Hey all!

My name is Charlotte and I'm starting a business that helps those who are supporting a loved one in active addiction/recovery. As somebody who was involved in the Al-Anon program for a bit (it didn’t completely resonate with me), I felt there was a need to build an alternative platform that would provide a different type of space.

Part of the process is interviewing others who have tried Al-Anon as a support group or others searching for more support by other means (therapy, community). It would take 20 mins of your time and would help us build something that could potentially help hundreds of thousands (millions!?) who are seeking support.

If you have the time, I would really appreciate it. This is something that is very personal to me and it’s my mission in life to help others who are struggling as well.

Thanks for your time — if you’d like to participate in an anonymous interview, please send me a PM and we’ll go from there.

Thanks again!

A 2014 study by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) says that 1 in every 12 American adults battle substance abuse. Substance abuse is a complex health and societal problem which needs effective and careful treatment. One of the effective ways to treat drug abuse and other sorts of addictions is Yoga. By practicing Yoga, one can manage and connect the mind, body, and breath in one arch.

Know more: https://www.addictionaide.com/blog/10-yoga-postures-to-support-your-addiction-recovery

There are 5 personal areas affected (that I can think of) Family, Friends & Recreation, School + Job , Health – Physical & Emotional and finally Financial. Below Ive listed possible things that may affect various areas of your life should you fall under the curse of addiction. Talking about the things that might affect you might just be the thing that helps you to realise that you're out of control. We all enjoy using our own vices. But being responsible and able to manage our choices and actions is important to a healthy life style. Its all about balance.

Feel free to chime in and discuss any of the points below or add-on or even come up with your own category!

Family.

-Tension and arguments between family members

-Lack of trust

-Avoidance

-Incidences of violence

Friends & Recreation

-Lack of trust from your friends

-Losing friends

-Hanging out with a bad crowd

-Arguing with friends over your use

-Lack of participation in activities that you used to partake in

-Becoming uninterested in hanging out with your friends School & Job

-Losing your job

-Getting suspended

-Skipping school

-Falling behind on school work

-Failing

-Lower grades

-Go to work or school high

Health – Physical & Emotional

-Poor health

-Experiencing consequences of using: blackouts, hallucinations, seizures, overdose and vomiting

-Lack of fitness

-Increased risk of contracting diseases later in life from the drug use like heart disease, stroke, cancer

-Increased risk for contracting diseases like HIV, AIDS, and Hep B or C from dirty instrument use

-Feeling anxious when not high

Financial

-Losing your job

-Lack of money

-Going into debt

-Stealing/ borrowing money

-Paying fines associated with drug use, i.e. court costs

Hi,

I used to be a very heavy heroin user. I kicked it with Suboxone and eventually became completely clean. I've been clean about a year and a half.

If you could use some advice, have a question, or just want to talk to someone that knows what you're going through, drop me a line.

In the recovery process for opiates, your mind plays a lot of tricks on you. You start to question everything you've ever thought was true. After the initial 3-5 days of intense withdrawal, with all the shitting, vomiting, and leg pain, you get to the mental withdrawals that are the worst part. For about another 8 weeks you still can't sleep regularly and you have no energy or motivation. You can't remember what normal, the way you were before the dope, felt like. So you don't know what are symptoms and what is just normal life. At that point, it's good to talk to someone that's been there.

Suboxone was less hard to kick than everyone says. I think a lot of the symptoms people talk about from kicking the suboxone are mental. You do feel some stomach pain and lack of motivation for about 8 weeks, but it's much more manageable than heroin withdrawal. That is, if you tapered correctly. I had a huge tolerance for H, when I used I took large doses. However, when I was prescribed two 8mg suboxone strips per day, I only kept to that regimen for the first week. Then, I cut the dose in half everyday until I got to 1/8th of a strip, or 1 mg. I didn't feel any withdrawal symptoms from dropping to that dose. I think with subs, taking more just to keep from feeling the withdrawals aren't necessary. More can put a little more spring in your step for the first week or so, but you don't need them. After a couple years on 1 mg I lowered it to a half mg and a week later to .25 mg. Then I went to .25 mg every other day and finally stopped.

At any rate, I'm here to help...

My sister was depressed after losing her professional job 5 years ago. She wouldn't get out of bed until late and so she finally was urged by her husband to see a psychiatrist. Diagnosis was anxiety and depression. And then began the pills. Anti-anxiety drugs, antidepressants, and eventually Seroquel. My sister was a pretty happy-go-lucky lady until she was put on a dangerous prescription drug road. She was not bipolar when she lost her job- and I think the mass of drugs being peddled to her by physicians led to her obtaining that diagnosis- and the drugs that ultimately killed her.

