Having a lot of trouble right now and I'm scared.

caseface99

Bluelight Crew
Joined
Oct 30, 2008
Messages
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Location
Bay Area, CA
This is going to be long, and not something I can sum up with a TL;DR. I really need to vent though and get some advice and support, so thank you in advance if you read this. It means a lot - Bluelight has quite literally saved my life multiple times, and I am SO grateful. I haven't made a thread like this in a long time, but i can't go on without getting all this shit out of my head anymore and at this time this is the only place I feel comfortable saying all this at once. I will do my best to make this readable/understandable but bear in mind I'm sleep deprived and extremely upset/crying as i type this.

For the last few months, I have been having a really hard time staying sober. However I have continued working a program, and I have managed to pull it off and I'm coming up on 8 months here soon, assuming i make it until the 14th. I have been getting more and more depressed as time goes on, and while my anxiety meds are working a little bit (buspirone, non-narcotic), I am still having a LOT of trouble making friends. Trust me, I am trying. I still go to meetings a couple times a week (have been, anyway, starting today it will be once or twice a day at least for a while), and I try my best to socialize with others at the SLE I live at and go fellowshipping after meetings.

So while I have been trying harder then I ever have before to make friends, there have only been 5 people I have become close to since I got sober. My room mates from rehab, Nick and Gary, another friend from rehab Braxton, and someone from the SLE I live at, Johan. As well as the girl I have been dating for the last 6ish months. However as I cry myself to sleep tonight, I will be quite certain that there is nobody within 3200 that cares about me whatsoever other than the girl I'm unconditionally and indefinitely in love with, however due to the current circumstances as of this morning she is no longer my girlfriend. (It's incredible how much more real that just became after I typed that) :(

So naturally after spending a month bunking with two other guys while we are all trying to get clean off of similar substances and start rebuilding our lives, the three of us got pretty close. We shared stories, gave each other advice, supported each other, cried with each other, shared things with each other we had never shared with another human being... Suffice to say we bonded in sort of way that is rare and should be cherished forever. Fast forward to a week after rehab. I get a call from Nick, he has relapsed and doesn't know what to do. I convince him to come back into outpatient (which i was already doing myself after inpatient because i know a month wasn't enough). He seems fine for about a week until I get a call to find out he has tried to commit suicide. Gary and I talk about it, then talk to him and did our best to convince him that he needs to do the long term inpatient. He finally agrees, and sets an appointment but days later I get a call from him and he's relapsed and trying to commit suicide basically while on the phone with me. I stalled him, figured out where he was and got Gary to pick him up while i kept him distracted on the phone. The next morning we told him no more bullshit, drove him to the rehab and got him in that day. He stayed for 3-4 weeks, bailed, went back up to his hometown in nor cal and continued using meth. There wasn't much we could do at this point, he'd made his choice.

Gary and I continue talking, going to meetings together, etc. One day he told me about how it was me that helped him understand and make sense of the fact that there was no such thing as one more time with oxy. He said I had done what nobody else had been able to do, and get that horrible idea of "one more high" out of his head. Unfortunately, he was wrong. a week later I receive a phone call... On the morning of August 10, 2013 Gary was found dead in his bunk at the firehouse where he worked as an EMT, of what appeared to be heart failure while he slept. Those close to him knew that a healthy 30 year old didn't have a heart attack, and the the coroners tox screen confirmed our fears. I later looked through my phone and saw that he had sent me a text i somehow missed asking to talk days before this happened. I don't know how i missed his text, but ever since I have felt like I failed him as a friend and can't help but think about stupid fucking "what if's". What if I had been there for him when he needed me? What would be different today? Who fucking knows and it doesn't matter anymore. He's gone.

Now Braxton's story... We also became close in rehab, and happened to move into the same SLE afterwards so we continued working a program together outside of rehab and remained friends especially since we lived at the same place. A couple months after we got out of treatment, we're on our way to a meeting and he tells me he has being using for the last couple weeks and wants to kill himself. (he has had a long history of suicidal behavior/attempts and I took him very seriously). We talked and he was refusing to do a long term inpatient program (which by the way is free for residents of Berkeley). He was trying to bullshit me about being able to get through it on his own, and I called him out on it. He finally admitted to knowing he needed more help but being too scared to take the necessary steps. He disappeared for a couple weeks until calling me one night saying he had just woken up from an overdose with the needle still in his arm. I talked to him basically all night and finally said something that made him consider the long term program an option. I convinced him to call his dad to pick him up and he checked into rehab the next morning. Two weeks ago his mom texted me to let me know he bailed and he was missing. He's still missing and it's not looking promising with his history.


I don't need to say a whole lot with my friend Johan. Basically just a good friend from the SLE I live at, however he relapsed got kicked out went home to Maryland and is currently in Jail out east.


