Hi Everyone,

I am new to this site and it's great to have a place a to share experiences and hopefully help each other.

I am very curious about addiction. I am an addict myself and I have been in recovery for over 7 months. It's funny because the more I learn, the more I realise how much I don't know.

I am a very curious kind of guy. I was wondering what it is that you would like to know about addiction to see if we share the same questions.

Looking forward to your replies.

Have a wonderful.

God bless,
Ryan

Well actually I think I know most all I need to know. The only thing I don't know is when the cravings will start coming really bad. I am on day 28 off of oxy's and norco's and a few other things to boot. Towards the end I only took them to feel normal. I didn't get anything else from the pills except for a large amount of debt that I am trying to clean up. I am wondering how long it takes for your brain receptors to funtion normally I heard that opiates mess with your brain.

Interesting.

My addiction took me to being a hard cocaine user and I was desperate to find a way to stop for health reasons. I new that one more trip to the hospital would have been my last.

I tried everything from hypnosis, NLP and other therapies but nothing worked. When I say I was desperate, I am not kidding. One of my friends suggested to me to go and check out a 12 step meeting and I did. And since the beginning of the year I have been clean (and sober). At the beginning it was tough. The mental obsession was haunting me and I started having suicidal thoughts. I wasn't sure if I was going to make it.

I continued to go to meetings and then started on some of the work which was suggested and only through my spiritual growth did the mental obsession start to leave me and now I don't get the mental obsessions anymore. For me, craving is something I get when I put the first drug in my bod. So as long as I deal with the obsession, and I won't take the first one. So, I won't have to deal with any cravings.

I do think about it but then the thought leaves my mind. It will stay like this as long as I continue to live life on spiritual terms.

shell for me the craving hit hard and fast about the 6th week at that point I was feeling pretty good getting back to normal and for some reason pills popped in and I thought what the hell I can control it I can take just one. Once you feed the beast again it keeps telling you it wants more. When I relapsed I was worse than what I was when I quit it was almost like making up for lost time. If you see the signs or know the cravings are coming do your best to keep bz til they pass otherwise you could slip. Hey you might not even get the cravings. Mine came more when I was stressed or bored. That thought enters man I bet 1 pill will get me wasted and you start obsessing on that thought and the next thing you know I was popping a pill!!! Your doing great 28 days is awsome now push for 28 more and so on. Good luck. Kim

Thanks, I also know I should probably get my butt to a meeting. I went to one AA but I think I also need NA. I have been using the excuse that I feel so crappy, but now I am feeling way better so that excuse don't cut it. I am a very spiritual person believe it or not I was praying everyday all through my drug use. I know there is a plan for me. From all I have been through I should have been dead along time ago. I believe I have been blessed, even in the Sxxx hole I am in now (money situation). I know I will get out of this. This board helps alot. Thanks for being here everyone!!

Thanks for your post Shell.

I have found praying and meditation helps me a lot. I am not a religious person. But I do have a Higher Power and I do call that God.

A friend of mine once said to me that I will find God when I stop playing him.

Blessings.

That is a good saying I will have to remember that one. Especially since I also have major codependent issues growing up with and alcoholic mother. I tend to want to get up into everything and try and fix it. It isn't my job to do that. Got to turn it over, and let go and let God.

Well, I am codependent as well and that's something that I have just started working on.

Not easy but very exciting. I am looking forward to one day soon having a loving and healthy relationship with someone.

I took a course in college and I learned just simple meditation things that really seemed to help me so much. One of them was just lighting candles and stare at them you kinda get hypnotized watching the flame. Also just close your eyes and count your breath long slow breaths you can even do that at work just count to ten. That helped alot during my no sleeping phase of w/d cause it got me focusing on something different than what I was doing and another is just writing 5-10 things down everyday that your happy for. Trust me some days it was hard to find just 1 thing but it lifted my mood some and helped me realized I did have some good things happening. NA might help you also al anon might help with your codie (thats what they call it) behavior. You have one life to live so live yours to the fullest to short to try to make everyone happy just worry about making yourself happy and eventually all the pieces will come together for you. You will get out of that hole I have been there unfortunatly more than once! It sucks everytime. Good luck. Kim

Thanks Kim

Wow Kim,
Thanks. That was an awesome post and very inspirational. I'm saving yours, to print out and use. Thanks again.

Debbie

Your welcome we are all here to help each other and support each other and share ideas and some wisdom that will help others. I'm glad that helped you it all helped me so much even after 5min I feel more relaxed. Kim

Yes thans Kim! That is some good advice.

I agree with Kim. To take it a step further, you don't even need to actually light the candle. Just close your eyes and visualize a candle flickering. It will give you a real sense of power over yourself if you can distract your mind from the bad by visualizing something beautiful and peaceful.