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Do you think we'll ever be the same again after drugs?

lowlow345

lowlow345

Bluelighter
Joined
Apr 13, 2009
Messages
100
Remember the person you were before indulging in the wonderful world of chemicals? Now look at the person you are right now... Do you think long term drug and alcohol use permanently changes a persons true personality? I know Im different, some parts of me are still the same, but generally im not the same person and probably never will be again. I find that sad.

opinions, anyone?


*oh, and how do they change a person, like physically and mentally? im really interested in like the process of this...
 
I have often wondered this and the conclusion i came up wit was this: People change no matter what. Drugs or no drugs. Would i have turned out different if i didnt use drugs? Idk. I try not to think bout it to much
 
I think it depends on what drugs you do/have done- and how much, how long etc.
I think there would be a number of factors that weigh into whether or not your mind is altered permanently-
I have been sober for a number of years.......
I've been off harder drugs (meth,coke,acid etc.) for much longer-
It took me probably a year after I quit doing acid and coke (well, everyday coke) before I started phasing into a normal person.
Then after I quit smoking pot a few years back I changed again..........
I know for sure I am different b/c of my experiences on drugs and from the drugs themselves.
I don't find it so sad b/c it made me the person I am today, and I like that person.........
I am glad it is behind me, and do feel I am forever changed.
For better or worse, I'll never know, but its a part of me- so I accept it:) <3
 
i don't know what "the same" was either way
and i started before i really knew who i was
 
"down, down, down, would the fall never come to an end.."

Good quote to explain what im talking about... I dont think Alice will ever be the same as she was before she fell down the rabbit hole. Some experiences are just trippy, and theres no way to live the same way as before because youve seen that other world, and you know its there. its like your life is forever tainted by it.
 
This is far too relative a question for anyone to really answer. And I honestly believe that thoughts alone can have the same type of effects on the brain as drugs. Its been proven that negative/pesimistic thinking can deplete neurotransmitters and thats the same essential thing drugs do.
Also, everyones brain/body is different. One person can use speed for 2 years and have it ruin their life, while another person can walk away from that situation stronger and more capable than before. Science has shown that the brain has a remarkable ability to recover from drug use, but even if you stop drugs, the way you think is really what determines what kind of life you live. Some people use past addictions as motivation to evolve, while other people use past addictions as excuses as to why they will never succeed at life. It can be the same person (biologically) but each one is looking at it differently.

Whats interesting to me is how easily stress/trauma can trigger certain problems in life. And this doesn't involve any drugs at all. You can be triggered by stress into a deep depression the same way a drug can trigger you into depression. And you can "cure" your depression by dedicating yourself to a positive way of thinking for a long enough time. Slowly and slowly your neurotransmitters will build, alleviating much of the depression exactly like an ssri would.
Biology can result in a change of thoughts, and a change of thoughts can result in a change of biology. Because of this, I never feel limited in anyway by past drug use. In fact, it only forces me to use my brain more.
If a drug depletes a specific neurotransmitter for a few years, thats MORE reason for me to focus on the way I think during that recovery period. Its more reason to try to learn how to think positively, and in the end it winds up making me stronger than before. I also gain more and more ability to control my own thoughts everytime I get clean. It matures me as a person and makes me understand what things in life are truely important. I DO believe drugs can make you a more introspective person.
Can they change how well your memory works? Sure, how quick witted you are? Maybe. But so can stress. Stress can cause depression alone which in turn would slow down your overall mental capacity.
My point being, its much more useful to accept w/e changes may have been made, and to focus on improving your overall health. So many people quit drugs and start to assume they are "defective", but they have no idea how much of that shit is being caused by their thoughts alone. Idk, I do think though that overtime a positive mindset can overcome a lot of crap that drugs wind up triggering during active addiction.
 
Some people use past addictions as motivation to evolve, while other people use past addictions as excuses as to why they will never succeed at life. It can be the same person (biologically) but each one is looking at it differently.
Click to expand...

Definitely true.

It it was it is. No need to label yourself as "damaged" or whatever..
 