Now there's Jackie. My true love. The one and only person i have ever know in my life that i have been absolutely certain I am meant to be with, the only person I've been with where we both KNOW we are meant to be with each other. We found out the fucking solar system aligned into an extremely rare astrological geometry, a diamond tetrahedron, at the same time that we made love for the first time. This is the only girl who i have ever been truly happy with, and know will love unconditionally and indefinitely for the rest of my life. I could write a fucking book about how much we are in love, so I'll leave it at that before i get anymore carried away with the length of this post. Anyway, she left to go to school in september, down in Santa Cruz. So we live about an hour apart and because of classes and my not owning a car we basically only see each other on weekends once every week or two. Last night my biggest fear came true and she told me she couldn't do it anymore. That she can't handle not being able to see me when she wants/needs to. I have managed to be okay with the separation knowing that it's not permanent since i will likely be moving to santa cruz after this semester in order to pursue transferring to the same school she's attending. (which I'm going to do regardless of her). She said it's too painful not seeing me very often, as we have had to go two weeks rather than one in between the last few times I have seen her. She told me that when we are apart for so long she feels disconnected from me not just physically but emotionally and the pain it causes is tremendous and keeping her from growing in her own recovery. Neither one of us wanted to accept the reality though and we agreed to spend one last night together. I hoped and prayed all night while holding her, making love to her, sleeping with her, hoped and prayed that she would find the strength to last until the end of the semester when I have a chance to move closer to her. We made love again in the morning and then continued our conversation about what to do. My initial thought was to say whatever i can to change her mind, until i realized how selfish that would be. So instead I decided to make this as easy as I could for her, because it was painfully clear how terrible she felt and how much she really does love me and want to spend her life with me but just can't do it right now with the current situation. Rather than fighting I agreed to "take a break" (yeah... "break" ....) so that she could work on herself, her recovery, and her schoolwork and not be held back by always being upset about not being able to see me. It took everything I had, strength i didn't know I could harness, in order to not fight it and beg her not to do this and to keep trying to wait just a few more months till I can move etc... I just didn't want to make it any more difficult for her and/or leave it on a bad note and have absolutely zero chance whatsoever in the future, even if it's at the expense of myself/more painful. We talked it out, she left, and is now back at school and I have no idea if/when I will see her again and if/when we are still a possibility in the future when the circumstances are different. I want so badly to hold onto the hope that this isn't permanent but at the same time I don't want to get lost holding onto to something that will never become a reality.

It's just so fucking hard. So hard to understand, to accept, right now. I never in a million years thought I would be in a situation where I would have my heart broken not because any feelings for each other have changed, but because the circumstances are too far from ideal. I never considered that happening and I have no idea what to do with my feelings right now. I am totally and utterly alone in the world. I am completely heart broken and torn to pieces inside. I have absolutely no friends or family within three thousand miles of where I live now and the feeling of being alone is getting extremely overwhelming. I have been trying even harder to make friends since she went to school, but it's just not working for me. I have been unable to get close to anyone else. Nobody calls me, texts me, asks me if I want to hang out, not a soul on this planet. I don't even talk to my parents unless I call them these days. I know she still loves me to death but right now I feel so strongly that if I were to relapse and slip away into a silent blissful death in my sleep it would make no difference. I can picture myself dying and hardly anyone but maybe my family or jackie crying about it and neither of those are around anymore.

I already know that if she broke up with me this is how it would be and that's why i have been trying to hard to put myself out there and make new friends here, because i know relying on her alone is extremely unhealthy. But now it's too late. It's too late and I am completely, utterly alone and I am beginning to really terrify myself with some of the thoughts I'm having.

I don't know what to do right now. I know there is little anyone reading this can do, but i needed to vent it all out badly and I greatly appreciate any support i might receive from you guys. I am going to step up my meetings and continue to put myself out there, so please don't tell me I just need to not sit around and bask in my misery. I will continue to keep busy, if not tremendously more busy then i have been. But every night and every morning I will continue to fall asleep and wake up totally alone and the feeling that brings me is equal to the feeling i remember from trying to fall asleep and waking up while dope sick. I have never been this alone before and it's painful, terrifying, and crippling me right now.

More or less, I want to die. I mean, maybe I don't want to - More then that i wish things were different. But they aren't, they don't appear to be changing any time soon, and I am losing sight of the "point". I'm beginning to feel like "why bother", and it's fucking scaring me.


edit- Holy fucking shit is this long... I'm sorry I had no idea I had so much to say. And this IS the edited version of things. I could reach the post limit for the thread on my own in a day with everything thats on my mind.
 
I read it all man. That's a lot to deal with I feel for you brother. It sucked to read you and your girl have split ways. I've seen you guys together in the photo thread.

I know how it's like to be alone with no friends. I went through that for a couple years myself once I started abusing drugs and moved away from old school friends. Your making an effort to find new ones, that's all you can do and you need to stick with it. It's heaps good your keeping yourself busy aswell, you seem to be choosing all the right steps to getting better and making new friends.

