#1 2019-10-20 00:00

Psychedaddy
Member
Registered: 2019-04-01
Posts: 260

My two steps to avoiding addiction

Recently I heard of a woman who was taking 5 boxes of codeine every day just to feel normal, yet she didn't think she was addicted.

I googled 'how to avoid addiction' and read a few websites. It was a waste of time. They say things like 'just say no to drugs'. 'Get a hobby'.

No, that is useless. We want a buzz, and it is possible for a lot of people to do it semi-regularly and responsibly.

Disclaimer: I'm not a professional, I'm not even particularly well informed. This is just my experience. I'm probably not the best person to teach this, as avoiding addiction seems easy to me. But this is aimed at people like the woman above. Obviously we're talking about addictive substances like meth / uppers / opioides.

Heres the thing I think some people miss: drugs are not a magical cure to all your lifes problems. I know it feels like it the first time you take it. You think cool, I'll just take this every day and I'll be more sociable / a harder worker / nicer to people.

Not gonna work.

If we were designed, our creator was a bit of a cruel fella who decided that every high must come with a low. When the low comes you think, well, I'll just fix it by taking more drugs. This is just delaying and multiplying the inevitable.

1) ACCEPT THAT THERE WILL BE A LOW

Its better to go through it now, than push it to tomorrow and make it worse.

2) SET A HARD LIMIT ON YOUR DOSAGE
Before you even take it for the first time. Perhaps look at what is considered a 'strong' dose (for example 100mg). Tell yourself you will never under any circumstances take any more than that.

On Monday you take 20mg and feel great. Tuesday was gonna be a sober day, but some asshole customer was mean to you and you need cheering up. 20mg isnt doing anything today so you take 50mg for a good buzz. You tell yourself its ok, Wednesday can be a sober day. Well, Wednesday you get home and your cat has been run over. You tell yourself its a one off tragic event so you need your escape. 50mg isnt doing anything today so you take 100mg. Thursday is a quiet day at work but you are struggling. Totally miserable, headache, body aches. You get home and you've been robbed. All your valuable possessions gone. You're at an all time low. Its very tempting to take more, but you remember your rule. You have no choice but to go through the pain. Without your hard limit, it may be tempting to say 'just one more day'. One more day may cross the line where the pain of the low is too intense for you to get through by yourself.

To me its as easy as that. Depending on your genetics it may be much harder for you.

Interested to hear input and tips from people more knowledgeable than me. Hell, if this is terrible advice let me know and I'll delete it.

#2 2019-10-20 00:40

squarecircle
Member
Registered: 2019-10-15
Posts: 53

Re: My two steps to avoiding addiction

Good thoughts.

#3 2019-10-20 12:40

nztor
Member
Registered: 2019-04-08
Posts: 44

Re: My two steps to avoiding addiction

If you've ever been addicted to benzodiazepines and quit, then knowing the hell of the withdrawal is a big motivator to never build up a tolerance again. Being addicted to opiates isn't so bad in comparison.

#4 2019-10-20 20:20

NZanabolics
Banned
Registered: 2019-04-03
Posts: 115

Re: My two steps to avoiding addiction

It sounds simple, but these people aren't rational thinkers. Drug addicts or addicts in general can't and/or won't impose rules and limits on their use. That's why they are addicts in the first place, they have no self control.

#5 2019-10-21 00:00

mushieboy
Member
Registered: 2019-04-29
Posts: 33

Re: My two steps to avoiding addiction

Everything in moderation. Including moderation.

Sometimes you just need a bender.

#6 2019-10-21 14:10

alicethecamel
Member
Registered: 2019-09-02
Posts: 41

Re: My two steps to avoiding addiction

Everything in moderation. Including excess.

A sober day a week, sober week each month and a sober month each year are always refreshing reminders of any dependence you might be building.

#7 2019-10-21 22:10

walt1
Member
Registered: 2019-05-30
Posts: 66

Re: My two steps to avoiding addiction

Psychedaddy wrote:

Its better to go through it now, than push it to tomorrow and make it worse.

Just the reminder I needed right now, cheers.


Up 4 days, down 4 dollars.

#8 2019-10-25 16:10

Friskcd
Member
Registered: 2019-10-25
Posts: 2

Re: My two steps to avoiding addiction

To beat a current addiction you need to have reasons beyond feeling good in the moment, such as taking pride in your willpower or seeing suffering as a path to building strength for its own sake. Consumerist society tells you that feeling good is the ultimate goal, but your body is going to decay, things that feel good will lose their luster, and then you will die and it won't feel good to go through that. When you understand you are a being who is going to die and the passage of time will erase everything, you can see that your good feelings are not so important and you can go through bad feelings because they are as temporary as good feelings. Knowing the fact that you are going to die (and prior to that you will decay) gives you real freedom because there is nothing in life that is unbearably painful since it will always end.

#9 2021-11-21 23:40

diggeroo
Member
Registered: 2021-11-21
Posts: 32

Re: My two steps to avoiding addiction

Andrew Huberman podcasts has some good info about Dopamine and how it makes you want to do things like eat and motivates movement.

This video talks about a home lab trying to synthesis MPPP (something like opiate) but accidentally made MPTP. MPTP kills dopamine neurons and anyone that took it became frozen unable to move or even blink.
https://youtu.be/QmOF0crdyRU?t=1831

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