• BASIC DRUG
    DISCUSSION
    Welcome to Bluelight!
    Posting Rules Bluelight Rules
    Benzo Chart Opioids Chart
    Drug Terms Need Help??
    Drugs 101 Brain & Addiction
    Tired of your habit? Struggling to cope?
    Want to regain control or get sober?
    Visit our Recovery Support Forums
  • BDD Moderators: Keif’ Richards

When do you think addiction is over?

Szuko000, sounds like denial.

Sounds like we have different views on addiction then as that was my whole point. How can something so personal to an individual be something other people can make assumptions about. my addiction was about a lot of things but it wasnt for the same reasons as a lot of people, those days are over and i am a completely different person now. I can tell when a phase of my life is over but thank you for the concern :)

I will give you one thing though, opiates dont bother me im cool with never again for all eternity. I really ruined that entire class even for medical reasons. However, crack does still enter my head. Its a fleeting idea when i see something that reminds me of it but thats the one i need to avoid because it was always impulsive. So that means 0 powder cocaine to because the second i do that ill be turning it into crack, i know this about me so both are off limits forever. But like i said they will ruin my future plans, of which i have a lot, so i couldnt care less.
 
Last edited:
I have given this a lot of thought over the last couple months. As someone who has been sober for two years, I have recently found myself wondering if I was ready to be a social drinker, if I had done the necessary work to fix why I drank so heavily, or if it is just something that cannot be fixed, which I have a hard time believing.. or if I would just fall back in to old patterns? I guess there is no way to know until I try, or is this just a part of sobriety, the constant wondering and temptation?
 
^ to be quite honest if you are considering using your DOC after it was harmful to you then you are still an addict, at least in my mind. The problem is that you will immediately fall back into old patterns if you try to use it again. But then I really cant talk because i was drinking every night in college because i was an emotional wreck and wasnt comfortable being me in a sense. So much has changed now that if i go out and drink its literally for a different reason so rather then having 10 drinks and getting wasted i have 2-3 and get social stop before i get drunk and have no hang over.

I feel a lot of addiction is a pattern of behavior and a reason for use, if you change the pattern and the reason and can avoid old pit falls then its not the same thing. I would absolutely never recommend returning to a substance that you had issues with as that is the definition of a bad idea but I can have a few drinks and not return to the state i was in... but then again i couldnt imagine drinking alone and being all depressive. Hell i cant even believe that was a part of my life from 20-23.

Again this is just my take on it and i know i have a very different view of addiction from most people. But then again heroin and cocaine are my mortal enemies as they stand the greatest chance of ruining my life beyond anything in this universe so i also know when to apply "never again" which is crucial.

I would seriously ask yourself "is it worth risking my future/progress to see if i can use my DOC again?" For me the answer is always no my future is worth more then my past to me.
 
You make some pretty good points. I guess I'm pretty confused where I am with my sobriety these days and I'm not sure why. For almost two years it was such a non issue but just during the last couple months I've be wondering about it all.. And it's not that I want to return to how I was before, or even get drunk again! It just seems exhausting sometimes to identify as a non-drinker/sober person. I think I just need to seek out more people like myself.. Sometimes I think I could handle myself, and other times I'm sure that it's just my brain trying to trick me..
 
I don't think addiction is ever over, it's always there. When you maintain sobriety things get better eventually in lots of ways, it's a constant struggle but worth it.
 
I think that in roughly 95% of the cases, it's not the addiction that is the problem. In those cases, addiction is a result of an underlying problem and develops, for example, as a mechanism of repressing emotions that are otherwise too difficult to cope with.

That being said: In my opinion an addiction won't ever truly be over unless the underlying cause has been properly processed and dealt with. When that has been taken care off, you'll have a chance of overcoming the addiction part eternally.
But that's just my view upon the matter and from that perspective, I'll be battling my addiction in the near future. Get psychological help to deal with my inner demons and once that's done, I'll put effort into reducing my drug use. Possibly even abstaining from it all together.
 
Lol all at all you lot for saying moderation is the key if you actually followed your own motto's and used drugs responsebly then you would't be on this form or be in the mess ya'll are in etc just saying think before preaching and judging next time
 
In my honest opinion, as many others have undoubtedly said, its never over until you're in the ground. For me I can binge on many different varities of drugs and be able to catch myself getting bad and force myself to abstain for a while...with the exception of heroin. Honestly, I think it really depends on what your primary DOC is. I went crazy with heroin and opiates way more than I ever have any other drug, but even with a 3.5 year sobriety despite being around it all day, everyday all it took was that one or two times thinking fuck it before I was back off to the races. I've known people who have gone as long as 7+ years and fallin quickly back into it after receiving prescription meds. Its all up to you, but no amount of time imo will ever change your behavoirs towards a drug. Nowadays I recently relocated and do it here and there but being honest with you and myself I know if I do it more than once every few months and give in to that though of "damn last night was fun lets repeat" I'd be right back where I was in no time.

In short, its never over. If you do decide to play with fire be veryyyy verryyyy careful or expect to eventually be burned.
 
Wow.. It's crazy how many of you experienced/former addicts say addiction is permanent.. And moderation being the key... There really is no going back from drugs..

From the abrupt periods of time that I've remained sober, one thing that's definitely true is that no matter your consensus on the particular addiction, the craving never goes away.. It lingers and conforms.. Inept with your emotions sort of.. Until bam, back at it again. How spacey.

I'm pretty sure it's justified to deem addiction as permanent... Needless to say habits of addiction can still easily be avoided with moderation.. Lock safe your drugs with a significant other or something that they only know the password too.. That's something I'd do if my addictions ever become out of control..
 
There is no such thing as cure for most of the things. E.g. once you had cancer you are very likely to get it again hence you must be vigilant. Once one was obese the one should always maintain a healthy lifestyle to stay slim. Once one was depressed that person must be careful in the future.

I would ask a couple of questions: 1. Does your addiction harm you? 2. Does your addiction harms those around you?
 
...I'm pretty sure it's justified to deem addiction as permanent... Needless to say habits of addiction can still easily be avoided with moderation.. Lock safe your drugs with a significant other or something that they only know the password too.. That's something I'd do if my addictions ever become out of control..

I would add that there are not many things that are cured once and for all. Once depressed and then "cured" should always stay vigilant, even cancers are likely to come back etc. etc.
 
This thread hit me kinda hard and made me remember something i use to boast of in the name of drug use...using without being dependent.
I know it is possible (at least for many years) to use but still force yourself to abstain enough to avoid addiction.
I honestly don't know if addiction ever ends once it has started, but i imagine there has to be those who made it out alive and never looked back.
It seems that if someone was truly fed up with being dependent they could choke the life out of that damn monkey.
Though it seems if they still occasionally gave monkeys piggy back rides they would run the risk of one establishing residency.
Maybe full abstinence is the only way? I honestly don't know.
I only gave piggy back rides for years and then one day, some time last summer, the monkey decided he wanted to stay.

I have been able to evict the clingy bastard about 3 times since then, but as i have no desire to stop giving rides, eventually the bastard grabs on and demands that i cater to him. I don't really like the idea of being stuck to a monkey...but i don't have any desire to stop hanging out with my monkey at least every now and then.

If someone could just find a way to make monkeys not get so violent when you try to put them down for a few days.8)
 
Top