• 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: VerbalTruist

Society Addiction; or Breaking the Alcohol/Caffiene/Nicotine/Refined-Sugar Bind

its pretty easy really...

first off foods that contain refined sugars usually taste like shit so thats natural discouragement for me at least (im a bit of a foodie anyway though)

cook your own food- you get exactly what you want, its fun, its cool to cook for others, its rewarding in an instant gratification way and food you make yourself always tastes better!

(use brown sugar, honey, agave and steva in your recipes)

Nicotine- well you either gotta live with it, quit, or reduce your intake, only you can decide what would make you happiest.

snus is a great alternative to smoking with a decently documented level of saftey comparable to nicotine gums or patches.

smoking less also makes the times you do smoke more enjoyable

pick up hookah, pipe or cigar, it allows you to smoke but do it less due to cost issues and time and its more enjoyable than a cigarette anyway


alcohol- a couple drinks a day is actually good for you, there was talk in this forum about it recently

drink less-
drink healthier alchohol (beer, red wine)
dont binge drink

smoke pot instead?

not much more to say than that as its pretty easy to avoid ime

caffiene- well once again either plain stop, ingest less progressively and/or consume it in healthier forms like tea or yerba mate or cocoa

a healthier diet will make you feel better and therefore be less likely to need it

try alternatives like ginseng

so to sum it up

decide if you want to just have less intake or none at all

if you still want to consume it and are worried about health effects take it in healthier forms

use highest quality sources of these things


hope that helps kinda!
 
yeah, there are things (especially fruit) that taste fucking amazing and sugary or just amazing that are amazingly good for you. It's not like you need to completely eliminate all these things, just try to live an overall healthier life and keep those things in MODERATION.
 
I have given up smoking and I don't look back on that one. There is no up side and I hate feeling like a resiny smoky furnace filter.

Refined sugar has no place in my, or anyone who likes their health's diet. It is almost impossible to avoid yes, but I analyze everything I eat (it's second nature now, takes NO effort) and I avoid 98% of refined sugar.

Alocohol I have no problem with, and I believe a few beers a week to be healthy. (Never more than 2 a night, and not more than 5 a week).

http://nutrition.about.com/od/hydrationwater/a/beer_Nutrition.htm

Caffeine drains me, but I drink green tea, high quality coffee, yerba, etc.

You can have my caffeine when you pry it from my cold dead hands, and etc.

: )
 
quitting caffeine has been one of the most healthiest things i've done for myself all year long. I feel much better overall now that I'm off that junk (it is a very dirty drug if you think about all the negatives).

I now take a tiny bit of piracetam and fish oil in the morning and that gives me a cognitive boost I need without all the crappy peripheral effects of coffee/tea.
 
^^don't the anti-oxidants and other healthy things in green tea greatly outweigh the negative effects from caffeine? Doesn't green tea also have a much lower amount of caffeine than coffee?
 
getting off nicotine and caffeine has been the best thing I've ever done. Although I still have the occasional latte maybe twice a month. I'll smoke the occasional cigarette too but very occasionally. Much better than waking up and needing coffee and a cigarette within 30 minutes.
 
Do you mean that these addictions are socially acceptable or society "makes you do it'? If it is the latter, that is a lame excuse.
It is not that hard to break these habits and replace with healthy ones. It is not impossible.

I haven't smoked cigs in almost 3 years. I smoked for 16. I smoked about 55-75 cigs per week. Cold turkey lasted a few months. The patch for 30 days worked for me.

No booze since May 2008. One minor slip-up since w/approx 1-2oz of vodka. It was tough getting back into social situations where alcohol was involved which was everywhere we went. I had to re-learn my social skills. Alcohol is a great social lubricant and "medication".

However, I smoke pot daily. That is my form of escape, alternative relaxation. and thinking cap.

I haven't eaten refined sugar in over 2 years. The reward of feeding my body with what I need is enough motivation.

I like my caffeine in the form of my morning coffee and lunchtime green tea. In moderation, it is good for me.
 
I was able to quit caffiene when I realized that what I really wanted to do was to drink something. So I switched to alcohol.

Just kidding. I now can say I drink a ton of water and I feel a ton better for it.
 
Smoking ciggies and alcohol and drugs, I overdid to the point of illness when I was younger. By default, I quit, but I re-introduced them gently after something of a detox. Now, I try to do them in moderation. Sometimes I fail... It's normal, but generally I am good. I try to keep myself in check by remembering the misery I had to go through.

Refined sugars, I got off that years ago, because I realized the effect it had on my body. I started with experimentation-- leaving it out of my diet, eating it again, etc. I realized it made me feel hazy and acidic.

I completely stopped eating it, like a hardball stance, and this helped stop my body from being used to it. That was an important step for me. After that, I started eating the occasional cake, dessert, sauce, with refined sugar. My standing rule is that I will not eat corporate, mass-manufactured stuff. This basically eliminates all sickly sweet shit and leaves me with the quality fresh stuff. I love eating, so this is important for me. Generally, I lay off the sugary stuff, but when I do have them, I follow them with a cup of tea or hot water.

I stick to this by bringing raw sugar when I travel (for dipping those stick rice cakes in, mmm), leaving a bottle raw sugar at some of my favorite establishments (like my favorite hot cacao joint, they use it when I order).

I stay away from all artificial sweeteners.

