I consider myself wise in that I have overcome addictions. I also recognize the damage it has caused my body. I'm certainly more damaged physically then when I started, however I believe my use and abuse experiences have made me wiser, as well as opened my eyes to many things I would not have thought of or even recognized if I never started. It's a double edged sword, without a doubt.
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DC Moderators: ghostfreak | VerbalTruist
Do you consider yourself wise or improved due to "drug use struggles"?
- Thread starter blight12
- Start date
Jabberwocky
Frumious Bandersnatch
W/O any shred of doubt :]
shreddedlettuce
Bluelighter
- Joined
- May 31, 2007
- Messages
- 2,505
Here's a 12 question one about depression.
Just click here and take the damn test.
Your Score: 83% – You correctly answered 10 out of 12 questions.
Results: Excellent! You really know a lot about what's true — and what's not — when it comes to depression.
Now I'm depressed because I got 2 wrong.
Just click here and take the damn test.
Your Score: 83% – You correctly answered 10 out of 12 questions.
Results: Excellent! You really know a lot about what's true — and what's not — when it comes to depression.
Now I'm depressed because I got 2 wrong.
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pancakepirate
Bluelighter
^
Got a 92% on that one. Haha, I know you're being facetious, but I might actually have had that reaction to an imperfect score during a bad depressive episode. Nothing dramatic or theatrical of course, but I'm good at using some really silly things to be so harsh and critical of myself. Sometimes I facepalm when I see how seriously I took everything that something so trivial could have such an effect. Grateful to not be in that place right now, yay.
Got a 92% on that one. Haha, I know you're being facetious, but I might actually have had that reaction to an imperfect score during a bad depressive episode. Nothing dramatic or theatrical of course, but I'm good at using some really silly things to be so harsh and critical of myself. Sometimes I facepalm when I see how seriously I took everything that something so trivial could have such an effect. Grateful to not be in that place right now, yay.
xstayfadedx
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Jan 7, 2011
- Messages
- 20,559
My drug use has allowed me to be less naive and it has allowed me to decipher the truth from the lies a lot more easily than if I have done so drug free..... Yet that is only an assumption. I can't truly say yes or no because I can't tell the future nor what could of been. I am a lot wiser though but again who's to say I couldn't have developed the same mindset if I didn't use drugs. I probably could have with age but drugs surely have opened my eyes in a way I can't really explain. It has allowed me to not only learn some things but live through it and most people can only use textbook examples.... I can give real life examples. Sometimes I wonder if that is a good thing or not..... is it better to know or have not?
Seyer
Bluelight Crew
Tbph, those questions are all common sense even though I answered them from my own personal experience.
Seyer
Bluelight Crew
I just remembered about this post I made in another thread that I feel can be related to the question at hand:
RobotRipping
Bluelighter
i do believe the struggles people go through with addiction/mental illness make us stronger in the end; when shit hits the fan and someone's life falls apart, who is better able to deal with it? The rich kid who got everything and never worked? or the junky who has lived at shit rock bottom for more than half their lives?
I feel i've learned so much from drug use,abuse and everything surrounding it. I feel it gives me an advantage in particular with empathy and understanding the human condition.
in high school i had some really rich friends who had everything you could imagine (like brand new american strat + 1000 amp to learn to play guitar) where i had nothing, shit equipment, had to teach myself. That's note the polnt but when these kids would trip with me they could not handle their reality breaking down, or the walls coming apart, it shook them mentally whereas my poor friends would enjoy tripping to the greatest extent. I know these are generalizations i've made from a tiny perspective but there's something to it. The only way to progress in this life is through struggle, it drives everything, no pain, no gain.
i didn't complete the standardized test in this thread, i don't believe that shit holds any value.
I feel i've learned so much from drug use,abuse and everything surrounding it. I feel it gives me an advantage in particular with empathy and understanding the human condition.
in high school i had some really rich friends who had everything you could imagine (like brand new american strat + 1000 amp to learn to play guitar) where i had nothing, shit equipment, had to teach myself. That's note the polnt but when these kids would trip with me they could not handle their reality breaking down, or the walls coming apart, it shook them mentally whereas my poor friends would enjoy tripping to the greatest extent. I know these are generalizations i've made from a tiny perspective but there's something to it. The only way to progress in this life is through struggle, it drives everything, no pain, no gain.
i didn't complete the standardized test in this thread, i don't believe that shit holds any value.