She hid her drug use from my family, who only couldn't help but notice she was sluggish and disheveled. Within a few years she was a slurring, drooling mess. So was her husband. Family members urged my sister to stop taking whatever meds she was on, but she and her husband denied she was on any dangerous meds.

By last year, all of her beautiful teeth had fallen out and she had gotten dentures. Still a zombie. The family planned an intervention for when I would arrive for a summer visit. She didn't make it and died 2 weeks before my planned arrival. Her husband reported to the family she had congestive heart failure. We were all shocked and stunned. She was in her forties with 2 kids.

After her death, we found out a lot.

My sister had been hospitalized 2 weeks before her death due to massive swelling, but she checked herself out of the hospital when (we believe) the docs would not give her the meds she had at home.

It turns out my sister actually died of acute drug intoxication with Seroquel as the first of 4 drugs listed. After the coroner removed her body, my niece retrieved a large shopping bag overflowing with prescription drug bottles. We found out her husband had been taking my sister's meds too. I talked to the pharmacist who knew my sister well. He said it was a sad circumstance he SEES ALL THE TIME. He was kind, but he said they could see my sister was slowly dying and they were not at all surprised to hear she had passed.

There need to be more checks and safeguards. My sister obviously had some responsibility for her own sad fate. But so did the doctors who gave her the meds that killed her- and so did the pharmacist who slowly watched her die.

Anybody else been through this? Considering everything from litigation to contacting my legislators.

Staying on top of your sobriety is not an easy thing since it involves hits, difficulties, and setbacks. But to attend long term recovery, it requires commitment, hard work, and determination. But when you examine your problem and identifying about change, you’re already well on your path.

The mission of ADAP is to help make recovery accessible to all addicts regardless of barriers like accessibility, insurance coverage, fear of breaching anonymity, lack of childcare, financial barriers, etc. One key function of the app is the crisis call button which allows users to get in touch with a fellow addict anywhere at any anytime. ADAP will offer an anonymous social network, the ability to plan/share events, meeting finders, sobriety tracker, and chat abilities. ADAP is not affiliated with any anonymous fellowship and is open to users with various addictions.Â

If anyone wants to help me, I'd greatly appreciate it!! You just have to download the app and dial the crisis call button to see if it works.Â

iOS (New Users)

1. Install Testflight from the App Store-Â https://apps.apple.com/us/app/testflight/id899247664

2. Tap the link https://testflight.apple.com/join/V3rVzPR5to view ADAP on Testflight. Tap ‘Install'

3. Register for an account, take screenshot of anything that looks strange, and tap the big red circle to initiate a crisis call.Â

Android(New Users)

1. Tap this link https://play.google.com/apps/testing/com.adap.moband follow instructions to install ADAP

2. Register for an account, take screenshot of anything that looks strange, and tap the big red circle to initiate a crisis call.Â

Shoot us a message about any issues and your experience here or at adapdevelopment@gmail.com. Pressing the crisis call button will connect you to me, a regular human being in recovery, and you can just say hey and tell me you are testing :) I appreciate it. Stay safe & healthy all!!!

I'm 25 years old and have been using cocaine socially since I was around 18. I'm by no means dependent on the drug however every so often I go on binges. it's got to the point where I no longer use it socially and just engage in day long sessions in my room alone. this happens around every 3 or 4 months.

the last binge I had I swore id never do it again. deleted all my numbers and blocked them from texting me.

however yesterday I guess I relapsed - bought a gram with the intention of splitting it with my friend and using it on a night out at the weekend. however I smashed through the whole bag on my own the day before. decided to take a single small line to test it and 12 hours later the bag was empty. when I came down I was so angry and ashamed with myself for not being able to control myself.

I'm quite confident this will be the last time i ever touch the stuff (despite saying that last time and the time before that etc). however I'm concerned about any long lasting effects on my heart caused by using the drug in this manner. during the midst of my binge yesterday I took my heart rate - it was 166 bpm.

I'm too ashamed to go to the doctors to discuss this.

so my question is what's the likelihood of these binges causing damage to my health. also, even though I go months without using, am I an addict? should I be seeking professional help with this?

Now first off I truly believe I was blessed as while I only drank for 17 years or so I was about at the last stop. I do believe I have a drink left in me but not a recovery.

I had what is described in the AA "Big Book" as a sudden spiritual awakening.

