• The Dark Side 💕 Welcome Guest 💕
    Posting Rules Bluelight Rules
    Notable Threads Urgent Hotlines
    Bereavement Mindfulness
    Suicide Support Anger Management
  • TDS Moderators: AlphaMethylPhenyl | paranoid android

what gives you pleasure once drugs are gone?

xxsicknessxx

xxsicknessxx

Bluelighter
Joined
Jun 26, 2008
Messages
1,014
what gives you pleasure once drugs are gone? like how do you replace that ox at the end of the day or a beer at the end of the day?

I know working out helps during the day but what about at night? Like someone like me ive taken something to sleep sense I was 19.. something some drug.. prescribed or drank. And I find dreading falling to sleep for lots of reasons, but more then anything its just.... disturbing... I want to ask my doctor to prescribe something else but im wondering if other people have things that work for them (none drugs)

maybe a night time walk, or a shower or something I dunno give me ideas thanks.. something relaxing.. maybe a natrual sleep aid? any thoughts


what do you do after a long day of work if not drugs?
 
It's dificult at first, right after starting your sobriety to know what to do. Everything seems boring or not worth doing, or too much effort. It's commonly called Anhedonia. Your body was so used to being in overdrive and stimulated all of the time so when you try to do things that "normal" people do, such as relaxing at home and watching tv after work, or laying in the sun, going for a walk--they all seem very boring and unstimulating.

With time you will be able to calm down and learn to enjoy the "simpleton" stuff again.

Going for walks always helped me in the beginning. Arts and crafts, growing a garden or tending to flowers or trees. Anything to give you a feeling of pride and accomplishment.
 
The longer amount of time I spend off drugs, the more i start to actually appreciate the worlds treasures; friends; important events; scenery; reads etc etc.
Also, of course, Bluelight often keeps my mind busy.. I am pretty resilient to triggers, so when Im drugless and sober I actually enjoy getting deep into nasty entries.
Also, drawing painting and graffiti art tend to grow on me more
 
I.ve taken to growing herbs, basil and thyme and mint etc, does seem to help, nice to see them grow and cook with. Feels a bit like i.m connecting.
I make some electronic music when i can be arsed, lots of movies but can't seem to get into tv at all.
Does seem boring and i.m often thinking of what i could use at some point, but for me at the moment its all natural, so super strong chamomile tea's with peppermint chaser.
 
That is the hardest thing for me right now. Since I am not getting high, I notice that i want sex alot more. I think about it alot more....but I don't want to go out there and have a one night stand right now. So I masturbate...alot. It helps to put me to sleep. Also chamomile tea and melatonin are supposed to work. I find melatonin makes me edgy and I wake up in the middle of the night on it, but it is natural.
 
^ I agree with this about sex, that my interest in it has skyrocketed again since I got off of heroin. Though the early-recovery lifestyle is not the best one for supporting this, as sex/dating is a touchy subject in a lot of recovery communities. And at least for me it took alcohol and/or drugs in my system to give me the boldness/confidence to attract women, so don't be surprised if you have to really go out of your comfort zone here. If you have a significant other or a friend-with-benefits, then I do suggest really exploring sober sexuality, but pursuing sex/intimacy can trigger a relapse if things don't go your way.

I have used working out as a replacement addiction. Something that happens is that once you get the drugs out of your system on a regular basis, your body is primed again for health/fitness goals. And it's kinda cool seeing your body go through a transformation, and this can give you the momentum to keep going if you start to get bored with exercise. The only problem here is that fitness progress does plateau, so you need to have other things to keep you happy once the progress slows. Don't put all of your eggs in the fitness basket.

I find that reading also helps pass time. I can get more out of books if I read them with a clear head. If you're an intellectual, getting back into "thinking mode" can really help you with your fragile self-confidence/esteem.

Traveling and seeing new places also helps. When addicted, especially to something physically, traveling makes a person think about running out of drugs and going into WD, but once you get clean, you don't have this anxiety anymore and can go exploring.

At the end of the day, though, getting clean/sober is not going to feel like a six-pack and a few lines, though. It's just not. The rewards come through the effort put in. It's no longer about instant-gratification.
 
