Mental Health My story.

Opiator

Bluelighter
Joined
Mar 29, 2013
Messages
69
This will be a relatively long post, so be ready to read a lot.

Starting from the very beginning, I'll talk about my parents a little. Both were drug addicts. My dad has been addicted to crack and meth in his lifetime, and my mom has been a heavy drinker, marijuana smoker, and cocaine user for a rather large portion of her life. Today, I can say for sure that they're both clean, aside from the occasional toke or beer, but they had their hardcore partying days and left me behind to chase highs. Back before I was born, my mom inherited a LOT of money. Like, a few hundred thousand dollars. My dad, being the dog that he is, jumped at the opportunity and got with my mom. He told me recently it was solely "because of that green".

They were together for all of three weeks before my dad left her.

Let's just say my mom, who has a multitude of mental disorders from childhood abuse, including bi-polar disorder, did not take this well. She found out she was pregnant with me, but that didn't really stop her from continuing to drug and drink. I don't know how I made it to be as old as I am (I'll go further into detail about that later), but somehow she gave birth to me. I was underweight, and within a month had picked up a case of viral meningitis than permanently damaged my eyes and may have damaged other organs that I don't know about yet. At the worst time through this, I had a fever of about 107*F. Somehow, I made it. My dad denied that I was his child for the majority of the first year of my life until a paternity test was done which determined as Maury would say, that he was "indeed, the father".

My mom, being 19 years old and mentally unstable, didn't do very much of a stand up job parenting me. She was so bad that the state took me away from her and placed me in foster care where I stayed until I was 16 months old. And what happened next I will eternally be grateful for - my dad's mother got legal custody of me and took care of me from that day on. I started growing up, finally with a rather normal life, aside from not really having either parent around. My mom got visitation rights and my dad was off doing his own thing. Skip ahead a few years.

My mother wasn't very good at making scheduled visits and when she did make them she couldn't help but talk about how much of a piece of shit my dad was. She eventually brought a custody lawsuit against my grandma that lasted several years and was eventually thrown out because my mom is batshit insane and the court got tired of her. When I was about eight years old, my dad, apparently heartbroken over the mother of two of my half-brothers, decided to pack up his shit and follow my grandpa out to Arizona where he spent the next seven years doing drugs, becoming a felon and going in and out of jail, and generally not being a father to any of his four sons.

Luckily, I had somewhat of a father figure in my life in my grandma's boyfriend, who I always thought of as my "real" grandpa. He took care of us and made sure we always had what we needed whether it be food, money, clothes...he took me anywhere I wanted to go, got me anything I wanted to have, and was an all around fantastic influence on me, teaching me so much about life and stuff like computers and medicine. About five months after I turned ten years old, he died from heart failure and that was pretty much the worst thing that ever happened to me. I'm still not "over" that. I still haven't properly grieved over that loss, which I blame myself for a lot of the time, and after that, I believe my major depressive disorder "began".

I had a rough adolescence. I wasn't a real popular kid, and had a tight knit group of friends that I loved and spent most of my time with. I had an early love for music, picking up the guitar and choir. To this day, I still play and sing and write my own songs, with ambitions of becoming a recording and touring artist. But back to the story at hand. I began experimenting with drugs at about age 14, first with marijuana, and then pills and alcohol as I got older. The first time I tried opiates, I knew I was hooked because it was the most incredible feeling I'd ever felt and all the pain and anguish I was feeling went away. All those feelings of being abandoned were eliminated by small little pills I'd take way too much of. Around this same time, I started seeing a counselor for my depression, but never brought up my drug use.

In fact, I hid my drug use so well that the only reason it had been revealed was because by age 16 I was a suicidal wreck. I was hospitalized for four days and told the doctors everything, every bit of my life and all the different pains I felt. How my mind raced. How I obsessed over little things. How I was always anxious and had regular panic attacks. How my mood swung like a swing set. I was initially diagnosed with bi-polar disorder, and then major depressive disorder as well as panic disorder.

Now I take 120mg of Cymbalta, 10mg of Abilify, 3mg of Xanax, and occasionally 25-100mg of Vistaril a day. I go to group therapy twice a week and see an individual counselor around twice a month, sometimes more, sometimes less. Most of my "friends" have abandoned me because of my drug problems and shit, and I'm a pretty lonely person. Right now, I'm miserable because I miss the days when it was just me and the boys kickin' it every day doing drugs listening to obscure music no one had ever heard of. It also kills me that I don't get to see any of my siblings, of which I have two sisters on my mom's side and three brothers on my dad's side. I'm just trying to find my way in life and I'm addicted to drugs and generally everything kind of sucks.

tl;dr Life sucks, got lots of problems, addicted to drugs, wish I knew what to do.
 
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Hey man,
Things don't sound like they're going to well for you right now but look, you've made it this far so I think its safe to say you're a strong person even if it doesn't feel that way to you. You're making good choices going to group therapy and taking the medications you are given. So really, you're on the right path man. Just stay connected with people who are there to help you. I'm not qualified in any way to suggest what you should do in your situation. Just this morning I told my parents that "I hate my life and wish I hadn't been born". But I want you to know that you are important and life will improve. I wish I could tell myself that sometimes. My situation is nothing compared to what you go are going through so you are giving me strength to continue seeing as how you've continued through a lot of stuff most people could never imagine having to deal with. I hope this helps give you a little perspective. Sorry if you wanted more concrete suggestions, at the moment I can't even figure my own life out so I don't know if I should be telling other people what they should do. But Bluelight is here for you man. I'm sure people will be commenting some really sincere and helpful posts real soon. Just hang in there and soon you'll see how quickly life can change for the better. I'm rambling now but I hope this gives you at least temporary hope until someone else posts. <3 <3 <3
 
