Addiction advice thread

Dolby said:
Bipolar man ... you reckon one can be bipolar and a sociopath?

I've read a few things online they say yes - but logically I understand bipolar have too many feelings/emotinos (albeit up, down, uncontrolable) while a sociopath has none?

How is it possible?
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If Bipolar goes untreated for too long a person can develop paranoid schitzophrenia....Should a prolonged "manic" eposode occur the Bipo;lar person would be in a constant state of having a "God complex" and as a result will only care about his/her own immediate needs and will have an utter disregard for anyone else...If this make him/her a sociopath then I guess the answer is yes.
 
AA/NA is the biggest load of **** ever.

Read this when you have (alot) of time http://www.orange-papers.org/

EDIT : I know you personally didn't attend, but I get quite peeved when I hear of any of these 'anonymous' cults. They brain wash you totally so when you get out, you're not remotely the same person that went in.

Sexual predators galore and that group is so incestuous it's scary. I told my exgirlfriend after a month of her attending that it's bad news - we ended the relationship totally because of of NA guy eventually.

On top of that, it hardly works (read the stats on that page) and in some cases, recovery is *worse* with AA/NA than without.

Everything she did, spoke about, lived was NA for those 3 months. Sponsor this, attend this charity, this meeting, this picnic ... it gave me a pure hatred of the cult.

/rant over
 
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STEP ONE: Many addictive substances damage or shut down the digestive process, so your brain will not be nourished properly.

Amino acids, contained in protein and essential fats are key. They are found in nuts, lentils and beans, seeds, root and green leafy vegetables, and oily fish such as mackerel, salmon, herring and kippers.

STEP TWO: Drink around eight glasses of water a day and also take a multi-vitamin - zinc and magnesium and B vitamins are vital.

STEP THREE: Anyone who has quit an addictive substance but continues to rely on other stimulants - such as nicotine, caffeine and sugar - still has an addicted brain.

Try to reduce and eliminate these. They tax your body and the more you rely on them the more stressed and tired you become. They reduce the benefit you get from the brain's natural stimulants - dopamine, noradrenalin and adrenalin.

STEP FOUR: Addiction recovery is more than abstinence, eating correctly and taking supplements.

"Enjoying life is an essential part of giving up and staying clean," Holford says.

STEP FIVE: Taking digestive enzymes with meals can help you digest your food completely, glutamine powder can heal the gut lining, and probiotic supplements can help increase the 'friendly' bacteria essential for gut health.

STEP SIX: Get the past out of your future. Talking about issues that may be troubling you, and if necessary get support from specialists such as counsellors or support groups, such as AA (Alcoholics Anonymous).
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Although group sessions didn't work for me..But NA or AA could benefit others...For the more hardcore addictions like heroin, I advise medical assistance in getting through the withdrawals without dying.
 
Bondizzo said:
How do addicts afford it, aren't drugs expensive ?
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They prey upon those with a good heart (boyfriends, mothers, siblings etc) to get money - or simply steal the cash.

I've written off R25,000.00
 
Dolby said:
They prey upon those with a good heart (boyfriends, mothers, siblings etc) to get money - or simply steal the cash.

I've written off R25,000.00
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It's not only addiction to substances that destroy lives...Eating disorders are probably the most dangerous of all addictions...
 
Dolby said:
They prey upon those with a good heart (boyfriends, mothers, siblings etc) to get money - or simply steal the cash.

I've written off R25,000.00
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So true. I've written off hundreds of thousands. The addict will worm her way into your heart and wreck havoc. AA/NA is like an insider trade school where they perfect their tradecraft and they shag each other while they're at it.
 
Hosehead said:
AA/NA is like an insider trade school where they perfect their tradecraft and they shag each other while they're at it.
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Exactly my feeling.

After a month of my ex being involved I pulled her aside and told her my feelings that everyone is too close and she gets on with other druggies so well that I'm insecure.

She told me I was being ridculous as the only thing in common is drugs, and she couldn't only speak about that with a guy.

Two months later a 2 1/2 year relationship was killed due a guy from N/A ... coffee, phone calls, flirting, SMS's. The place is pure evil.
 
Dolby said:
Exactly my feeling.

After a month of my ex being involved I pulled her aside and told her my feelings that everyone is too close and she gets on with other druggies so well that I'm insecure.

She told me I was being ridculous as the only thing in common is drugs, and she couldn't only speak about that with a guy.

Two months later a 2 1/2 year relationship was killed due a guy from N/A ... coffee, phone calls, flirting, SMS's. The place is pure evil.
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Is it not that way because they are maybe (subconsciously) replacing the addiction with another one (promiscuous relationships) ?
 
blunomore said:
Is it not that way because they are maybe (subconsciously) replacing the addiction with another one (promiscuous relationships) ?
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I don't think so.

It makes sense that they'd substitute, but (for me) it's too coincidental for most the groups to substitute for the same addiction (promiscuous relationships).

I've been to an NA meeting of about 30 people - *every* one of the girls has been approached or slept with each other. Guys go *specifically* to NA to pick up vulnerable girls when they first join.
 
blunomore said:
Is it not that way because they are maybe (subconsciously) replacing the addiction with another one (promiscuous relationships) ?
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I think it's a bit more complicated than this.