I know it may seem impossible to see now, but things will get better in time man. You just gotta keep telling yourself that and don't let negative thoughts get in the way, easier said then done I know. <3
 
Man that's a lot to have on your shoulders case :(

I'm not going to give advice, but it's good to hear that you will be keeping busy. An idle mind is terrible during this kind of struggle.

Much love <3
 
Hey case..<3 I'm sorry for the losses you have experienced lately. You already know this but I'm going to hit you with it again. These deaths and relapses aren't your fault not even a little. Active opiate junkies die.. that just what we do. It is so common place..

I am thinking right now of a scene I witnessed, where I walked in on a guy who was fully OD, blue.. getting a quarter breath out every thirty seconds. I turned to the woman who was there with him and I said yo your friends OD and hes going to die if he doesn't get help right now. She was annoyed that I was talking to her as she was trying to hit a vein in her absolutely vascular destroyed ankle. She said something like.. yeah yeah hes fine, fuck why cant I get this.. I'm like I dont fucken think you are choosing to understand.. she screamed at me to leave her the fuck alone, that he was fine.

I was already clean and I had stumbled in on this totally by accident.. but the funny thing is that right when I entered the apartment I knew it was an active junkies pad.. it just smelled like it and the heat was turned up way to high.. no sheets on the bed.. no decorations on the walls.. and here was a guy face down and blue while an active addict who wasn't even sick was trying to hit a vein to get some little pathetic rush while her friend was literally dying right next to her.

So this guy had apparently just relapsed on the shot he had just taken before we had got there.. it always the case, mr case.. I dont know how many people I know that fell out on a little relapse.. more than every other situation combined.

I got such a good clear picture of how awful and pathetic addiction is.. there it all was.. herion right in front of me, rigs, all the things you would think would trigger an addict.. but then there was a man who was dying and a young woman who was so strung out that she could give a shit and was only worried about getting a needle into her so she could pump that soul killing and life destroying shit into her. There wasn't anything desirable or glamorous about it.. I got to see it from clean eyes.. a pathetic apartment were not even enough effort could be put forth to put sheets on a bed.. there was no love in that apartment, no plants, no paintings, pretty much no furniture. when I looked around for a phone I did see a card for a Parole officer, but there was no computer or anything else.. just a couch and a crappy tv.. a dying guy and a woman who's only concern was getting that fucking shit into her... I talked with her a bit later and she was so consumed by it that the electricity was off in her house and she was working as a prostitute and all the money she could hustle when right into her ankles.

I love addicts, but i hate active addiction.. it is absolutely pathetic and gross. But for some reason when we are caught up in it we think its not as bad as it is and when we head for a relapse we think that we are trying not to do something that is good or enjoyable. Yeah we dont think right at all.. we get that addict thinking and we are fucked in the head. There really is nothing desirable about active addiction.. no money, no life, no soul, no pride, no hope, no morals, no values, nothing but the never ending hustle to try and get enough shit to make us feel half as good as we do all the time rite now.

So I tried to get the guy up but since he had just relapsed and he was a very big dude.. must have been like 260-280 as Im big and strong but this wasn't like trying to throw some fly weight junkie into the shower to wake him up.. so me and a cuzz of mine tried and he is a strong big dude al well and it just wasn't happening.. and he was really blue now.. and the sick addict girls was still fishing for her pathetic hit.

Shits so damn gross.. I mean its awful.. I was like fuck this this guys going to die we need to call the cops right now.. the addict girl finally hit.. I was waiting for her to lights out as well.. but she didn't and then she holly shit he's oding.. like this is fucken news.. had only been telling her that for like four fucking minutes.. but she was to fixated on doing that shit.. to fixated to even glance over at her dying friend..

I grabbed a huge pill bottle full of god know what and dumped it on the floor looking for bupe or subs.. nothing of the sort.. she finally says she is going to call the cops.. I like yeah now. they scooped him and took him the hospital.. he was in there for awhile,, wasn't just the typical four or five and out..

Active Opiate junkies die.. that's just the way it is.. just fall off all the damn time.. it awful and sad.. but all those people who addiction took, what would they think of the idea of you using their deaths buy this horrible thing as motivation to use.. that's kinda like saying man I cant deal with all the friends i lost in that war so Im going to start a war.. its addict thinking and doesn't make sense.