Tons of great examples of learnings and improved skills and some good posts thanks guys.
I think firstly people need to just know that some good things or leanings can come from the bad times, since the usual ideology is to get over it, get well and forget it
Its a common travesty in human thinking and why we miss many good opportunities for learnings.
I recommend you analyze everything you did even the bad things (and not just drug related but all you life and fuck ups) and put it to use. It takes work but so do all good things in life.
Lied and manipulated people?
Hell that has been a major learning and benefit for me you can use in life every day to get ahead.
Obviously dont use it for evil, but getting you way is critical to getting ahead. Just dont step on others on the way. Effective manipulation can be used without hurting others. Even highly paid big business negotiators use this skill. And that takes me to another. I learned to appreciate hurting others and their feelings due to drug use and try to be more compassionate now.
Everything you did, even the bad shit can by altered and used actively in a beneficial way. Hell even just being able to come here and help others with posting is a noble and valuable gift you can impart to the world and others. You are now an expert in it after all and how much more can you do for another person then possibly having a hand in saving their life or avoiding addiction with a short useful post (in a non judgmental and helpful way of course).
Another example: I struggled for 9 years after MDMA anxiety and related PTSD however i built my own internet business (im now retired and do drugs, boredom is a bitch lol) fueled and motivated by fear of war and wanting to leave the country. I also generated a new logical way of thinking and dealing with life due to lesser emotional (and flawed thinking) due to the anxiety issues. I wouldnt give up that for those 8 years back ever.
Other posters mention negatives are how you might have been without the drug use.
This could mean the time you lost and bridges you burnt. I guess it depends on the time, but the character and experience you gained is far more valuable then that time and will accelerate your future desires more then the lost time if you identify and implement the lessons and change you attitude about yourself
Secondly this could mean damage to yourself and your brain. Im not sure how this might come from different substances but wisdom and experience etc are far more valuable then a few lost brain cells or a bit of anxiety. And with my 9 years of it bad I am qualified to say it was worth it. (If it wasnt worth it, i would have continued to find something to make it worth it). Make those regrets into positive things, cause rejects just suck to have really.
The only thing that is tough is lost relationships and family/friends etc. That cant always be saved and for example losing children due to your usage and such things cant be worth anything i would say. I would not even try and tell somebody that.
I just took all my regrets and worked on it. You want to avoid it and forget it, but don't, just make it work for you. I like this idea of making anything your weapon and not taking the poor me victim mind set (not trying to be harsh etc), its easy, just like ignorance, but so wasteful.
Also, the stigma of being a drug user. Some struggle with it and I can see issues for jobs etc but besides that I wear it with pride and tell people, share my experiences and try and spread an understanding and kill the ignorance in others on the topic.
But also i like to "not hide" my perceived weaknesses and negative perceptions from others because another major learning I had from this all is to "never underestimate anybody" but people often dont realize that also means "make other people underestimate you" which works really well. I have found value in purposely being seen as lesser by your targets and enemies. Not to be used with obtaining respectable and long term female companionship though among other things.
This is more other stuff really but it comes back to manipulation. People who think themselves superior to you (even unconsciously) are like putty for your supreme will and will fall victim to your grand schemes (and think it was their idea). Like dealing with job people, bosses etc. Obviously right time right place, right strategy stuff.
I also learnt a lot of sneaky manipulation stuff from my anxiety issues and shyness. You find ways to get shit done, and get your way without direct confrontation or making yourself stand out. For example I had a boss who everybody hated, but by then i had learn t to always make my own mind up and decisions about things. I had also learn t to understand people and situations properly and truly as it makes how you deal with it so much easier.
