Help staying clean

[Primal365]

So i have been clean from a heavy oxy and coke addiction for two months now and it's been easy so far (excluding the physical symptoms) but now my life has been getting more and more stressfull. parents sent me to a mental hospital for3 weeks as outpatient. And now I got all these tests and shrinks and crap and the urge to just snort an oxy or line of coke is getting unbearable.

So the point of this is to ask if any of you have gone through this if there is anything I can do to help stem the urges. I alredy smoke cigarrets and I don't like being clean I loved being high all the time but now I got to deal with a Sri test at random intervals with threat of inpatient for a positive test. So any help would be very nice, cuz it's getting to the point were I might file for custody of myself and I would hate that but all this stress is pushing me overboard.

P.s. Sorry for long post.

 

[Captain.Heroin]

So i have been clean from a heavy oxy and coke addiction for two months now and it's been easy so far (excluding the physical symptoms) but now my life has been getting more and more stressfull. parents sent me to a mental hospital for3 weeks as outpatient. And now I got all these tests and shrinks and crap and the urge to just snort an oxy or line of coke is getting unbearable.

So the point of this is to ask if any of you have gone through this if there is anything I can do to help stem the urges. I alredy smoke cigarrets and I don't like being clean I loved being high all the time but now I got to deal with a Sri test at random intervals with threat of inpatient for a positive test. So any help would be very nice, cuz it's getting to the point were I might file for custody of myself and I would hate that but all this stress is pushing me overboard.

P.s. Sorry for long post.

Just don't use drugs until you're not living in your parent's house anymore.

I hope you realize drug tests are notoriously unreliable, so if there's a false positive, don't expect your parents to believe you.

That's why I would never raise someone with so much anxiety/etc with the whole "a positive = inpatient" that's just cruel to do to someone. That's certainly not going to help you recover at all.

That is, unless you think inpatient rehabilitation would be good for you. *shrugs*

 

[dokomo]

The best advice I can give you would be to take advantage of any opportunities for counseling/therapy that you have right now, because you can learn good (and healthy) stress management/coping techniques when you are working with a therapist.

Right now, your brain still processes stress and wants to use its old coping mechanisms - these substances - to address it. To get around this, you've got to learn some good, healthy ways to manage it.

Sounds like you're in a tough situation with everything right now, but take advantage of it while you have the opportunity!

 

[Primal365]

No inpatient would be hell and I have been through 8 therapists so far cuz I am so fucked up. My official papers about me that my doctors have say I have severe depression/anxiety, a partial anti social personality, and I am an addict.

Thanks for posting guys. It means alot to know people care.

Any other suggestions would be nice. Or any info on what I can do to keep the urge to use at bay beyond the obvious "fix the depression/ lower stress levels" bs answers my parents and therapist have given me.

 

[lsdj]

take up a new hobby/pick an old one back up. read books, do sports (maybe some aggressive ones to blow off some steam), and anything in general that will keep you occupied.

good luck man

 

[thelung]

find new friends who are clean and do things with them

some people have really changed their lives using the 12 step programs, like NA, because you meet people at the meetings and you form a network of support. Myself, I've never been able to do very well with 12 step, but a lot of people I know have turned their lives around 100% and gotten clean and stayed clean forever using AA and NA.

or maybe go back to school at a community college, thats a great way to meet new people , or get a new job and meet people there, or i dunno go dancing or just do something like a hobby that doesn't involve using
\// best of luck to you

 

[sixpartseven]

This is much more suited for The Dark Side.

OD ---> TDS

 

[MoRivera42]

i know its hard at times but keep with it if youve been doing good these past 2 months stay on track i knowthe urge to use is almost unbearable but your better off being sober at least for now try to keep yourself busy to fight the urges listen to your favorite band go for a walk do anything you can to keep your mind off of it good luck to you i hope this helps

 

[OverDone]

the persistent thoughts of using are natural and will go away in time. It will seem like forever but they do go away. Yeah, occasional thoughts of getting high will hit you but occasional thoughts are completely different with obsessing about getting high.

For me, there was very little I could do about that obsession. I had to white knuckle it, talk to people and just be miserable with the hope that those thoughts would go away. They did. It took some time and the time frame is different for everyone but THEY DO GO AWAY, eventually. When the obsessing finally went away I was finally able to think much more clearly, my emotions balanced out and life's day-to-day events and trials were much easier to deal with.

One way to put it into perspective is to separate the 'thoughts' of using from the 'action' of using. Many times we just think about the butterflies of copping, the ritual of preparing our substance and the euphoria. Yeah, thats the good, short-lived part of getting high. We rarely think of the longer lasting after effects (the comedown, the depression, the wasted money, the disappointment and shame) that is guaranteed to follow.

It sucks getting clean in the beginning because it is something completely unfamiliar to us. Its new. Most addicts don't like the discomfort of new and unfamiliar territory. But, 'new' never lasts long.

Please just hang in there until those obsessive thoughts go away. You'll feel so much fucking better its ridiculous!

There's a catch, though. Life doesn't stop happening when we get clean. Shit still happens and it still happens to good people. Try to learn from the bullshit thrown your way. Do waht you CAN do and, what you can't do... don't. Accepting our limitations is a huge asset but we can't beat ourselves up. Shit, sometimes I fuck myself intentionally so I can conjure up a valid excuse to start getting high again. I personally can't come up with a valid reason because I realize its much easier to stay clean than to get clean

If there's any way we can help, don't hesitate to ask, man. Its fuckin' difficult at first but it DOES get easier in time. Do whatever is necessary to NOT mindfuck yourself into a silly justification to get high.

hang in there man and just know there are folks in TDS that are quite willing to talk or just listen so you can get through to the other side

 

[Primal365]

or maybe go back to school at a community college, thats a great way to meet new people , or get a new job and meet people there, or i dunno go dancing or just do something like a hobby that doesn't involve using
\// best of luck to you

I hate to say it but I am in highschool so options are limited for me.

Thanks for all the info. I am checking into support groups that take minors and such.

 

[monchi]

i understand that urge to go back to what you know will make you feel better. its like a break up with a bad girl/boyfriend... you only remember the good parts.

when i find myself craving those instant gratification type cravings, i try to focus on the inevitable comedown that will happen, and how awful the feelings that arise there are.

feeling good for ten minutes is easy. and feeling those cravings is hard. but, in time, they WILL lessen. and when you can wake up, and not have to face the consequences of using, that is a day you will never regret!!

 

[hoxie08]

holy shit. sounds about identical to my situation. im in week 4 of outpatient rehab type thing. lol. i know the shit sucks. i just try to keep myself busy on computer or anything that keeps my mind off the opiates. god i loved em.