About jakie.. and I say this with love case.. from what I know you guys have definitely had you ups and downs.. she seems really needy and this opinion I have formed from the reasons you tell us she gives you for wanting to break it off when she does.. she is bipolar and has some other aspects which will make her hard to live with.. I know your saying she is the love of your life and all.. I know you have heard int rehabs or the fellowship that you shouldn't start a relationship until you are a couple of years sober.. we as addicts have crazy strong emotions especially in early recovery.. love is an emotion so this is why we shouldn't do this.. not only do we have a crazy strong emotional response but we also have untrue emotional responses.. so allot of people fall in love with people they wouldn't normally fall in love with.. but hey who am I to say.. i just mention that so if this relationship has ended then you may want to take some more time and learn how to live with and love just yourself before you begin another relationship. About this star alignment stuff... case it sounds to me like your a little heart broken<3 right now and quite emotional.. but I would like you to reread that in a couple of months once this has passed and your emotions have settled down a bit as I think you may get kinda a chuckle cause you will get through this<3<3<3

Case you a very bright guy, you have made just amazing strides and accomplished so many things 8o=D=D What are you doing besides the fellowships in your recovery plan.. fellowships are great for allot of people.. but if they were the cure all that they claim to be there would be allot less people dead. Have you started and are you active in exercise, aerobic exercise for at least thirty minutes five times a week will likely do more for you that the meds your taking. Besides attending meetings and receiving the changes of thinking that are present there how else have you changed your thinking..

I have changed my thinking so dramatically that I no longer go to meetings as I no longer relate or even think like even a clean addict. I still use some principals I learned in the fellowships, like the need of only having to make it through 24 hours and the next right thing along with the ancient wisdom they drew off from some of the most amazing thinks of all time, but I have taken my spiritual awakening so much farther, I went to the sources, Buddha, Marcus Aurelius, Jesus, Thoreau, Nietzsche, Emerson, Spinoza, Aristotle, Heidegger, Sartre, Camus, Plato.. to name a few. and there is so much more out there than is in one "BIG BOOK" or blue book as it doesn't even scratch the surface. i will continue to advance as long as I live in this area ;)

I'm sending you my love I know you are hurting rite now<3<3<3 Your going to make it through this!!!!;)

What i would do is let go of this girl.. if your meant to be then you will be.. focus on yourself and your spiritual awakening. If you need some friends then sign up for some activities where you will meet people. what do you like to do for fun? Join a gym and go everyday.. start reading works buy the most wise people who have ever lived. keep going to the fellowships and complete the steps.. remember life is a journey and there will never be a destination where we suddenly find yourself happy and at peace.. so we need to figure out how to have it while we plug through life.. relationships are great but maybe finding the power you have in yourself to stand alone (with your higher power) without fear is something you could focus on right now.

Your doing great case.. why not take your life and your recovery to the next level.. the place where it becomes easy. Love ya sir and Im always here for ya so please PM me or any other way you want to communicate.
 
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Thank you. I mean that, All of you.

NSA-
Besides just going to meetings/trying to fellowship after, I haven't been doing a whole lot else besides also meeting with a sponsor/working the steps. Basically all AA related. Though the relationship i have with my sponsor is basically purely step related. We aren't super close or anything, and he doesn't feel like someone I would initially think to call when I need to talk about something. It's basically just i do some step work, i call him, we meet up, go over it, and he gives me more step work. Currently working through the 9th step, I had the opportunity to make a few of my Amends while I was back in New Jersey for the holidays. I made up with some old friends and had a great time hanging out with them, but they live in New Jersey (along with my family) and it's not like we went from not talking for years to being close enough that i would call them for support.

So besides meetings/steps, I guess your right maybe I'm not doing enough. I studied my ass off for a placement exam and got into school a couple months ago, if you guys recall when i was talking about that - Classes start in the 21st so I do have that to look forward too. I know this will all be a lot easier once I can immerse myself in schoolwork/studying.

As far as working out goes, I have slowly been trying to get into doing that. After years of being a Junkie, and weighing close to 130 pounds (at 6'1"), my muscles had atrophied pretty badly and it's been difficult/slow getting into it. I basically try to force myself to do sit ups/pushups 2-3 days a week and sometimes do basic exercises with weights (not enough). Also this had slowed down a bit over the last couple months, I'll admit I may have been starting to get complacent and more depressed as I have had nothing real to really go do, haven't found a job, school hasn't started, and I've been pretty idle for the few months that my girl has been at school.

So you're right, I know i need to start doing more then just AA related stuff. I just have a hard time finding the motivation to go out and do shit alone. It's so much easier when you are going with or meeting someone somewhere to do something, but i don't have that luxury and i need to just suck it up and start doing a lot more to change my life.

Over the two weeks i spent in New Jersey I had already come to a lot of conclusions and thought a LOT about some proactive changes i needed to make, worked out way more often while i was there and was shown how badly i need to make friends here by having fun hanging out with people there. But now that I'm back here, it's really difficult since I'm basically starting from scratch. I know allowing myself to have nobody I'm close to besides this girl was a really fucking stupid move on my part, but honestly i don't know how much i could have done differently.


