The cycle of addiction

beer.

beer.

Active member
I have to do this really hardcore substance abuse program as per the arrangement my lawyer got me for possession of marijuana. 2 meetings per week, and 2 narcotics anonymous meetings in addition a week. 1 family meeting per week. I had to take a semester off to deal with this shit.

anyways, sitting around with a bunch of hardcore addicts has made me think about addiction a lot.

how does addiction start? what makes someone become an addict? I used to think it was mostly biochemistry, like how some people find certain drugs so great they get addicted, and some people use them casually and can easily stop. like some of my friends who can smoke cigs but never get addicted.

but then some people, especially alcoholics, develop dependencies based on events in their lives. this is definitely true. I quit smoking a while ago but when I got busted I went right back to it.

but every cokehead out there started by just trying it once. what happened in between the first time and where they are now? maybe they knew it was addictive but thought they could try it once. they decided they liked it, and then maybe it became a weekend thing. but the main thing that leads to addiction, is the urge to seek it out next time its around. like if you try oxy once, and then a couple months later its available at some party or something, you might actively try to find it. if you never do it, you'll never try to find it.

I've also been thinking about the twelve steps. they are pretty much bullshit, especially the powerless part and the "humbly beg a higher power to remove your defects" part. (tip: dont question the twelve steps in a substance abuse program, former addicts get very defensive) I know they work for a lot of people, but in your opinion, what is the best way to beat an addiction? personally I think its all about accountability, if you have other people you are accountable to than you are more likely to stop.

also, this is pretty controversial, but i believe weed can be addictive. I was addicted to it, I was so bored all the time that I always wanted to smoke. if you dont believe it can be addictive, keep in mind that anything that feels good can be addictive. eating, playing videogames, or many things in life. just because there arent withdrawal effects doesnt mean it doesnt have the potential to become addictive to some people. two of my really good friends also have pot problems. one failed out of school because he smoked all the time and never did any work, and hes a smart guy. another smokes every day multiple times per day, and says she cant stop because she doesnt know how to feel good anymore, which is scary because shes smart, hot, and has an amazing positive personality. I never expected her to become like that. my own mother has a pot addiction problem, she only recently got over it. I'm not bashing weed, I still love it but I only rarely smoke now. now I know many people smoke multiple times per day but the difference is, I don't get any work done when i smoke, and if I'm high all the time thats bad news because I won't be focusing on schoolwork and getting errands and other shit done. this is not true for a lot of people, but for me it is.
 
my lawyer told me this, and i thought it was very wise. (i was about 19)

she said, you can get in trouble, and go through the steps to correct it. you can steal, and get caught, and pay them back, or pay a fine, or go to jail. you can do drugs, get caught, go through treatment as the court orders, pay a fine, etc.

but until you find out, what it was in your life, that made you do it, and be willing to change, you will go back, you will do it again, and you will get caught again.

i got caught shoplifting, she told me...i know you feel like "im never doing this again" because you were caught. but you will do it again, unless you figure out what made you do it to begin with. You're from a wealthy family, you're not going to convince me you needed what you stole, so why?

and she was right. the reason i stole, is because i wanted to return it for money, because i was broke, and i didnt want to borrow money from my parents because it makes me feel guilty, and i dont want them to be disappointed in me, i wanted them to feel like i could support myself. Well, obviously that isn't the correct way to support oneself.

but the other alternative, it occured to me, was not really to borrow money from my parents. it was to stay home, not go out with friends, not spend money...because i didnt have any. and the only way to fix that problem and feel good about myself was to earn the money myself, and be responsible.

so until i rectified my financial situation completely, i would steal again, regardless of whether i thought i would or not.

i dunno, just thought id share.

so what is it that makes people try coke for the first time?

to try something they've never done before? To fill a void? To fit in with friends?

try skydiving

fill the void with whats really missing (ie: a healthy relationship)

get new friends

 
word, thats exactly what I think. you have to change your attitude once you get busted, otherwise it will happen again. the laws are unfair, but thats just life.

having money to go out with friends is a big deal. I went through that shit this summer because I couldnt find a job. but everyone i knew had a job and would go out and have fun. it sucked. but then you have to realize, breaking rules just so you can have fun is not worth it. life isn't all about having fun. thats the major lesson i learned. most of life is about not having fun and doing what is hard, so that the time where you can have fun is more enjoyable.

hard drugs are the ultimate i-want-to-have-fun-fuck-the-consquences activity. even if they arent addictive to you, they carry devastating legal consequences. and once you get too far into something, like I was with weed, you start to get careless and the chances of getting caught grow.
 
word.

i was most likely borderline alcoholic 21-23, id get blacked out drunk pretty much 5-6 nights a week. when i look back, what a disgusting part of my life, i can hardly remember it.

when you go out and get shit faced, the next day you dont feel good, you dont have energy to get up early, and the prohibits you from doing things that are far more worth while...like skiing, hiking, going to the gym, going bike riding, going swimming, whatever you like to do...

and reaching the top of a mountain that you didnt think you could ever hike, is far more fun than knocking back 15 drinks and not remembering how you got home.
 