I try not to deny myself anything I really like. I find that going for quality of quantity has generally allowed me to be healthier.
 
what's wrong with a big hit of simple sugar if your body can handle it? nothing hits the spot after a big hike like a slurpee from 7-11. its pure energy and the fastest way of replenishing one's glucose reserves. they dye is probably less than good, but big deal, it passes through you.
 
everything in moderation right?

i really enjoy all these things, i just keep the above in mind.

as a self proclaimed hedonist looking to maximize pleasure and whatnot this is the key. too much too often and it looses its pleasure.

for instance i used to smoke weed every free second of my day, not only was i constantly burnt out but weed was like a 20 minute quasi-high at that point. now i smoke only in the evenings and it is so much more enjoyable...

plus remember alchohol in moderation is healthy and alot of caffeine containing plants (cocoa, yerba mate, tea) have a lot of healthy stuff in it (various phytonutrients, antioxidents, vitamins/minerals)

caffeine intake is also supposed to be good preventative medicine for Alzheimers and it keeps ya regular (relaxes smooth muscle i believe?)

i even think nicotine in moderation can be a healthy thing... actually for the same reasons as caffeine is that i mentioned above...
 
Mehm said:
what's wrong with a big hit of simple sugar if your body can handle it? nothing hits the spot after a big hike like a slurpee from 7-11. its pure energy and the fastest way of replenishing one's glucose reserves. they dye is probably less than good, but big deal, it passes through you.
Click to expand...

Occasional for me is alright... but chronic refined sugar makes my digestion function a little off, my mouth a tad sour, with some mucus produced, and my head a bit hazy. I wouldn't say the direct effect is the same for everyone, though. I feel it especially now that I don't consume it regularly...

Long-term refined sugar consumption has been found to cause calcium depletion, liver over-burdening (this statement is especially common in Eastern medicine), as well as generally higher levels of acidity. In ayurveda, it is said that refined sugar increases fermentation rates.

Then again, the occasional indulgence is indispensable for me. I feel sort of lucked out that they don't make everything with raw sugar, otherwise I would probably be obese... just this afternoon I had a slice each of banoffee pie and hazelnut torte. :o
 
Last edited:
Perpetual Indulgence said:
Do you mean that these addictions are socially acceptable or society "makes you do it'? If it is the latter, that is a lame excuse.
Click to expand...

Neither.

For me, I have a lot of difficulty functioning in the world, I have difficulty with routine and understanding linear processes, A to B tasks and the like. I find myself returning to the listed drugs again and again because they help me adapt to that environment. Nothing chains me down into a straight line like nicotine, nothing directs the path like coffee, nothing settles my vertigo like stuffing my face with starches, and of course alcohol can give one respite to the whole struggle in end. I still think this is a lame excuse, though. I KNOW how unhealthy this behavior is. It's all completely self-contradictory. But the healthy cycle that I can clearly visualize and that I want to integrate seems to be direct conflict with what I need in order perform comprehensibly in the world's chattering rhythm.

---

As for cannabis, since it was mentioned. If anything, I want to smoke more cannabis. When I smoke cannabis alone it has the ability to completely eliminate my nicotine withdrawals. But cannabis enhances the senses, the listed drugs either dull or direct them.
 
^Interesting that you should say that about cannabis and nicotine withdrawals. I actually quit smoking cigarettes simply by increasing my cannabis consumption. Every time I wanted a cigarette, I'd rip the bong -- and for some reason, the nicotine craving would disappear completely. It was probably just placebo, but hell, it worked like a charm for me. Haven't had even a single cigarette in over a year and I used to smoke a pack a day. :)
 
In the first 6 months of quitting cigs, I smoked joints. It satisfied that hand to mouth habit after a meal. I prefer the bong and/or vaporizer. Now joints and pipes hurt my throat.
 
I broke my addiction to these substances awhile ago.
Now I feel so much healthier and it's easier for my body to handle some of the other things I put into it to have fun.

I'm fortunate that I don't really like refined sugar all that much, so that was easy.
Quitting smoking was the hardest thing I ever did, and I only smoked for about 6 years, but I haven't gone back after 7, so I know that monkey is forever off my back.

I used to be addicted to caffeine, but I didn't like needing something to get me going. Now I'll have one or two lattes in a week, but generally for the taste, not as a pick me up. I drink tea, but usually ones lighter in caffeine. It's handy because if I really need to wake up, I can have 2 cups of coffee and it'll actually affect me!

I don't see the need to quit drinking entirely. I manage a restaurant, and having a drink after work is one of my great pleasures. With a nice dinner, a glass of wine is better than dessert for me. I never want to become addicted to alcohol - I'm watching it slowly kill my mother. That will never happen to me.
 
i told sugar to gtfo and haven't had a cold in years. but i buy more interesting shit when i grocery shop. i find that most people buy SERIOUSLY WAY TOO LITTLE fruits and veggies. i'll always get a mango or some berries, lemons and limes... colourful things that look better than the shit-brown wrapper of the snickers bars they stack up right in front of the register so that anyone who is PMSing in line can grab the latest copy of woman's world and voraciously inhale four candy bars before they're out of the store. well, what Student said about cooking/baking/whatever. once you get a good feel for what flavours go well together you can whip up some pretty crazy intense shit. i use stevia in my coffee and if i go just a single drop over my average dose it'll be literally too sweet. stevia is to sweet what the craziest pepper you ever heard of is to hotstuff.

anyway, stevia's good. i dont buy any processed foods and still manage to get as much content for my money as people buying all kinds of kraft dinner knockoffs and fill-yer-own tacos. fruits are surprisingly inexpensive for what you get out of them. this is becoming redundant. i'm tired
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top