Last night i went over to the main house for my SLE across the street to do some head checks and there's a new guy, we have similar stories and ended up talking quite a bit (which is rare for me to have a conversation more then 5 minutes with someone i just met) so i know I have potential to make another friend here, But If I'm being totally honest because of what's happened with all my other friends in recovery I am terrified to get close to people because i don't have a whole lot of faith in their ability to stay clean anymore. The sad truth after living at a sober house for the last 7 months is that 9/10 people who move in here will relapse and bounce after the first two weeks. Same with new comers i see at meetings. Shit just during my trip to new Jersey alone two people from my apartment are missing.

But i know i can't go through life afraid of getting close to people. I also know that i should probably start to be a little more open with my sponsor about these feelings, and honestly maybe even start working with another sponsor that i will feel more comfortable simply talking to about my life.

As far as reading and progressing my spiritual life, I have let that go idle for the past few months and i know that isn't helping either. Early in recovery i was big on meditation and buddhist forms of "prayer", as well as reading (mainly about theoretical physics, i fuckin' love books like that). During my trip to New Jersey i found myself starting to meditate and read again, so i know i need to carry that on now that I'm back here. I'll definitely get some books by the great minds you mentioned NSA and start reading through them.

I know there are so many things i need to do to get my ass in gear still, it's just so fucking difficult. This is one of the most difficult times in my life if I'm being totally honest, in the moment it almost seems more difficult then when i had a 24/7 full time job of being a junkie - but i know deep down that isn't true. I just think things "at least i had other people in my life when i was using) even though they obviously weren't ideal people to hang around.

I don't know. I could go on about what i know i need to do, and why it's difficult, but that isn't going to help so I'll stop. Thank you guys again for the support. These next few weeks/months are surely going to be testing my ability to stand strong.


(oh by the way i know the shit about the astrological event when we first hooked up is silly, but it really did happen regardless of it it was a coincidence or not, google july 29th astrological event)


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Good stuff case=D.. the thing that will really benefit you in the begining with the exercise is the 30 minutes a day or aerobic exercise or exercise that get you breathing hard as it will improve mood, relive depression, improves energy, greatly improve sleep.. EXERCISE AND MOOD

Since you are getting yourself back I would suggest starting with a stationary bike with just enough resistance so you are able to make it 12 minutes.. if you haven't been do any hard breathing exercise for a long time you should be "high as a kite" after that.. you will likely be prety sore for the first week or so but with how much better your going to feel I dont think you will be worried about it. This may also provide a place for you to meet new people and women if your current relationship doesn't work out. The thing about meeting people is you have to get out to where people are.. staying locked into a SL community where there is such a relapse and revolving door with people skipping out all over isn't likely going to provide you with to many good opportunities, so ai would get out and do shit everyday.. like tomorrow go work out for the first time and hot the library for a book or two.. libraries are decent places to meet women to.. you can even tell a little about who they are by what they are reading.

this time of year all kinds of workout places usually have a whole boat load of specials going and some have free month long trial memberships so maybe Google places in your area and see if there is any of this going on.. if there are a few doing this then you will be able to try out a few places.. go check them out and find a place that fits you.. if you then make the promise to go everyday for two weeks you will wonder how you ever got along without it.. as you will love it.. and shit sir your young and it only took me two weeks to get over the initial pain.. and even then it was so worth it I didn't care.. I feel so amazing right now as i just worked out.. be careful cause it can be addicting.

When you start school.. this semester or next? cause college is such a transient place that there are always new people coming and going.. many of whom dont know a soul when they get there.. especially fall semester.. so all kinds of people will be in the same boat as you and it will be really easy to make friends.. BUT REMEMBER WE ARENT IN THE DRUG GAME ANYMORE SO WE DONT HAVE TO BE SO DAMN PARANOID OF NEW PEOPLE.. dont need to be weeding our thieves and snitches anymore.. so think about letting some of your guard down when it comes to new people.

Your tearing it up case.. and I think with just a few minor adjustments your going to be doing way better than ever.. start reading thought to get your mind back in shape cause with school starting your going to need to do this

and gettin laid to a major astrological event is the shit but I dont think it means you two are now bound for life:)
 
You're amazing NSA. Really. Thank You.

You're definitely right about the cardio, it's something I have definitely overlooked. I have started to see a little bit of progress in my arms and abs from pushups and crunches, but i haven't done much cardio other than riding to and from places on my skateboard, which isn't always as much of a work out as you'd think. I think I'll hop back online a little bit later and look up gyms in my area and find something i can afford. It's really easy for me to blow off working out when I'm just planning on doing what i can at home, but if I put the effort into going to a gym then my pride/ego will leave me no choice but to at least attempt to do a real solid work out while Im there.