With that boss i never had a single issue since knowing him personally and his personality, core desires, needs, values i naturally understood his character flawas unconsciously without ever realizing the issues others mentioned (when you got this shit automated, obstaces simply disappear, you dont even know they where there)
One last thing that's at the core of much of my self improvement is obvious but people dont do it. Thats always understanding everything and every one, see the other perspective, see the human needs and fears, play devils advocate. Never judge from ignorance or "we fear what we don't understand". This gives you the intel you need to make people and life bend to your will and also true understanding of things always comes with compassion for that thing, so you become a better person while at the same time getting your way in life. Pretty sweet I say. I mean imagine enemies truly understood the other side, the true core human stuff. Compromise would be easy and wars would end. (You heard this here first, logged and archived for future legal battles haha)
A related example: I drug counselor or parent of a drug user are far more likely to be able to offer useful help, assistance and support with full understanding (which is hard to explain, its not just knowledge) of the topic and at the same time maintaining a much better relationship with that person, especially on the part of parents.
Yes so obvious but people dont do it, even with the epic selfish benefits). I learnt all the real pearls of wisdom are all over, in sayings, quotes, movies and so forth which unfortunately means people take them for granted, a shame.
I like to tell my mother that if her church wants to help a drug user, they should be willing to get high with him at least once. I mean this more in terms of the principle and the mutual respect to initiate debate. I am a christian at core but currently working on resolving that judgmental/superior ignorant = unhelpful mindset they all have. Oh and after he usual response, I would say, well, do you think God is going to get on your tits about getting high that day or more likely praise you for selflessly helping another and spreading love and compassion. Take that.
Ok, no more priceless words of profound wisdom today. I get carried away with this stuff.
(+1 for getting an opportunity to spout my propaganda, been waiting months! But seriously its just my ideas and thoughts, you are allowed to retain your own)
I think firstly people need to just know that some good things or leanings can come from the bad times, since the usual ideology is to get over it, get well and forget it
Its a common travesty in human thinking and why we miss many good opportunities for learnings.
I recommend you analyze everything you did even the bad things (and not just drug related but all you life and fuck ups) and put it to use. It takes work but so do all good things in life.
Lied and manipulated people?
Hell that has been a major learning and benefit for me you can use in life every day to get ahead.
Obviously dont use it for evil, but getting you way is critical to getting ahead. Just dont step on others on the way. Effective manipulation can be used without hurting others. Even highly paid big business negotiators use this skill. And that takes me to another. I learned to appreciate hurting others and their feelings due to drug use and try to be more compassionate now.
Everything you did, even the bad shit can by altered and used actively in a beneficial way. Hell even just being able to come here and help others with posting is a noble and valuable gift you can impart to the world and others. You are now an expert in it after all and how much more can you do for another person then possibly having a hand in saving their life or avoiding addiction with a short useful post (in a non judgmental and helpful way of course).
Another example: I struggled for 9 years after MDMA anxiety and related PTSD however i built my own internet business (im now retired and do drugs, boredom is a bitch lol) fueled and motivated by fear of war and wanting to leave the country. I also generated a new logical way of thinking and dealing with life due to lesser emotional (and flawed thinking) due to the anxiety issues. I wouldnt give up that for those 8 years back ever.
Other posters mention negatives are how you might have been without the drug use.
This could mean the time you lost and bridges you burnt. I guess it depends on the time, but the character and experience you gained is far more valuable then that time and will accelerate your future desires more then the lost time if you identify and implement the lessons and change you attitude about yourself
Secondly this could mean damage to yourself and your brain. Im not sure how this might come from different substances but wisdom and experience etc are far more valuable then a few lost brain cells or a bit of anxiety. And with my 9 years of it bad I am qualified to say it was worth it. (If it wasnt worth it, i would have continued to find something to make it worth it). Make those regrets into positive things, cause rejects just suck to have really.
The only thing that is tough is lost relationships and family/friends etc. That cant always be saved and for example losing children due to your usage and such things cant be worth anything i would say. I would not even try and tell somebody that.
I just took all my regrets and worked on it. You want to avoid it and forget it, but don't, just make it work for you. I like this idea of making anything your weapon and not taking the poor me victim mind set (not trying to be harsh etc), its easy, just like ignorance, but so wasteful.
Also, the stigma of being a drug user. Some struggle with it and I can see issues for jobs etc but besides that I wear it with pride and tell people, share my experiences and try and spread an understanding and kill the ignorance in others on the topic.
But also i like to "not hide" my perceived weaknesses and negative perceptions from others because another major learning I had from this all is to "never underestimate anybody" but people often dont realize that also means "make other people underestimate you" which works really well. I have found value in purposely being seen as lesser by your targets and enemies. Not to be used with obtaining respectable and long term female companionship though among other things.