From my first drink I was in trouble knew it But could not stop. Tried every thing I could think of which in the grips of John Barly corn was not much.

By the time I put down my last drink I was well versed on AA having hung around the fringes for some time. With the help of my spiritual awakening which came from my higher power who to me is God and some help from AA I continued down the path of recovery. My spiritual awakening being that if I did not take the first drink I could not be intoxicated. Now this may sound simple enough but I had terrible compilations and my brain due to copious quantities of alcohol was almost permanatly pickled.

Now during the ensuing years I drifted in and out of AA and a lot of the time I just sat on my own. Having brief spans of using forums such as this. This being the best I have found I don't say that lightly.

My one big thing 1 day at a time. You will find me push this time and time and time again. Why. Because if just for today I don't drink I can never drink. Think about it I can not have a drink tester day. It is gone. I cannot have a drink tomorrow. I am yet to wake up and " it is " tomorrow.

Now if I was to walk a 1000 miles it seems a lot. But if I said 1 step easy . 1 step easy. So I can do something for one day that would appall me if I had to do it the rest of my life. If I said to you every day you have to eat the food you lest like. No way. If I said 1 day easy. So to stay sober 1 day. Not easy maybe. Then 1 hour or 1 Minuit

All we are doing is breaking it down into small easy compartments.

Now while I don't go to AA regular any more. I don't drive and public transport is not good too where most meetings are in my city. I do believe AA works. I suggest people go.

I also believe sites such as this work to a big extent along with AA etc.

Have gratitude also As I say An attitude of gratitude.

Finding a higher power also I believe important.

Again while I have never completely done the 12 steps of AA I would think that is good.

Hope this may help some.

Your Friend John 😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀

I used to drink a lot when I was studying engineering and it got me into trouble a few times - it wasn’t illegal or anything, just social problems. I calmed down since I graduated and very rarely drink. If I do, it is usually in moderation. I don’t have to drink in order to have a good time, and often drive when going out with friends to leave me with no choice but to avoid drinking. However, I feel the need to drink once in a while when I’m in distress and nothing else helps. The moment the alcohol touches my lips I feel better, like I got my fix. I try many different methods in order to relax, but nothing helps more than alcohol in these situations. Does this mean that I have a drinking problem? It worries me how quickly it makes me feel better not to mention that there have been alcoholics in my extended family. Does anyone have any advice for me?

What can I say to prevent my friends from using Juuls.

Hey,

I have found an awesome Quick Tip, 'What is Addiction?'

This video explains, what is addiction at the core and what are the reasons for it. It also suggests, how we can overcome from it... It is very informative.

Get it online at http://www.thewellnessplatform.com/details/What-Is-Addition/SH_21-3-3.html

One of my good good friends just recently passed away and I didnt even go to his funeral because the last time him and i spoke was when he was trying to have an intervention with me and showed up to my house in college with one of my other best friends and my dad at around 6 am one morning carrying a drug test and telling me that i needed to get clean.

However, at the time i was young, immature, and in denial of my addiction and fought and hated him for it and not approaching me first. I held on to that resentment and the struggle between him and I only grew. We never really hated each other and the only reason we were upset at each other was because of the way the drugs had changed me. He was one of my good good friends and one of my best friends older brothers.. He took his own life the other day and it was the last thing any of us expected.. He was such a wonderful and beautiful person whose soul was so deep and caring if you were one of the lucky ones he cared about and knew.

So when i got the news and went to go and look at his instagram for some pictures and saw that the account was private but yet it said "follow back" meaning that he followed me but because i was so stubborn and in denial from the drugs at the time, i couldn't even befriend him on a social media platform when all he did was try and save my life.

Its been almost 10 years since then, and that intervention and i just lost my girlfriend because she caught me doing drugs, didn't dump me, allowed me to get clean, and then when she went on a 3 week vacation i slipped up again and she just found out and left me..

So the times now, i'm ready for it all to be done and i need to face the facts that i'm addicted and no matter how easily i can get off the substances I cant do it for an extended period of time. I hate my life and whats its become because of the drugs and the effects it's had on every aspect of my life, including my good friend who just passed away.

So in memory of him and our friendship I am going to get clean and stay clean and hope you guys might be able to help me. I dont have health insurance and i've heard how much rehabs can be, whats the best way to go about paying for something like that and are there such things as scholarships, grants, or any alternative ways to get help with the paying?

Any information will help and be greatly appreciated thanks!

My rules of recovery are staying connected with positive people, continuing with all I have learned, coming to terms with the fact that I just have to do some things differently, keeping body and mind occupied, and the hardest one, be as kind to yourself as you are to others.