Also the starting to read more is a really important point. I think I may stop by the library tomorrow and get a card/check out a book or two. When I read these days I often have to read the same page multiple times in order to retain the information and this is going to be a huge set back for me when school starts. Im starting this spring semester, classes start on the 21st. It will be the first time I've made an honest attempt at school since High School which i got out of in 2009.

also, with the girl - I know some of the things I posted a couple months ago probably made it seem like it was more trouble than it was worth, but for the last month or two things have been way better. When She first got to school she had a LOT of trouble adjusting and I think that lead to her bipolar acting up a lot more often, however she hasn't had a major episode in a while. Which is part of the reason why this is so hard for me, because I know she isn't just freaking out right now. She's being rational. It's horribly painful to accept but if we continue to try and make it work for too much longer there's a chance we may end up destroying the relationship. Nothing has been ruined and our feelings for each other have not changed, simply the current situation is too difficult. As soon as the semester is over I am planning on transferring to a school closer to UCSC regardless of what happens between me and her, so maybe one day when the circumstances are better things will work out. After we talked it over the other night we basically decided to call it a break i guess, neither of us are interested in being with another person right now, and basically the whole point is to take time for her to work on her self, her recovery and her school. Which I am planning on making the best of and working on myself as well. My spirituality, my health, and my education. I know myself and I know I am going to hold on to the possibility of this not being the end of us, even if I end up holding on to something that is unlikely to happen in the end. But honestly I can't accept that it's over forever right now, namely because neither she nor I want's it to be over. She just can't handle the pain of not seeing me very often coupled with all the stress of college. So even if I am holding on to a long shot, It's going to get me through the next couple months.

And honestly I'm more scared of her forgetting what it's like when we're together more than much else right now. But I guess I just need to accept the fact that I have no control over the current situation with her, And I need to take control of the things in my life that i do have power over. Time will tell, and what is meant to be will be.
 
Wow case face that's a lot to take in :( I would just like to let you know that I totally sympathize with your current struggles and I hope that you find the strength to overcome this. What's happening right now is painful, but this will make you stronger, it always does for me anyway. The emotional suffering I went through was worse but I am here today and I am still fighting. Please hang on caseface you have gone this far.<3
 
Hey case, I just came back to Bluelight so haven't been in the loop for a while but I am really sorry to read all that you have been dealing with. I just PMed you. <3
 
thank you Maya and Herb, pmed you back.

I got out today, and skateboarded around the city running errands. Stopped by the school as well to make sure that I'm all good to go on my classes and see where I'm at on the wait list for chemistry. So I'm all set, school starting on the 21st. I also worked out slightly more then usual so that plus the skateboarding around more than usual I'm actually feeling at least a little bit better physically and mentally tonight. Hopefully I will sleep better, I didn't really mention it but something else bothering me is the insomnia I've been plagued with all my life. Ever since I can remember, most nights I am not been able to fall asleep in under an hour or two if I'm lucky - and I'm starting to get resentful about it. However i know there isn't much i can do besides working out more so I'll just keep trying to increase my intensity as well as start doing cardio. Shit I'm gonna stop talking about it and hopefully just force myself to go jogging tomorrow for the first time in years.

also going to try and get up early to stop by the DMV tomorrow and see what I need to do about getting a california drivers license, I still only have my New Jersey license (I've only been in cali for 3-4 years) 8)

I'm worried about going to the DMV though and I've been putting it off because I know I have a handful of traffic tickets as well as infractions for things like smoking in the park and not paying for the bus that I never took care of from the last couple years when I was using. I'm worried that some of them may have turned into warrants, and I'm wondering if I could be arrested if I show up at the DMV and they see that in the computer system or something. But it's definitely something I need to take care of, as I will have the means to buy a car at some point in the next few weeks if all goes well and I want to get the ball rolling now so that it can happen ASAP. A car will drastically improve my quality of life, not to mention improve my chance of finding a job.


Anyway, thank you all, again.
 
So i went running for the first time in quite literally years. My lung capacity is so fucking shot. I am only able to run for 3 or 4 minutes at a time before i am forced to walk for a minute and regain my ability to breath. I kept going though, as long as i could and then some. When ever i felt like i was about to callapse i would walk for 30 seconds to a minute and then force myself to run for a few minutes again. Did pushups and crunches before going. Got to a point running that i felt like i would throw up and literally collapse if i didn't stop so i headed back to the apartment. Got inside, dropped down and started doing pushups and crunches again. Kept going until i couldn't move then sat up, started to control my breathing and meditated for 5-10 minutes.

And then started crying. I don't think I've ever been this depressed before. Maybe during my using, but i was able to push it down with substances. Even the intense heroin withdrawals did a good job at hiding the mental pain because of how bad the physical agony was I couldn't focus on anything else. I think besides just the current shit I'm going through there's a lot of feelings bursting through that have been a long time coming, that I haven't been able to acknowledge until now.

I might have pushed myself a little hard today, especially for having not done cardio in so long that my lungs give out before my muscles... So I'm sure I'll be paying for that tomorrow but whatever. I do actually feel a lot better physically right now.