Weed is still a drug. A dependency on anything is not really pleasant. Lots of masturbation/sex is good. I personally just enjoy flirting and spending time with girls. Its just something about female companionship that makes me feel whole inside... *sigh* i miss her...
 
exercise, sport, friends, family, sex, food, keep the run of sobriety going...keeping the sobriety streak alive
 
<snip - this rant about weed is completely off topic and does not contribute to the OPs original question.>
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Reading before bed is good. It's a relaxing activity and a lot of "sleep experts" seem to think that looking at a screen right before trying to sleep isn't ideal. I also agree that if you have a partner sex is a satisfying end to the day and makes it easier to get to sleep.
 
yeah i mean u could say that masterbating all the time is a sex addiction everything can be addictive if u chose to smoke weed just dont let it get outa control just like anything enjoyable in life. but i would understand if u didnt wanna smoke bud because your a drug user and fall into that cycle.
 
privatestock1988 said:
cannabis is natural sleep aid why cant u smoke weed? dont wanna get into another expensive potential habit?
Click to expand...

Replacing addictions doesn't work all that well. Cannabis does help you get to sleep, but let's be honest, it certainly isn't all that great for your health to smoke weed, and you're still getting high which in the end is rather counter productive to the purpose of this thread.
 
^ agreed. It's really easy to go from alcohol to weed to sex in attempt to get off of, say, cocaine or morphine. The problem lies in transfering addictions, which are really all getting to the same point- escape of self/ life on life's terms.

To offer some advice op, I would recommend trying 5-htp, it's an amino acid in capsule form and does wonders for insomnia. 100-200 mg nightly, along with meditation, reading, and tea ( raspberry and chamomille for relaxation) should do the trick. Also, bubble baths and back rubs, stretching/yoga seem to work as well.

Hope this helps
 
Another tip people often advise about sleep which I'm not sure how important it is but you might like to try is to keep your bedroom as pretty much exclusively a sleep area. Hang out elsewhere when you're awake and only go in there to sleep.
 
privatestock1988 said:
yeah i mean u could say that masterbating all the time is a sex addiction everything can be addictive if u chose to smoke weed just dont let it get outa control just like anything enjoyable in life. but i would understand if u didnt wanna smoke bud because your a drug user and fall into that cycle.
Click to expand...

I did heroin a few times on weekends. I said I would never do it on a weekday, I would never do it twice in a row--I would never let it get out of control. Either you're new to the drug game or you've never done any drug other than weed. It gets out of control man. That's what drugs do. All of them. Stop contiuing to recommend weed as an alternative way for the OP to get on with his life post-drugs.
 
I wasn't saying letting sex take over your life. I was saying masturbating to calm down to go to bed. If you are out doing something and you feel like you need to go home right away to get off, yeah that would be an addiction. I am still very much annoyed with most men right now so sex with someone else is out of the question.
 
My post gets snipped and everyone elses gets to stay. Because mine was off topic. How because I stated facts and not a bunch of utter bullshit spewed out to just sound good. Weed is far less harmful to you than an un healthy relationship that will happen from your sex addiction. Or how about tweaking out on coffee every morning just to wake up and be social. Or how about taking 30 smoke breaks through the day to deal with your stress. Yeah because all that is so much better and excellent advice. It seems that a police state of prohibition has taken over TDS. It should be about any and all info that helps. Not with holding info that doesnt flow just right with the main stream or your MOD ideas. Seems a little bit of a power trip, just my two cents.
 
indicameds said:
My post gets snipped and everyone elses gets to stay. Because mine was off topic. How because I stated facts and not a bunch of utter bullshit spewed out to just sound good. Weed is far less harmful to you than an un healthy relationship that will happen from your sex addiction. Or how about tweaking out on coffee every morning just to wake up and be social. Or how about taking 30 smoke breaks through the day to deal with your stress. Yeah because all that is so much better and excellent advice. It seems that a police state of prohibition has taken over TDS. It should be about any and all info that helps. Not with holding info that doesnt flow just right with the main stream or your MOD ideas. Seems a little bit of a power trip, just my two cents.
Click to expand...

yeah its funny ppl recommend things like melatonin or valarian root those are drugs too but weed is bad
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top