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How do you replace drugs in your everyday life?

Pagey

Pagey

Bluelight Crew
Joined
Apr 11, 2012
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The Valley of Ashes
I'd be interested to hear everyone's thoughts on this. Since I decided to quit everything - well, everything I had a problem with...opiates, stims, psychs, namely - completely for a while a couple weeks ago, the thing I've been struggling with most is finding a way to fill all the extra hours in my day and to replace the 'happiness' the drugs gave me. I've been trying to really focus on my classes, start writing and playing guitar again, seeing people more etc., but it somehow always feels like something is missing. Has anyone found anything that worked particularly well for them?
 
Pagey said:
I've been trying to really focus on my classes, start writing and playing guitar again, seeing people more etc., but it somehow always feels like something is missing.
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Don't worry it's normal. Your brain is still accustomed to the feeling of absolute fulfillness that opiates give and that's why things that normal life offers seem pale in comparison. You just need more time for your brain chemistry to get back to it's normal state.
After my 4 years of opiate use i took me about 6 moths to be able to feel something resembling happiness or joy again and around 1,5 year to really be able to get satisfaction from simple life pleasures just as most people do. What helped me immensely with this was Cognitive Behavioral Therapy i intensively attended during that time. It allowed me to see things from different perspective than my usual depressed and apathetic state of mind that led mi into opiate addiction in the first place. Without that i think i would have sunk again into addiction spiral real quick.

Filling this gap in your soul apart from time requires a bit of hard work on overcoming you fears and finding out what you truly want from life. That's where a lot of people fail, drugs offer so much faster and easier short therm solution...

Anyway, most important things that helped me get through hard times were :
- therapy
- physical exercises/sports (they increase dopamine levels and stimulate natural endorphin production)
- generally speaking "healthy lifestyle", no junk food, regular sleep pattern, etc.
- traveling (forces you to overcome obstacles on every day basis, you meet a lot of new people on the way)

Good luck Pagey.
 
Hey pagey<3.. it takes a little effort to replace the drugs but here is a portion of another post I wrote recently..

neversickanymore said:
Over my life I have tried and learned allot of things to make my experience as amazing as I can make it. I mean working out and going to work and hitting meetings are descent things but where is the spice, what have you all found to get your rocks off now that you have gotten clean?

Some of the things that I do would include,
doing amazing things with my son,
free skiing,
scuba diving,
sky diving.. only done that a few times but the rush is better than any drug I've ever done,
kayaking,
oil painting,
cooking,
canoeing,
traveling,
volunteering,
working my way through all the positions in the kama sutra,
music venues,
I'm trying to get allot more politically active,
learning.. have allot of school, so I am able to just study whatever i find interesting on my own now,
hit the farmers market, art festivals and museums,
love sports and even gamble a bit for smaller stakes,
I have moved a lot of my workouts time to competitive sports like tennis or to things like hiking
I make sure to always have something amazing to look forward to if I start to get frustrated with the strait life... a nice concert I'm going to, a ski trip, a camping trip,
I am constantly checking out new shit in music, food, technology.
I follow science and world event pretty avidly,
I have dogs and mess around with them,
I HAVEN't watched Tv besides sports and movies in three years,
I hit the movie theatre and an occasional film festival,
I dont give flying fuck about material bullshit so I can put all my money to these things as I find them much more rewarding,
I still avidly pursue and think about and refine what's the most rewarding philosophy to live life by,
I hit up comedians and festivals,
i keep in touch with friends,
I'm always trying to think of an invention that will provide me with the amount of money I need to just do all this all the time,
I do things that i would like to do full time for work eventually but cant yet, so i just do them for me like writing,
I garden organically,
I hop on blue light to be helped and help people,
I hate dressers so I just designed an different piece of furniture to take it place and I will begin to build that when the time seems right..
I'm always thinking and exploring new business ideas.. I will often do up an exploratory business plan and sometimes if it seems promising I will draw up a full plan,
I read and think about the teachings of many of the great minds from many different time periods, searching for amazing insights, it amazing how many of them all say the same thing,
I break apart and analyze everything I struggle with and then research what others have learned about the how why etc,'
I climb mountains sometimes day or afternoon trips, sometimes 14ners like longs peak or Uncompahgre Peak
I snowmobile
I enduro
I help friends out
I take road trips..
I listen to great music all day everyday and break it up a little with reliable coverage of world events on NPR or BBC

So I guess what I think may help is really forming a life that is as rich and diverse as you can make it.. Hey you guys got your lives back, what are you waiting for.. GO!!!! =D
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^When I quit certain drugs I also moved out on my own at the same time. I filled the time with laundry, socializing, going to bars\restaraunts, cleaning the place, watching shit on tv, endless cigs and chew. Just a bunch of party and bullshit with a little functionality sprinkled in. I wasn't on hard drugs though so it was a start. Only gradually I developed better things to do with my time. 15 months later still working on it really.