Didn't make it to the DMV today though, I had two alarms set for this morning and slept through both of them. Didn't get up till noon again. I really need to fucking fix my sleep schedule before school starts or I'm fucked.. I have 8am classes basically every day starting the 21st.


I've noticed for a while now I keep randomly checking my phone to see if I have any texts or calls i missed. Which is odd to me because i know there isn't anybody thats going to call or text me except maybe my mom once every so often. :\
I think maybe I'm subconsciously checking to see if friend girl has texted me. :(
 
Nice i bet you sleep better tonight case. try the melatonin and where sunglasses after seven PM.. just maybe tell the others in the SL what you are doing. I glad you feel better after the exercise.. just take it slow and it wont take you that long to get back into shape.. any took me like two weeks and it got way easier. and it natural to check and see if she is texting you so I wouldnt get down on yourself about that..
 
Okay, first off I wanna say that im very sorry about your situation and can relate to most of what you wrote and have been in similar situations.
I dont at all want to sound like im discrediting your relationship with this girl, but there is a reason that they say you shouldn't date in your first year.
Im not gona say a bunch of aa na cliches, as im sure you know them already and im not even a part of the program anymore as I have found something that works much better for me.
But when I was in the program I met a girl and thought I fell in love, but it was a clingy sort if love because I had lost all joy in everything else. I would defend us against any judgement and say we were in love, but it wasnt enough to keep me sober when she moved away and we tried to keep a long distance relationship going. I relapsed and our relationship fell apart ahe called me in rehab saying she was pregnant with someone elses kid and hoped that I died. She was a sweetheart I know. But that crushed me until I realized that I was just using her as a crutch and when that relationship was gone so was my sobriety.
She probably really did just need to work on herself.
As for your friends dying and you feeling guilty, it was Thier decision, and its not your fault you sound like a good friend. I had a friend in rehab that I sold heroin to that left and died. I was not a good friend and I have to live with that.
I believe you can do it and Berkeley
And oakland have a great meeting circuit and community but dont be afraid to try things outside of na and aa. I doubt is be sober now if I wasn't forced to go beyond 12 step programs. Ill pray for you, thanks for posting.
 
thank you downfall. I'm not overly worried about relapsing, more just giving up at building a life for myself. I have a lot of fear around the fact that I'm starting school soon and of course I'm in a lot of pain over the current situation with this girl but I made sure not to make her my higher power in any way and so I haven't lost that with losing her. I had already realized how alone I have allowed myself to become after spending a couple weeks in Jersey for the holidays and seeing old friends. I honestly wasn't planning on getting into a relationship either, but when you meet a girl that you don't have to "game" into loving you, it just wasn't something I could pass up. Honestly, if I knew how everything would turn out when we first met I wouldn't have done anything differently because the last half year that I spent with her was the best of my life and those memories will last forever. I'm trying really hard to look at the positives and not lose focus. I know I can make a lot of progress for myself, by myself - and I will do everything I can to take this opportunity to do that.

My biggest hurdle is going to be not letting myself be idle over the next couple weeks before school starts. When I sit down and have nothing specific to really do, is when I start to let myself think and feel the pain. I know these are feelings i need to accept and overcome, but for now i feel like that safest thing for my recovery is to avoid them so that i don't lose focus on what i need to be doing.
 
If you have your schedule then go get your books and start to read them.. what are you taking case.. also you can usually get books cheaper if you look off campus and not in the campus book store.. college tests books are one of the biggest scams going.. they put out a new version every couple of years.. has almost the same shit in it but then they can charge like 200 dollars a text again as there aren't used ones around.. school are in on it and so are allot of the professors.. such is life.
 
Yeah, if you have your schedule definitely start working through your books. Also, MIT has a bunch of open courseware on a website (www.ocw.mit.edu)- exercises, video lectures and such- that really helps you keep busy when you have downtime, complements working through a textbook nicely and helps you get a great head start. Plus it's straight out of their actual curriculum, so it's good stuff and I believe they have most every non-graduate level course in the "generic" sciences posted up there. For humanities courses I believe Yale or some other Ivy-league runs a similar website.

For textbooks... I forget what website it was I discovered a few years ago, but it was opensource and they just distributed most textbooks for free. Does anybody happen to know what I'm talking about? I second that recommendation though, if you can, www.Amazon.com, go to the used books section- depends largely on what you're looking for but you can save a lot of money by renting or buying used, though sometimes people mark-up the prices ridiculously and it's just sad.
 
I'll be taking pre-calculus, English, and this college planning/success course (recommended for "students like me") for sure, and I am on the wait list for Chemistry so hoping to get in there too otherwise I'll already be behind. (gotta take chem every semester)

When I went to the school yesterday the woman in the office told me I would likely find out what books i need from the professor on the first day of class. No idea if she knew what she was talking about or not, kinda seemed a little out of it. But I've checked on the school website and can't find anything about course books. weird. Thanks a lot for the link to the MIT website though, I'm quite sure that will help out a LOT. I had to study my ass off to get into pre calc since I haven't taken math in 5-6 years, and i know it's going to be a difficult course.