Im unsure about this, i think the point where i began using drugs was at an age where i had to start taking responsibility for my life, so i think in essence the combination of the two acted as a catalyst for immense change in my personality.

I used ALOT of psychedelic drugs for years, which opened me up to many truths about myself, which i simply cannot ignore no matter how hard i try. I was forced into taking responsibility for my actions and lifestyle further-more. Before this i lived an ignorant but very blissful life of a hermit, addicted to online gaming and ignoring the world around me.. my escape into my own fantasy.

No matter how hard i try these days, i cannot re-create that bliss through ignorance because im simply too aware of everything else, it does make me sad.. but at the same time i know it would be a step backwards in my own personal development and for that i am glad that it has become unachievable.
 
Bojangles69 said:
This is far too relative a question for anyone to really answer. And I honestly believe that thoughts alone can have the same type of effects on the brain as drugs. Its been proven that negative/pesimistic thinking can deplete neurotransmitters and thats the same essential thing drugs do.
Also, everyones brain/body is different. One person can use speed for 2 years and have it ruin their life, while another person can walk away from that situation stronger and more capable than before. Science has shown that the brain has a remarkable ability to recover from drug use, but even if you stop drugs, the way you think is really what determines what kind of life you live. Some people use past addictions as motivation to evolve, while other people use past addictions as excuses as to why they will never succeed at life. It can be the same person (biologically) but each one is looking at it differently.

Whats interesting to me is how easily stress/trauma can trigger certain problems in life. And this doesn't involve any drugs at all. You can be triggered by stress into a deep depression the same way a drug can trigger you into depression. And you can "cure" your depression by dedicating yourself to a positive way of thinking for a long enough time. Slowly and slowly your neurotransmitters will build, alleviating much of the depression exactly like an ssri would.
Biology can result in a change of thoughts, and a change of thoughts can result in a change of biology. Because of this, I never feel limited in anyway by past drug use. In fact, it only forces me to use my brain more.
If a drug depletes a specific neurotransmitter for a few years, thats MORE reason for me to focus on the way I think during that recovery period. Its more reason to try to learn how to think positively, and in the end it winds up making me stronger than before. I also gain more and more ability to control my own thoughts everytime I get clean. It matures me as a person and makes me understand what things in life are truely important. I DO believe drugs can make you a more introspective person.
Can they change how well your memory works? Sure, how quick witted you are? Maybe. But so can stress. Stress can cause depression alone which in turn would slow down your overall mental capacity.
My point being, its much more useful to accept w/e changes may have been made, and to focus on improving your overall health. So many people quit drugs and start to assume they are "defective", but they have no idea how much of that shit is being caused by their thoughts alone. Idk, I do think though that overtime a positive mindset can overcome a lot of crap that drugs wind up triggering during active addiction.
Click to expand...

I see where your coming from and I think your right about changing your thought patterns, but how long can you change that old familiar way of thinking? It cant last forever, and sooner or later you revert back to that negative thinking again. I would love to change my thinking patterns but I simply cant. maybe for a couple hours, or even a day, but i wake up the next morning and im back to the old.
 
We are all constantly changing and evolving. You're the never the exact same person today as you were last year because you know have the benefit of another year's experience.
 
lowlow345 said:
I see where your coming from and I think your right about changing your thought patterns, but how long can you change that old familiar way of thinking? It cant last forever, and sooner or later you revert back to that negative thinking again. I would love to change my thinking patterns but I simply cant. maybe for a couple hours, or even a day, but i wake up the next morning and im back to the old.
Click to expand...

Negative thinking is a habit and like all habits it won't go away until you replace it with a new one. It's all about repetition of the new - and hopefully good - habit. You have to do it often enough that eventually it becomes automatic.

It feels awkward at first because it's unfamiliar, but if you do it consciously often enough eventually it will become the default. Any skill you've ever mastered you've become good at by practice and repetition - changing how you think is no different.
 
Ill never be the same person i was before drugs. The chemical alteration as well as the thoughts produced on drugs affect everyone greatly.