Hey man,
Things don't sound like they're going to well for you right now but look, you've made it this far so I think its safe to say you're a strong person even if it doesn't feel that way to you. You're making good choices going to group therapy and taking the medications you are given. So really, you're on the right path man. Just stay connected with people who are there to help you. I'm not qualified in any way to suggest what you should do in your situation. Just this morning I told my parents that "I hate my life and wish I hadn't been born". But I want you to know that you are important and life will improve. I wish I could tell myself that sometimes. My situation is nothing compared to what you go are going through so you are giving me strength to continue seeing as how you've continued through a lot of stuff most people could never imagine having to deal with. I hope this helps give you a little perspective. Sorry if you wanted more concrete suggestions, at the moment I can't even figure my own life out so I don't know if I should be telling other people what they should do. But Bluelight is here for you man. I'm sure people will be commenting some really sincere and helpful posts real soon. Just hang in there and soon you'll see how quickly life can change for the better. I'm rambling now but I hope this gives you at least temporary hope until someone else posts. <3 <3 <3

Man, you don't know how much all of that means to me. I'm glad the pain I'm dealing with at least inspires someone, because that's always been a life goal of mine is to help and inspire others even through suffering. I really appreciate your kind words and I hope more folks are as kind as you arel Thanks for being a good person, man.
 
Hey Opiator!!
How old are you now, if you don't mind me asking..??
Im very sorry about all the hardship you have experienced in your life.
And I pray to the universe that you can find a way to deal with your past in a less complicated way.
You've been through hell and back dude, but, you're still standing..
It may feel like an endless path for you right now, but its a long journey man.. & I know that you, and any other human, carry the strength to survive, overcome & conquer said conditions.
This is a good place dude.. I encourage you to keep dropping in <3
Take care & all the best.
 
Hey Opiator!!
How old are you now, if you don't mind me asking..??
Im very sorry about all the hardship you have experienced in your life.
And I pray to the universe that you can find a way to deal with your past in a less complicated way.
You've been through hell and back dude, but, you're still standing..
It may feel like an endless path for you right now, but its a long journey man.. & I know that you, and any other human, carry the strength to survive, overcome & conquer said conditions.
This is a good place dude.. I encourage you to keep dropping in <3
Take care & all the best.

I'm 18 now.

I appreciate your kind words and hope that you find peace and love for yourself. No human being should have to suffer in these kinds of ways, but we do and it's a matter of coping with it and moving on. I'm just kind of stuck here where I'm at and it sucks.
 
I hope no one minds me bumping this, I just need someone to talk to...
 
Oh shit Opiator, I started a message to you. Then got sent to a couple stores. Came back and the old man cleared it off the computer checking his lotto numbers. 2 hours later I had to type it all over again. But I just sent it to you. For real, life doesn't give us what we need sometimes. I've come to realize this in my 49 years. Just when I think things are getting better, shit just keeps flying at me. Like one step forward, then two steps back. We are all here for a reason, but I have yet to figure this out.

We have similar childhoods, though mine was not so severe. I read your post again and can't stop crying. I'm so sorry for all you've gone through. I still miss my parents even if they were not always there for me. My stepdad saved me and my son from being homeless. He's been the only grandpa my son ever knew. I got messed up with taking opiates too, only way later in life. I was able to quit but not in time to save my son from becoming an addict too. You're just 18 and seem to have your life reasonably straight. Keep taking your meds, but I would try and find a way to taper off opiates. Once they get a grip on you, they don't want to let go. I hope you're okay.
 
I understand how you feel also. I was born in 1965 and my mother just walked out of the hospital the next day like she took the garbage out. I was parceled out in group homes and foster homes till I was 12 y/o. I was adopted by a loving family who were great to me. But, I never felt like I belonged anywhere. I did many many drugs and abused alcohol for close to 30 years.
I'm 49 now and I can say for myself that the ages of 18 to 25 were the hardest years for me.Keep up the therapy, remember if you don't feel comfortable with your therapist you can always get another. Easy on the benzos (I've been there done that). Don't let yourself get too depressed and alone. Hell, take a walk in the mall or at Target or WalMart if you feel lonely. It sounds stupid but I do it when I feel strange and it helps.
Keep trying to find the bright spot in things. Good luck to you sir.
 
You have been through so much trauma and it makes perfect sense that now, at the beginning of your adult life, everything is coming up hard. It is totally normal that feelings of abandonment as an infant and young child are going to come up throughout your life. In a way, you have something extra to carry and you get better and better at it. Your past never has to trap you but it will always be an underside of knowledge that you have access to. Your life so far has been influenced by others actions and neglect. Now it is you who must not abandon you, you who must nurture and care for yourself. This is always hard, no matter what your childhood was like, but I think it is particularly hard for someone that carries the legacy of abandonment and neglect.

Art can save you and I encourage you to fuel yourself through your music. You are very lucky to have the talent, which is just really passion. Some people have to struggle so hard to find their passions.

I hope today is full of moments of peace and clarity.<3
 
I feel like alot of people on this site can relate....The one thing I would say though is that you are AWARE!!!!! That is the most important part of everything I believe....Some people go there whole lives (including 1000's of people on this site) and do not acknowledge the fact that they have issues. If you keep on a positive note and keep working on it as you are..you will only go up!! I am currently on xanax and have been smoking marijuana with no positive affect on my life for ten years. I have been living with the fact and guilt that I know it is damaging to my life for ten years and I am sick of it and am trying to move on in life and become human again...Just your experiences and awareness will help you. Depression is a very hard....and substance abuse just makes it way worse...Stay positive and everything will turn out okay
 
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