• HEALTH & RECOVERY
    Welcome Guest
    Posting Rules Bluelight Rules Thread Directory 1 Thread Directory 2
    Mindfulness Links Addiction & Mind
    Sober Living Partner Program (SLiPP)
  • H&R Moderators: streaM Freak

How do you stop living in the past?

PriestTheyCalledHim

PriestTheyCalledHim

Bluelighter
Joined
Oct 7, 2005
Messages
14,685
How do you stop living in the past? Or thinking that things were not as bad when you were using your drugs of choice?

Besides becoming aware of it, living in the present, and not hanging out with people who you used to use with or who were a bad influence?
 
I force myself to remember the reality: I had weeping tracks and abcesses on my arms, scars from self harming, the agony of heroin withdrawals, as well as the constant, overriding fear of getting sick, I remember being poor and malnourished because I spent every pennny and every waking moment on scoring my drug, being arrested and sick in a cell while contemplating time in prison, I remember stealing and lying to everybody I loved, being shunned by my family, being obsessed with death.

When I think of the rush and how good it felt, I force myself to remember the reality of life as a heroin addict.
 
Hey Priest, to add to what dopemegently said as long as you keep thinking about the past, and all the emotions tied to it, you are focusing on the past, and forgetting to see the present moment, and living in it. What is it that YOU would love to do in your life now? What do you look FORWARD to? Set some goals. Dream about a happy future, and try to avoid missing those things because you are stuck in the past, which cannot be undone nor will result in a sustainable future. Ask yourself aloud a few times, 'when am I going realize that this is the only life I have and I can do what ever I want with it?!' and really think about it. It's quite liberating.

I know it is hard to get past it, but it can be done. But you must take control of your life and you can start by forgiving yourself.
 
Thats great advice, I hear what you're saying there. I only try to remember those times I was describing if I'm craving; most of the time I keep the past very much in the past. I'm coming to the realization I'm not young anymore and I have to change, I recently did my photography degree

but I have a lot of free time now and I'm becoming trapped in inertia, so I'm really trying to remain pro-active here.
 
Last edited:
^Totally, playing that whole tape called addiction is a great way to deal with acute cravings and I try to use it in conjunction with a little sick game I play in my head that dares the craving to come up with a stronger desire than it's current affliction. (ergo, "c'mon that's the best you can do?") lol it makes me question my sanity sometimes :D
 
Ah, this whole game we call addiction really has a way of screwing with your mind. It's changed me in way's I'd never thought possible. We have to remember: We're lucky to be alive. We're lucky to live in times of wealth and peace. We have free will; we have a say in the matter regarding using. (Its so easy to think we have no choice)
 
im not sure why you say "besides living in the present"

because i would have thought if your living in the present then you cease living in the past...

if u agree with that sentiment then squizzing the meditation thread in healthy living and starting to apply that to a daily meditation practice and in turn applying it to life, i know that you can stop living in the past
 
For me, I became highly involved in ANYTHING that didn't reinforce my previous lifestyle. I worked at busying myself in a serious fucking way. I scheduled things pretty rigorously, I moved away from everything I knew to a place far away, and I left Bluelight for a while. In order to stop living in the past you need to completely cut the past out. After a time I began to confront my past. Although I'm not sure how much time you have and it doesn't sound like you're ready to do that. Do you go to meetings? I know it sounds silly, but once I found a group that worked for me my life improved in serious ways.
 
I learned these equations from 1995 Relapse Prevention Therapy.

Addictive equation: Pain +Alcohol/Drugs = Immediate Pleasure + Future Pain

When a person comes to rely upon Compulsive Behaviors as a substitute for alcohol or drugs
the equation changes: Pain + Compulsive Behavior = Immediate Pleasure + Future Pain

For me, my interpretation of compulsive behavior is a "healthy outlet" taken to the extreme, thus "unhealthy"
Compulsive Behaviors:
1. Eating/Dieting
2. Gambling
3. Working/Achieving
4. Exercise
5. Sex
6. Thrill Seeking
7. Escape
8. Spending

I am human, and, I have abused the above from a healthy outlet, to a substitute addiction, all the way back to my
20 something age range. Even, today, it is a daunting task, for me.....yet it is do-able. I have re-started attending
some self support meetings, that I began as far back as 1983. This thread is excellent, I have received a message
from every Bluelight member who has contributed. Thank you.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top