I acted as secretary at the AA meeting i run here at the SLE for the first time in a few weeks this evening since I've been away. Was a really good meeting, a bunch of people from outside the house showed up which doesn't always happen and everyone had good things to say. I started sharing about how I've been feeling, but i didn't go too far into it. I got hella anxious and ashamed before I could get totally real with how I've been feeling. I don't know.. I did get someones phone number though. She's new in the area/recovery and looking to make friends as well so with any luck I'll be able to befriend this girl and have someone to talk to in person.

During the day I am generally able to stay pretty solid. Maybe once or twice during the day the last two days I kinda lose it for a second - however every night I just feel so fucking horribly depressed and sad and lost and lonely and its heart shatteringly painful. Not just whats going on with the girl, but everything thats been going on for a while it's just all hitting me right now for some reason. :(

Thanks everyone. You're continued support is really helping me through this.
 
I'm sorry all of that happened to you. At least you're keeping busy and concentrating on yourself. I know it gets scary staying sober but you can do it. Have you tried talking to people at meetings or a sponsor about everything that's happened, how you're having trouble making friends, and your concerns? Good luck.
 
@neversickanymore I totally agree with overpriced college books being a scam, in fact when I was active, one of my main hustles was stealing and reselling college books. Soo overpriced.
 
The price is ridiculous.. the amount of theft on campuses is ridiculous as well.


I'll be taking pre-calculus, English, and this college planning/success course (recommended for "students like me") for sure, and I am on the wait list for Chemistry so hoping to get in there too otherwise I'll already be behind. (gotta take chem every semester)
For your first semester I would not even think of taking the chemistry as well.. the brain is kinda like a muscle and if we don't work it out it doesn't get strong. I would give yourself an introductory semester and not even worry one iota about getting "behind."

Since you have not attended college yet I think you are going to be amazed at the amount of stuff you will need to get done and the amount of knowledge you will need to process, learn, and regurgitate. Plus you are going from just cold chillin with no job even to jumping right in second semester and this is going to be culture shock for sure. Also the fact that you are on addiction medication will also mean that you should take it easy as your brain will not be firing on all cylinders with that on board.

I think y0ou would be crazy to take anything more than what you are signed up for right now.. you are still relatively fresh in recovery and I think if you add anything more on top of what you are signed up for now it might be a recipe for disaster.. I'm not doubting your intelligence or your ability I am really just trying to get you off on the right foot here. i absolutely think you should stick with what you have on your plate right now.. what is that 4 credit english, 3 or four credit pre c, and 3 credit college planning course shit case that will be plenty.. the rule for good success at college is three hours out of the classroom for every hour you attend.. so if you taking 10 credits thats a min of thirty hours studying out side of class so thats 40 hours of studying.. pluss you have to get your brain in shape, pluss all the time form home to class and class to class.. getting to meetings and to work out.. yo case dont sign up for the chem, undergraduate chem can be a hard course for people and it requires some pre caulc.. I really, really, implore you to set that aside and just role into this where you are at.. you will thank me;)

Your going to do great... if you look on your schedule you will see what sections you are in for your classes.. so like english comp i think is like english 100/101 and then its usually followed by sections so you could be english 101 section (002). If you go to the book store you can look up what books your going to need with this and then you can look for them someplace cheaper. This should allow you to begin to get your books.. also you may want to try and look up the syllabus on line this way.. or look at the website for the college and look for syllabus.. the syllabus is the couple sheets you get on the first day of class that out line how the semester is going to go, how your grade will be determined, supplies and books you will need, dates of tests and all that. Usually that is available.. it can be real important to have a good advisor and use them.. you already paid for it so make an appointment to see you advice again.. if they suck then request a new one and report that one.. schools like to forget that you are paying them sometimes so If I ever ran into that I just went up the food chain as far as people in departments and watched people attitudes change real quick.. when I went back I was allot older and didn't put up with any bullshit.. not that i ran into much.. also from the section number you can get the professor and from that you can get their email.. often times forming a little relationship with a professor can be the best thing you can do.. So if you have a little time I would just try and set up a few meetings if the staff is on campus.. just say hey my name is case and Im in you blaah. balhh blahh section bllah bllah and I was wondering if I could make an appointment to see you.. just say hey Im returning to college after a little time off and I really want to do the best I can so what would you recommend for college success and success in your class. You can also request the syllabus when you see them of via email. I think I heard that you were going to try and transfer after you get some credits in.. if you form a relationship with these people you can ask them later to write a personal/ professional recommendation that could make all the difference in getting into the school you want to attend. Life isn't all what you know but also who you know;)

your going to to do great case:)
 
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