So when you're on heroin, that's all you really live for. I pretty much devoted my entire life to it, my world revolved around it. After quitting you come out of this bubble and enter a new life, a sober life, but an addicts biggest foe is boredom, and failure to see what there is to live for besides getting high. Real life can seem so dreadful when you've been getting high every day for years on end. Using your brain is critical, imo, to sobriety. Sitting down and watching tv all day is not the answer.
Since I quit heroin at the end of March/beginning of April this year (I don't keep clean dates, too much pressure and just sets you up for failure in my opinion.) I've had to get my kicks elsewhere and do things I wasn't used to doing in order to feel like a productive human again, mainly being active. I think it's pretty much common knowledge when you quit an opiate habit one of the keys to being successful is to work out as much as you can. It not only makes you feel better but keeps your mind occupied and gives you new, realistic goals to reach.
Healthy living doesn't just come from eating right and working out though. Personally I've been trying to forge new relationships with cool people. I've always been on a friendly basis with a couple of my coworkers, but they were never really friends I hung out with. Getting a significant other is also a big one, and very necessary with that new sex drive you hadn't felt since the early years of puberty.
Beyond those typical things though I've also been waking up every morning to watch the sunrise. That doesn't mean you have to fully wake up at 6am every morning. I get up, go out on the patio, spark a cigarette and watch the sunrise and then go back to bed. Sometimes though if I feel fully rested when I wake up at 6am I'll go make a cup of coffee to have with my cigarette sunrise. Seeing the natural beauty life has to offer is a good way to start the day and, I feel, sets me up for success that day because of what the rising sun represents. A new day, a new beginning, a fresh start. I
've also always been a HUGE fan of music, but For the most part, I've been listening to the same shit since high school because I couldnt be bothered to sit down at the computer to find new music when my day revolved around dope. I've since been looking for music I find beauty in. I'll usually sit down for hours and gather a couple, sometimes 5, sometimes 10 albums in one day and listen to a new album or two everyday. The best one I've discovered this past week is
Mounika - How Are You
Mounika is a French producer that does instrumental hip hop beats with stuff I can only define as "beautiful" on top of the underlying hip hop beat. Check it out, it's been my go to for watching the sunrise this past week.
Taking up new hobbies or continuing old hobbies you once had before addiction is also awesome. For me it was art. Painting, drawing, and graphic design. I've been doing a lot of that. This summer I took a course in graphic design and we had to design a poetry book. We didn't have to write any poetry for the project, but it inspired me to do so anyways so I could put a few of my own poems in the book I designed. I've continued to do a little of that even after I finished the project. Struggles with addiction is great poetry subject matter.
So, what did you guys do when you conquered your addiction and the fog cleared from your brain?
Even with these new things in life I still find myself bored much more than I would care to. your idea of good sober activities could help me or someone else
Since I quit heroin at the end of March/beginning of April this year (I don't keep clean dates, too much pressure and just sets you up for failure in my opinion.) I've had to get my kicks elsewhere and do things I wasn't used to doing in order to feel like a productive human again, mainly being active. I think it's pretty much common knowledge when you quit an opiate habit one of the keys to being successful is to work out as much as you can. It not only makes you feel better but keeps your mind occupied and gives you new, realistic goals to reach.
Healthy living doesn't just come from eating right and working out though. Personally I've been trying to forge new relationships with cool people. I've always been on a friendly basis with a couple of my coworkers, but they were never really friends I hung out with. Getting a significant other is also a big one, and very necessary with that new sex drive you hadn't felt since the early years of puberty.
Beyond those typical things though I've also been waking up every morning to watch the sunrise. That doesn't mean you have to fully wake up at 6am every morning. I get up, go out on the patio, spark a cigarette and watch the sunrise and then go back to bed. Sometimes though if I feel fully rested when I wake up at 6am I'll go make a cup of coffee to have with my cigarette sunrise. Seeing the natural beauty life has to offer is a good way to start the day and, I feel, sets me up for success that day because of what the rising sun represents. A new day, a new beginning, a fresh start. I
've also always been a HUGE fan of music, but For the most part, I've been listening to the same shit since high school because I couldnt be bothered to sit down at the computer to find new music when my day revolved around dope. I've since been looking for music I find beauty in. I'll usually sit down for hours and gather a couple, sometimes 5, sometimes 10 albums in one day and listen to a new album or two everyday. The best one I've discovered this past week is
Mounika - How Are You
Mounika is a French producer that does instrumental hip hop beats with stuff I can only define as "beautiful" on top of the underlying hip hop beat. Check it out, it's been my go to for watching the sunrise this past week.
Taking up new hobbies or continuing old hobbies you once had before addiction is also awesome. For me it was art. Painting, drawing, and graphic design. I've been doing a lot of that. This summer I took a course in graphic design and we had to design a poetry book. We didn't have to write any poetry for the project, but it inspired me to do so anyways so I could put a few of my own poems in the book I designed. I've continued to do a little of that even after I finished the project. Struggles with addiction is great poetry subject matter.
So, what did you guys do when you conquered your addiction and the fog cleared from your brain?
Even with these new things in life I still find myself bored much more than I would care to. your idea of good sober activities could help me or someone else