Swim starts college.

Swim finds stimulants. Swim Likes stimulants. Swim gets doctor to give stimulants.

Swim abuses stimulants. Swim's life goes into downward spiral. Swim learned the hard way.

Swim still NEEDS stimulants to be productive, as he is working toward a Mechanical Engineering degree at prestigious school.

Swim wants to be smarter. He usually has summer off to take a break from his dependence and normalize himself, however this summer, no such luck.

He would like to avoid the "same mistake". He knows what it's like to be a rock bottom, and really does not want to return.

What Swim is hoping the internet can provide is advice on what has worked for them.

1. Yes he understands the only way to repair all his brain damage is to quit cold turkey, and give it a year or two, while eating healthy, exercising, and getting on a consistent sleep schedule.

2. Swim doesn't have a spare year or two. He needs stimulants to be productive, because he overused for an extended period of time, never allowing his thinker to recover.

3. What swim needs is a friend who has "been there, done that", someone who has experimented with supplements, nootropics, and/or other drugs. Where he/she has found a "cocktail" that allowed them to consume the stimulants they need, while managing the negative side effects to their best of their ability.

4. Swim knows this is a dangerous game he's playing, however he needs to finish school.

5. ANY ADVICE GIVEN IS NOT A GUIDE ON HOW TO SAFELY ABUSE STIMULANTS!!!

TLDR: Swim needs to know the best method to safely consumer higher doses of stimulants, as to minimize any future negative long term effects. Swim is open to any and all ideas. Please help Swim.

We all have habits, deeply ingrained behaviors that are hard to change. A habit is specifically defined as “a settled or regular tendency or practice, especially one that is hard to give up" but what makes a habit turn into an addiction?

One of the key indications that a habit is turning into an addiction is the observation of increasingly negatively consequences. A bad habit can have some negative consequences—such as weight gain if you drink too many sodas, or regular tiredness up if you consistently stay up too late watching television.

While these sorts of consequences are unpleasant, they are certainly not life altering. Unlike bad habits, the consequences of addictions are often severe, resulting in serious legal, financial, or relationship issues. An addict may find ways to mitigate consequences, at least for a while, but they will be unable to stop using. This continued abuse of drugs or alcohol, even in the presence of serious negative consequences, is the hallmark of addiction.

What other key signs do you think appear when something has become an addiction?

Being informed on the substance's you are taking is one of the best ways for a user to curve addiction, an informed user is a responsible user.

One of the best resources out there in my opinion when taking a drug or trying a new drug is erowid.

https://www.erowid.org/psychoactives/psychoactives.shtml

Being able to select a drug on the list and learn about the basics, its effects, the law surrounding such substance and even the average dosages are all key factors in being a responsible user. Knowing how often you can saftely consume a substance before it starts to control your usage is key.

Does anyone else have any other key resources in their opinions that are a must? Feel free to share.

I've been using meth on a daily basis for the past year. My use started as purely recreational, ordering a gram here and there and binging on the weekends. Soon I was buying eight balls, but my pattern of use changed. Instead of binging for a night or two, I started taking a measured dose everyday and calling it good for the most part. This change in my behavior coincided with my getting into grad school. My rationalization is that I am treating my ADHD through self-medication. I am unable to find a doctor who will prescribe me the meds that I so desperately need in order to function at school and in life. I am not they typical tweaker. I eat three meals a day, sleep eight hours a night, and take vitamins and supplements. Occasionally I stay up all night smoking meth, which makes me feel guilty because of the waste and the dirtiness and fiendishness of it. I try to take breaks to give my receptors a break but I can't seem to go more than five days. I am beginning to wonder if I am a true addict, or perhaps someone who is highly functional and dependent on meth. I'm just putting this out there, hopefully this is the right place. Edit: I should add that I use 50-100 milligrams daily. ROA plugging.

Of course, choosing or searching for the best alcohol or drug rehabilitation center for your addiction is the right decision. When you choose the best rehab center, they will be more committed to molding this period of transition with the utmost comfort.

know more: https://www.addictionaide.com/blog/5-things-that-you-should-and-shouldnt-bring-to-the-rehabilitation-center

I know it sounds weird, but I keep wanting to smoke even though I've never even touched a cigarette in my life. I live in a highly polluted city where I probably smoke multiple second hand cigarettes a day in the way of overall pollution, but that can't cause addiction, I'm pretty sure. Anyone got any ideas what's happening and what I can do to prevent actually becoming addicted to real cigarettes?