This is more other stuff really but it comes back to manipulation. People who think themselves superior to you (even unconsciously) are like putty for your supreme will and will fall victim to your grand schemes (and think it was their idea). Like dealing with job people, bosses etc. Obviously right time right place, right strategy stuff.
I also learnt a lot of sneaky manipulation stuff from my anxiety issues and shyness. You find ways to get shit done, and get your way without direct confrontation or making yourself stand out. For example I had a boss who everybody hated, but by then i had learn t to always make my own mind up and decisions about things. I had also learn t to understand people and situations properly and truly as it makes how you deal with it so much easier.
With that boss i never had a single issue since knowing him personally and his personality, core desires, needs, values i naturally understood his character flawas unconsciously without ever realizing the issues others mentioned (when you got this shit automated, obstaces simply disappear, you dont even know they where there)
One last thing that's at the core of much of my self improvement is obvious but people dont do it. Thats always understanding everything and every one, see the other perspective, see the human needs and fears, play devils advocate. Never judge from ignorance or "we fear what we don't understand". This gives you the intel you need to make people and life bend to your will and also true understanding of things always comes with compassion for that thing, so you become a better person while at the same time getting your way in life. Pretty sweet I say. I mean imagine enemies truly understood the other side, the true core human stuff. Compromise would be easy and wars would end. (You heard this here first, logged and archived for future legal battles haha)
A related example: I drug counselor or parent of a drug user are far more likely to be able to offer useful help, assistance and support with full understanding (which is hard to explain, its not just knowledge) of the topic and at the same time maintaining a much better relationship with that person, especially on the part of parents.
Yes so obvious but people dont do it, even with the epic selfish benefits). I learnt all the real pearls of wisdom are all over, in sayings, quotes, movies and so forth which unfortunately means people take them for granted, a shame.
I like to tell my mother that if her church wants to help a drug user, they should be willing to get high with him at least once. I mean this more in terms of the principle and the mutual respect to initiate debate. I am a christian at core but currently working on resolving that judgmental/superior ignorant = unhelpful mindset they all have. Oh and after he usual response, I would say, well, do you think God is going to get on your tits about getting high that day or more likely praise you for selflessly helping another and spreading love and compassion. Take that.
Ok, no more priceless words of profound wisdom today. I get carried away with this stuff.
(+1 for getting an opportunity to spout my propaganda, been waiting months! But seriously its just my ideas and thoughts, you are allowed to retain your own)
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I agree. I just liked the idea as i think the idea of testing wisdom because its something worthy of a test was good since I think its far more important to a fulfilled life then intelligence. Intelligence makes you Sheldon fro TBBT lol.
Also the test itself focused on my core principles and what i consider build wisdom, so for me it was accurate to my perspective
Oh, and just in cause people start hating me for making them take a test that made them fell worse about yourselves, I didnt consider that some, while having unlimited wisdom within already, might just need to actively change the thought processes to actually make use of it.
But yeah it should go without saying that test doesnt mean anything please dont assume anything about yourself from it, please (unless you get high marks like me and Gandhi did).
weekend addiction
Bluelighter
I think that without my extensive past I wouldn't be able to responsibly use and would have to choose between addiction and abstinence. However being able to stay somewhere in the middle is really not that special and I would be better off to abstain if possible.
Wolfmans_BrothEr
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Apr 23, 2011
- Messages
- 903
I also feel once uve experienced the shitty, hopeless life of addiction, it makes you appreciate the simpler things in life so much more
One day I remembered being SO happy that I had a full time job and was just chillin on my porch drinking a beer after work, instead of being sick all day and cutting myself off from the world until I got my next fix
I felt free when I was released from jail, but for me overcoming opiate addiction is the ultimate feeling of freedom
One day I remembered being SO happy that I had a full time job and was just chillin on my porch drinking a beer after work, instead of being sick all day and cutting myself off from the world until I got my next fix
I felt free when I was released from jail, but for me overcoming opiate addiction is the ultimate feeling of freedom
After having a heroin addiction that lasted around 12years I feel I have learnt a few things.