What do I do now? Cook nice meals, clean, doi dishes, fold laundry, develope friendships, visit family, call an old friend, go for a bike ride, save all my receipts so I can write a bunch of shit off my taxes, shit like that.
 
what everyone else said , i really enjoy cleaning my kitchen , doin dishes and baking desserts
 
I had never exercised a day in my life. Now I do 60-90 minutes a day.

Worked for me. I'm by far in the best shape of my life.

Other than that.. it's just time. Time will heal your brain. Boredom is a pretty big trigger I'll agree to that.
 
Life is about enjoying the little things. Get a bowl of ice cream, cuddle a bunny, laugh at some dumb things on the Internet. You don't have to be out and about with friends to have a good time, try to enjoy just living.
 
For me, although it's not the same as a meth/heroin IV rush, the activities that I do sure as hell gives me a rush, and what I do to acquire that rush is try new things. Look at new art, find new musicians, exercise, eat new things, read something stimulating, meet new people, whether it's new friends or a new significant other.

The world isn't as small as people say it is. It's full of new things that we haven't tried or discovered, and accomplishing those things have a good feeling of reward. What does exercise do? Increases endogenous opioid peptides. What does accomplishment achieve? Reward and what kind of reward do you get? Increased neurotransmission of dopamine which also helps increase testosterone production and inhibits prolactin production if I recall correctly.

You're looking at better pain management, better mood, better health, better confidence, and better sex life. It doesn't have to be those exact things, but just go out there, by yourself and see what you discover! :)
 
i find healthy addictions

exercise is the best rush ime

30 mins morning and night every day and im hooked
 
Get into a schedule/routine, keep to it, exercise, and do new things that do not involve drug use. So far I need to work on keeping a routine schedule and one that does not involve having a messed up sleep cycle.
 
running has helped me a lot I'll run about 6.5 miles every other day, really helps me feel good about myself, mental clarity and gives you a "natural high"
 
exercise, 2nd job (I work at my buddy's tattoo shop when bored/weekends.. I am lucky to have that), relationship, sports, many thing... these all have helped me, tremendously, when it comes to using. for so many years I was bored/tired/dizzy and just wanted to stay home and get high (dope). once I kicked, I started being the old me again. I was busy throughout the day, I was always out, doing something, somewhere. Just STAY BUSY and do things YOU WANT TO DO! That's what it's all about. Find those things, go back to the things you once did/loved, and it will help out. This is not the ONLY thing but its certain a MAJOR thing. occupy yourself!
 
Hey!! I used to really love computer game growing up so I play lots of Xbox 360!! I used to drink all day, so had a heck of a lot of spare time on my hands, so now, I'm camped in front of that for hours! I'm playing GTA V at the minute (fantastic game!!), and I really cannot wait for Xbox One! :D
 
This is a good thread. I've always found just going on really long bike rides or walks, even alone, is really nice and takes your mind off the drugs just a little bit, and sometimes just that little bit is enough for a day.

Forcing myself to go through with things is nice too. Drugs can only get one high for so long, and on top of that there seems to be a real tangible limit to how high one can get after abusing hard stuff for awhile. So, if they don't hardly work anymore, if it always leads to withdrawal, it has to stop. Either that or you're trapped.
 
Like many have said, exercise is key. I skateboard on my longboard for 45 min to an hour and/or do yoga 20 min a day. I have to break a sweat. I can't stress how much this makes a difference in my mood, thought patterns and anxiety. I'm also vegetarian and eat healthy.

I work full time at the family business and work with special needs kids on the side. This work is very fulfilling. I also am a music critic, and do illustration work. This fulfills my creative side.

I go to NA meetings and therapy. I'm in a healthy relationship. My family is tight. My life is pretty freakin awesome right now : )
 
This is my favourite ever thread. It's fucking great to hear people's experiences of how they manage to stay mentally healthy and on track.

Can I ask if any of you struggled at the start to get into a routine or get yourselves out there exercising/doing positive, healthy things?

I know all the things I love doing, but somehow manage to often sabotage myself. Hearing about the things you guys do is really awesome, but hearing how you manage to motivate yourselves to do them would also really help, in my humble opinion!
 
Whenever I get cravings, or simply get bored and think about using I force myself to busy my mind. I'll pick up a good book, find a movie I might like, smoke some pot :P, go out with friends who aren't into doing hard drugs, go for a LONG walk, play guitar, write, play Grand theft auto 5 :), the thing that makes me happiest is hanging out with friends who care about you, know what you're going through, and do everything they can to encourage you to keep up the fight. Plus it's nice to have a few beers on the weekends with your buddies. Oh and play pool at the bar!
 
How I replaced dope and pills in my life was by focusing on school, (at the time) attending lots and lots of NA/AA meetings, and sex. It took years to shift gears in my brain.
 
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