I believe i have had low serotonin and dopamine release all my life But
After recently going sober after a 3 year IV stimulant bings w/ lots of ecstasy i can feel the lack of serotonin and dopamine in my brain and only hope one day it will come back.

Regardless of all the bullshit addiction and drugs but me through i still (Miraculously) feel like i am the person i have always wanted to be since i was a kid.
 
Drugs changed me from a callous unforgiving individual who cared for very few people on this Earth. Morally even as a child I chose to be fucked. The world wasn't very kind to me so childishly I chose to treat it the same. I would have used and abused anyone to get ahead and this was as a child. Thankfully most drugs forced me to see the feelings I had negated for so long. They transformed my daily guiding emotions from hatred, anger, and sorrow into caring, empathy, and love. Sometimes I still get lost along the path but I always find my way back.
 
I will always be changing who i am and what i do , but doing drugs actually made my highschool and middleschool years alot easier because it made me socially "cool" in others eyes and to me i was happy , i will never be the same as i was before drugs , i regret some things i have done , but i also regret things from before i did drugs so who knows what life would have been like..... but i do think about this alot and this post got me thinking alot more on it so thanks.
 
^ and sorry to all i really type extremely slow when i want to type proper so dont mind my spelling and gammer please
 
Will I be the same after drugs again...?

Honestly I hope not. Hopefully I will be a better person. Somebody that is not so selfish all he cares about is complete obliteration. I hate to really say yeah things are going great now that I am off drugs [back in school, happy, healthy, money in my pockets, no real stress, carefree, etc.] because I used to hate when I was on drugs and people would say that. Whatever.

On the otherside of the coin. I credit my psychedelic use for helping me to see what life is really about and getting me in touch with God at an early age. I have a crazy story about the night I got confirmed [I am Catholic, kinda, ha] and I was going to party with friends afterward. I took a hit a blue window pane [gel tabs] and had the timing wrong. The ceremony ended up going long and the acid was kicking in HARD. I had to wear a robe and carry candles and shit up to the altar. So strange man but I finally made it out of there with a permagrin on my face. I just REALLY wish I didnt turn to H and pharm drugs so hard.

Anyways I started using drugs pretty young, 13. So in truth I really dont know who I was before I started using. I am starting to like not being strung out on dope having mass amounts of chemicals to choose from to annihilate my brain. Like bojangles said the brain is the largest, smartest muscle and it just takes training to adapt to a new life. Plus it takes incentive.

shrug

peace.
seedless
 
Well, I don't think I could have ended up any other way than the drugged up dude I have become. I am forced to self-medicate with illegal substances to self-medicate, and because of a lack of self-control I take it to the extreme and use every day. Depression/anxiety rule my life, thus I have to fight back with various drugs, often times including doctor prescribed medication, and just as often illegal drugs.
 
ocean said:
Then after I quit smoking pot a few years back I changed again..........
Click to expand...

how did you change after you stopped smoking pot? was it for better or worse? im trying (unsuccessfully) to stop.
 
^It was def for the better.
For me, I had smoked pot since I was 12 (contact high probably much earlier), I stopped when I was 23 or 24.
I was reallllly depressed and woke up every morning, looked in the mirror and hated myself, my life and wanted to give up-
Honestly I thought to myself, I don't think this will do much, but I will try not smoking pot and if I feel better, I won't kill myself .... haha
I never thought I would quit smoking, I grew up around it- it was never anything I had to hide, in fact, my family wasn't exactly supportive of my quitting.
But after about a month of not smoking, I felt better.
I didn't want to die everyday, I wasn't suffering from extreme paranoia and panic everyday.....it was good. I have smoked a few times since I quit and I have panic attacks.
Its funny to me now b/c I always used to laugh at those kids who would say "I'm trippin'!!" when smoking pot- but I totally turned into one of those:)
For some people, it is just fine- for me, after so many years of smoking, it started weighing me down......
I'm glad I stopped.
I don't know what your motivation for quitting is, but it really cleared my head.
You can totally do it!! I was a HUGE pothead, I said I'd be smoking in my grave, I'd never stop.....and I did it:)You can do it!! <3
 
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