Giving up a serious addiction is seriously stressful so the emotional bonds that get formed with people going through the same thing can be extremely strong. It can sometimes be a logical conclusion that more serious relationships form.

Also NA/AA are crutches. They are not ideal but a lot of people need them to get through serious problems with addiction.
 
BrendanD said:
Giving up a serious addiction is seriously stressful so the emotional bonds that get formed with people going through the same thing can be extremely strong.
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On a lighter note: if that is the case, it is just as well that there aren't something like Debtors Anonymous :D
 
Blunomore - read through http://www.orange-papers.org/ when you have time. It actually opens your mind to what AA/NA is. Read the 'effictiveness' hre http://www.orange-papers.org/orange-effectiveness.html

For example the recovery rate they speak of?

"Even the most ardent true believers who will be honest about it recognize that A.A. and N.A. have at least 90% failure rates. And the real numbers are more like 95% or 98% or 100% failure rates. It depends on who is doing the counting, how they are counting, and what they are counting or measuring.

A 5% success rate is nothing more than the rate of spontaneous remission in alcoholics and drug addicts. That is, out of any given group of alcoholics or drug addicts, approximately 5% per year will just wise up, and quit killing themselves.6 They just get sick and tired of being sick and tired, and of watching their friends die. (And something between 1% and 3% of their friends do die annually, so that is a big incentive.) They often quit with little or no official treatment or help. Some actually detox themselves on their own couches, or in their own beds, or locked in their own closets. Often, they don't go to a lot of meetings. They just quit, all on their own, or with the help of a couple of good friends who keep them locked up for a few days while they go through withdrawal. A.A. and N.A. true believers insist that addicts can't successfully quit that way, but they do, every day"
 
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Well done BD.ADHD, 7 years is a fantastic achievement.

I suffer from bipolar as well (type 1) and can relate to this line of thinking:

BipolarDude.ADHD said:
I wanted to either die or feel nothing at all...Heroin offered me both opportunities...I became an addict on purpose...i knew the life expectancy of a main-lining heroin addict was about 2 years and figured that would be long enough for me to quietly fade away and die...
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During one particularly bad depression, I also used to fantasize about being a heroin addict - not just a user, but a strung-out junkie. I figured that all the rest of my problems would become irrelevant to me; all that would occupy my time would be my fixation on getting more of the drug, or getting more money somehow, or getting high. The chances of an overdose also seemed appealing, and I thought it would be less hurtful for my family to deal with than my suicide.

Luckily I was living in a very small town in the middle of nowhere at the time. If heroin had been easily accessible, things might have been completely different.

Just typing this out makes me realise how irrational it was. I've come a long way.

Thanks for starting this thread bipolardude, one of the best I've read since joining the forum.
 
Opus said:
Well done BD.ADHD, 7 years is a fantastic achievement.

I suffer from bipolar as well (type 1) and can relate to this line of thinking:



During one particularly bad depression, I also used to fantasize about being a heroin addict - not just a user, but a strung-out junkie. I figured that all the rest of my problems would become irrelevant to me; all that would occupy my time would be my fixation on getting more of the drug, or getting more money somehow, or getting high. The chances of an overdose also seemed appealing, and I thought it would be less hurtful for my family to deal with than my suicide.

Luckily I was living in a very small town in the middle of nowhere at the time. If heroin had been easily accessible, things might have been completely different.

Just typing this out makes me realise how irrational it was. I've come a long way.

Thanks for starting this thread bipolardude, one of the best I've read since joining the forum.
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Thanks Opus...
Bipolar is scary when you don't have control of it and its that exact irrational thinking that led me straight into the welcoming arms of heroin addiction..
 
Dolby said:
Blunomore - read through http://www.orange-papers.org/ when you have time. It actually opens your mind to what AA/NA is. Read the 'effictiveness' hre http://www.orange-papers.org/orange-effectiveness.html

For example the recovery rate they speak of?

"Even the most ardent true believers who will be honest about it recognize that A.A. and N.A. have at least 90% failure rates. And the real numbers are more like 95% or 98% or 100% failure rates. It depends on who is doing the counting, how they are counting, and what they are counting or measuring.

A 5% success rate is nothing more than the rate of spontaneous remission in alcoholics and drug addicts. That is, out of any given group of alcoholics or drug addicts, approximately 5% per year will just wise up, and quit killing themselves.6 They just get sick and tired of being sick and tired, and of watching their friends die. (And something between 1% and 3% of their friends do die annually, so that is a big incentive.) They often quit with little or no official treatment or help. Some actually detox themselves on their own couches, or in their own beds, or locked in their own closets. Often, they don't go to a lot of meetings. They just quit, all on their own, or with the help of a couple of good friends who keep them locked up for a few days while they go through withdrawal. A.A. and N.A. true believers insist that addicts can't successfully quit that way, but they do, every day"
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Your sig would go down well at a really bad AA meeting...:)
 
Xanax (Xanor) / Valium Addiction.... :mad:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEIg1as2ppc[/ame]

http://www.myaddiction.com/xanax_addiction.html

These drugs are from the benzodiazepine class of drugs. What gets me is how doctors and Psychiatrists prescribe them so quickly knowing full well they are only to be used for short term treatment, they are highly addictive and there are other less severe treatments that can be used.

Now I have two family members who are probably addicted to this and in both cases the doctors have prescribed it as long term treatment. :mad:
 
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