^and the scariest point, is realizing you're on the verge of being too far gone.

the point when you realize that right here, right now, is the crossroads, where i can choose addiction...which may lead to my demise, or a full recovery, which will never be as easy if i dont choose that path right now.

choosing your path is what defines your character.
 
(first off, this is an alias used when i dont want to talk about the things i do because i personally know some people on this website)

exactly. the problem with most people is that they don't see this, or they just simply don't want to believe it. thats where the drug addicts become drug addicts. its too bad, and it happens to too many kids.

i know i used to smoke weed and use DXM (cough syrup for those of you who dont know), and i defiantly got dependent on weed and semi-dependent on DXM. it sucks, but now i have my life and activities under control.

To this day, not one of my friends knew about my past DXM use because i was afraid how people would look at me... This is also one of the things that makes people into addicts, they do not tell others when they have problems because they are scared.

so to all you NS'ers- DONT BE SCARED- get help if your in need. to determine this you really need to step back and look at it all as one. by that i mean you gotta realize that most kids do not use hardcore drugs, and it is a serious problem. if you find that you think you have a problem, i beg you to go get some help. Its worth it even if you just have to say "mom and dad, i need help, i am starting to use (insert whatever) more than recreational, what can you do to help me" They may get a little mad, but they will damn well respect you for owing up to it on your own.
 
addiction is a terrible way to mess up your life. The thing that you hope for your friends and kids, is that they go into it with a good state of mind. And most people do get into it by saying, i want to experience it once in my life, knowing its addictive, you try it and it creeps in so quickly. but if you where smarter in the first place not to try, nothing would happen. Everything now days is addicting to kids, most kids get extremely addicted mad easily. keep a strong state of mind, lay it down, and stick to the word.
 
i had a disorder when i was a preteen and it took me a while to figure out but the disorder was a reaction to other things not going right in my life and once i got those things straightened out my disorder got better, im thinking it might be the same with addicts? like the abuse is a physical manifestation of something else? maybe its an escape from thinking about the actual problems at hand or some trauma they havent dealt with?
 
exactly! its good to know you're better, but thats basically the gist of what my lawyer said. Until you've dealt with the things that drive you to destruction, you will continue to destroy yourself. dealing with the destruction alone, is not adequate.
 
ive never done coke in my life.

more like gas money/bar money/cab money/food money, etc.

but nice conclusion.
 
wow, so you shoplifted because you were a spoiled bitch. And thought you were addicted to shoplifting.

wow you badass can i have your fucking autograph please

 
i didnt think i was addicted to shoplifting for christ sakes. i was talking about repitition of bad habits. and i wasnt trying to sound like a badass, actually i was sharing something pretty personal that i wouldnt have ordinarily shared with people for the sake of a post that i found interesting and felt i had something to add.

you're a bitch.
 
you know what your the kinda girl that steals shit from peoples parties to be cool and then when you get caught,,, because of your rich parents, its not your fault, its a psychological disorder like what you said here...

"until you find out, what it was in your life, that made you do it, and be willing to change, you will go back, you will do it again, and you will get caught again.

bullshit, nothing made you fucking do it, you fucking made yourself do it, fucking take some responsibility, and stop thinking your a victim of your fucking stealing habit.

you need fucking money,, sell drugs, that doesnt hurt anybody that doesnt fucking ask for it.

The only thing that thinks drugs are bad is a gigantic fucking robot that they call the United States.

but like your lawyer/shrink says, you better find out what it was in your life that made you do it, or better yet, just blame it on drugs. thats what everybody else does anyways,

like jesus you said you had rich parents and its hard for you to kick your stealing habit, and you want me to feel sorry for your fucking spoiled bitch ass, im sorry but i cant stand people like you

 
a.) i would never take something from someones house

b.) i dont have a psychological disorder, i was just saying, usually something triggers bad habits

c.) obviously i made myself do it, i said i did, because i didnt want to take money from my parents.

d.)i dont have a stealing habit, i stole a couple of times and never did it again

e.)i dont have rich parents, i said she mentioned i came from a wealthy family, in this case, one wealthy enough that i shouldnt need to steal. that doesnt mean rich.

f.) i didnt ask anyone to feel sorry for me

all i did was post some advice that i had gotten from someone at some point. and then explained why i was given the advice to begin with. i think its something that can be applied to any bad habit. and selling drugs? dont be ridiculous.

you really jumped to conclusions assuming you know me. I've paid for everything myself, my car, my apartments, my education, everything. so you can call me spoiled if you want. but you know NOTHING about me.
 
