step programs. It's just one way to do things. I highly recommend anyone who has problems with the 12 step cult and the dogma surrounding it but who still feels the desire for a support network to check out a SMART meeting. Nobody is going to tell you you have to come back if you want to survive.

The only drawback IMO is they don't seem contractually obliged to provide coffee.

Anyway I don't want to sound like I'm preaching this shit. Just introducing an alternative.

 

[user name1]

it sound really good and i'll look it up hoping to find something like that in my god forsaken country... embarrassed to even write where i'm from

 

[MrRoot]

Don't be embarrassed where you are from. I am from a small god forsaken country but I gladly carry my roots.

 

[Soul137]

it sound really good and i'll look it up hoping to find something like that in my god forsaken country... embarrassed to even write where i'm from

Obviously not ideal but they have online meetings as well. They don't have nearly as many IRL meetings in as many countries as AA/NA, but there are online meetings that you could log on for pretty much regardless of your time zone.

Best of luck to you in all your endeavors.

 

[user name1]

i live in a very political and controversial place i rather not say.. im a citizen of earth is as far as i would go.. i just dont like my country and disagree with it on a very basic level

 

[Mafioso]

Most detox centers and rehabs have counselors on staff at all times, at least in my state.

Trying to attempt most types of therapy while going through acute withdrawals just isn't practical or, as viewed by many, ethical. With the exception of crisis counseling, most types of counseling/therapy would be ineffective and a waste of money for the most part. It's just not going to be nearly as productive if you are going through WDs. Most therapy/counseling is designed to help you deal with your authentic, raw emotion and accompanying thoughts. Your emotional state will be very different when going through acute WDs. A lot of behaviors indicative of mental health problems are indistinguishable from behavior related to drug use. It's an ethic that protects the client as much as the patient.

Substance use disorders(addictions) are considered to be a brain disease because of the impacts it has. The push for medical professionals and scientist to recognize that addiction is a brain disease and not just delinquent behavior came from people attempting to destigmatize the disorder. There is also plenty of good science backing the claim, it's not a matter of being sympathetic or hateful towards addiction, it's just the truth. It's about deepening one's understanding of the condition and positive and negative stigmas alike.

Taken from drugabuse.gov "Addiction is a lot like other diseases, such as heart disease. Both disrupt the normal, healthy functioning of the underlying organ, have serious harmful consequences, and are preventable and treatable, but if left untreated, can last a lifetime."

Yes, it is a choice to use drugs but the hard to swallow truth of the matter is that the more drugs you use, the less of a choice you have. The choice will always be there, but it becomes increasingly difficult to change behavior the longer and more severe the addiction is. I don't buy into the whole we are powerless and must turn to a higher power, but I can see where they are coming from. The brain is, IMO, one of the more complex- if not the most complex, organisms to have been created by evolution. It is the primary organ that controls and directs human behavior. There is freedom of choice, but there is also a pull in a specific direction from the brain when every choice is made. The direction in which you are pulled is not entirely choice either- it is influenced by innate biological needs, psychological needs, and environmental constraints. It's what makes some of the more extreme behaviors directly related to drug use completely understandable. To a degree, behavior is predictable given a specific set of conditions. You might not be able to predict which way a cat is going to go if startled, but you can predict that it won't stay in the same place.

It can be really difficult to change some behaviors. For some more than others as well. Drug use is a lifestyle, and the people you hang around with have an influence on you. I'm not saying that if I see someone popping pills that I have no choice, but it is definitely going to influence my thoughts. Speaking from my own experience, I try to make a point to try to live a normal life as possible and not avoid things because I am a drug addict. I've gone out to bars where I was the only one not drinking and I didn't drink, desire to drink, didn't go out and get high after.. nothing. I just realized it wasn't that much fun. But there definitely are situations that I make a point to avoid.

I don't go to 12 step meetings either. Groups are a choice.. they are there for you and others who want and need them. It's not a requirement of getting sober. If you don't want to go.. don't go. It's definitely smart for everyone to have a small group of people around them that they can depend on, and as you go through the struggle of getting and staying clean it will be nice to have others who you can relate to. But you don't have to go to meetings.

 

[traybuck]

i live in a very political and controversial place i rather not say.. im a citizen of earth is as far as i would go.. i just dont like my country and disagree with it on a very basic level

Your country is no different than any other country bro.. But we will respect your decision to not say where!