I've learnt a lot about people and how low they can sink due to drugs, best friends stealing from each other, lying to your face etc.
I learnt I can get by in life with very little and although it can be nice to have all the material possessions you want, you don't really need them to be happy.
I have got one true friend left after my addiction as I isolated myself from my friends as I sunk further into my addiction,but this one friend I could trust with my life and I know he will always be there for me and likewise I would for him.
One real true friend is better than a hundred acquaintances.
I've learnt a lot about people and how low they can sink due to drugs, best friends stealing from each other, lying to your face etc.
I learnt I can get by in life with very little and although it can be nice to have all the material possessions you want, you don't really need them to be happy.
I have got one true friend left after my addiction as I isolated myself from my friends as I sunk further into my addiction,but this one friend I could trust with my life and I know he will always be there for me and likewise I would for him.
One real true friend is better than a hundred acquaintances.
dankhead88
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Oct 19, 2005
- Messages
- 918
before I've met my ex, i was developing an oxycodone addiction. After we've broke it off, I've spiraled down in addiction with oxycodone and benzos along with binge drinking. Eventually, I became a heroin addict. Went from snorting to shooting, from 40-60 a week to 200-250 a week depending on how much i make from waiting tables. After I've managed to escape, I've gained a sense of perspective but ultimately got into another addiction with methamphetamine. However, the meth use was short lived(4 months) but I never thought I'd start spending so much money just within a month. I don't think I'm improved, but definitely have more wisdom and experience. It's really just a new sense of perspective. I do feel different compared to how I used to be(even without drugs). I'm clean now, but I've definitely learned incredible life lessons
shimazu
Ex-Bluelighter
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2012
- Messages
- 18,415
no I wasted two years after high school thinking I would be cool working in shipping the rest of my life then changed my mind after going on a bender for a couple days now Im remembering why school is a perpetual emptying of your pockets which is like my biggest pet peeve in the world spending money on shit I know I will never use or get anything positive out of so now Im just kind of debating whether to just say fuck it and just do computers as a side hobby since at least I can still fix my shit just not have to deal with other peoples shit
basically drugs alienated me from my friends, made me selfish as shit, and just gave me a sour puss outlook on life
granted I could never be at full junkie status and Im a good worker so Ill always be able tk get a job doing SOMETHING, just nkt what I should have done.
basically drugs alienated me from my friends, made me selfish as shit, and just gave me a sour puss outlook on life
granted I could never be at full junkie status and Im a good worker so Ill always be able tk get a job doing SOMETHING, just nkt what I should have done.
Cranoo
Greenlighter
I consider myself in the top 95% of all humans when it comes to innate intelligence. Just because i'm highly intelligent doesn't mean I don't have problems and faults; Such as drug addiction. Dr. Stephen Hawkins is super-intelligent and he has obvious faults too!
Opidopecake
Bluelighter
I'm on my way to being a psychologist, I now have empathy. And i will be able to actually put myself in the patients place and understand them better without judgment... I'
I've been to some therapist who are asses about addiction and that doesn't help. SO yeah, I think I have had some positives from all the negative shit I've dealt with being an addict. So yeah some good has come out of this shit storm.
I've been to some therapist who are asses about addiction and that doesn't help. SO yeah, I think I have had some positives from all the negative shit I've dealt with being an addict. So yeah some good has come out of this shit storm.
drlongwodo
Greenlighter
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2013
- Messages
- 32
Yeah absolutely the psychological manipulation is such an asset, sometimes.
I remember 3 of my friends, including 1 anti-drug, walking in the pouring rain back home, this was a few miles.
2 had bikes and me and the anti-drug friend didn't. Also the tires were kinda flat so we couldn't hop on the back.
Anyway I kept suggesting we use a taxi(this was the trick, I knew the others weren't up for a taxi and neither was I).
This taxi-suggesting by me went on for a few minutes until people got really annoyed and one of my friends took off on bike with the anti-drug friend. So that left the 2 of us, so that my drug loving friend could finally use some psychoactive substance. Me and the other that took off on the bike were already high.
The funny thing is that "the trick" was completely done subconsciously, I only discovered way later in the night what I was doing. It can be so effective but I realize its insincerity, I should've come up with a productive plan instead of being passive-aggressive.