how to stop?

[xibenix]

I do not know how to mentally kick my addiction to drugs. And that is why I'm asking for help here. I've been to treatment at many places , I've sought out help for my underlying conditions as well such as depression and anxiety.

But now that's not an option as my family considers that "drug seeking behavior" to seek help to cope with my depression or anxiety. Which sometimes yeah I feel like I am just looking for something recreational other times I'm actually looking for help.

Regardless, my point is, the past five to 6 years I've had constant various different drug addictions . The one that's been constant / most often has been tramadol. Almost everyday. I also would do a lot of other drugs just about any recreational pill, subs, weed, and two years ago I had a bad overdose on bath salts. And pretty much ruined my life now I have epilepsy.

Over these last 6 years I've continued to use and use even when it had extreme health risks due to my epilepsy. Or even after I got in trouble with the law or forced to go to rehab or similar situations.

How do I solve my mental addiction?

 

[THECATINTHEHAT]

That is an extremely difficult question you're asking there. I can't tell you the answer, but I can give you my opinion. I'll include the caveat that I'm not even clean myself, but I have managed to put together over 6 months of time before so I'm not just totally pulling this out of my arse.

I think the first stage is that you have to really want to get better. Like REALLY REALLY want to get better. It helps a lot if the drugs have stopped doing what you want them to, but that's not essential.

When you have stopped using, I think there's a couple of things it's really important to work out about yourself. First is what your own personal payoffs for using are. No one uses drugs for no reason (or does anything for no reason for that matter), we all have something that we get in return for our using. Whether it be the physical sensation, the numbing of emotional pain, it gives us confidence, it relieves boredom, pure hedonism etc.....Speaking for myself, I find it very hard to be honest with myself and recognise what my motivations for using are. I get caught up in a lot of believing my own bullshit and passing the buck on to excuses for using rather than actually getting honest about the real reasons.

I think if you can work that out, then you can move on to finding other activities that can fulfill these desires other than taking drugs. As time goes on it can become easier and easier to get that payoff we are seeking through a more productive and healthy means than taking drugs.

I also think another part of the mental addiction is recognising how ones behaviour affects ones mindset. How certain behaviours can push us down the route towards that mental craving for drugs, and others can move us further away from that mental craving. When one can recognise that, it then becomes a simple decision of whether to engage in the right behaviours or the wrong ones.

That's my take on it anyway.

*puts away amateur psychology cap

 

[Freon]

I don't have a specific answer for you man I just want to tell you it IS possible. I'm going on a month clean now from methamphetamine which is all mental addiction and I'll be honest I don't even miss it. I just started smoking a lot of weed again and taking a acid/dissociative trip here and there and I gotta say I really feel great. And this is after a very long addiction. I'm 27 and I've been using crystal meth since I was a teen. I just got tired of all my money going to meth and being seen (and rightfully so) as a shady person.

Meth is obviously a stimulant so its a different kind of addiction than tramadol but it's much more powerful and i don't think kicking tramadol should be too hard. I was also addicted to IV heroin/Dilaudid/opana for years and i kicked that as well with a lot of hard work and support. There is hope, trust me.

 

[brink]

Nootropics could be a reasonable outlet to alleviate the need for something new and introduce ways to potentially heal; As long as the drugs are responsibly researched and not overdosed in attempt to get high. There's always still weed and alcohol, although alcohol is a toxin (not meant to assume anything, since it wasn't mentioned). Wouldn't hurt to avoid combustible toxins, as well.