Anyone who is trashing snobunny is an idiot, and you probably didn't read her post at all. She never said she was addicted to shoplifting, was buying drugs or anything like that at all. She was talking about the repetition of bad habits and how if you dont figure out why you are doing them in the first place and correct that, then you will just slowly slip back into the bad habits.

Whoever said she was being a spoiled bitch...you're fucking retarded. She said she was broke, and didn't have any money to spend. Just because your parents are wealthy doesn't mean you are and you get everything handed to you, if you think that then you are an idiot. She had no money and she was doing it because she needed a way to get cash without taking from her parents. Leave her alone and go away. She was being really constructive to the thread and all you do is come in here bitching about other people to make yourself feel better.
 
sorry i just cant stand people who steal other peoples shit, i feel better that it was only stores that she stole from.

but what pisses me off is i do drugs and i never hurt anybody or steal from anybody, and i cant stand that this country classifies me more of a criminal than somebody who would steal shit from somebodies house while their having a party.
 
Dude are you serious? You may not have had any bad experiences yet from doing drugs, but if you somehow go through life doing hard drugs and never get in trouble you will be in a tiny minority. Yes, sometimes our government overprosecutes drug addicts, especially w. marijuana, but drugs cause a fucking shitload of problems in the world. And don't even try to say that is propaganda bullshit, because it is fact.
 
my brother had a party at my house, and my laptop, all of my ski gear, and most of my jewelry got stolen.

he later tracked down the thief, who claimed that he had taken my laptop and thrown it into a ditch with the intentions on coming back and getting it later but never did. i found it a couple hours later after a huge rain storm, never to work again.

i've had skis stolen at the mountain, my car broken into repeatedly.

I've had more than my fair share of return karma, i've probably had 10,000 times more shit stolen from me than i ever took from nordstrom.

i would never take someones personal belongings.

i worked at nordstrom at the time, and although its no excuse, they have figured shoplifting into their budget, and it doesnt affect the. again im not excusing my actions, shoplifting is wrong. however its far harder on an individual being stollen from than a multi-billion dollar company losing a couple hundred dollars that they had already figured they'd lose.
 
if the penalty on drugs was lower and the penalty on stealing and killing was higher, drug prices would be lower and so would drug related crime. do you know how much people do drugs in europe and how little problems there are? because people actually take responsibility for their actions.

you know columbia was pretty much forced by the US to make laws that would hurt the colombian economy and make the country alot poorer as a whole. thats real cool isnt it. America acts like it cares about the whole world but in reality it only looks after itself.
 
Wow this is so stupid I don't even know where to begin..

Yeah lower the penalty on drugs so we have more drug traffic into our country that make plenty of sense. Lower penalty equals more drugs which intern creates more drug money and drug related crimes. If the penalty is not as harsh more people will take chances.. Don't give me that "Europe is better off than we are" bull shit, because Europe has plenty of things going on in their countries such as terrorist attacks, high crime rates, ect. Granted some people will take responsibility for their actions that is in no way the social "norm" it is much easier to blame other people for things that happen than take responsibility yourself. And Columbia being forced into poverty by "big bad brother" is bullshit, I'm sure that people love having drug lords in their countries bringing in crime related to drugs. I'm sick of people like you blaming the US government for all their problems, how bout you man up and take responsibility for your actions like everyone over in Europe.
 
if the drug penalty is lower then more dealers will take the risk so drugs will be higher quantity so prices will be lower because there is less demand, that means your a fucking idiot. so if a person can be productive, have a job, and finally afford his drug habit then he wont have to steal shit. and you say that europe has terrorist attacks and high crime rate like we dont. Your an idiot. and finally columbia recently made growing coca leaves legal again because it benefited the farmers and the economy as a whole to let the cocaine production continue. america doesnt give a shit about columbia so why should they give a shit about selling cocaine to americans who want it. your a fucking idiot. your so obtuse its disgusting. You have no fucking concept that drugs can be sold and used without your so called 'drug related crime'. quit brainwashing newschoolers you narcotics agent
 
just gotta ask a couple of questions here, before i can even process what was said.

what kind of drugs are you talking about, specifically?

all?

also, do you live in france, or what?
 
im not gonna defend crystal meth, anyways america is to blame for its creation. pot dealers found it to risky to smuggle other drugs, it was safer to cook up crystal meth so way to go america, its like the dumb puppy shit on the rug again
 
Drug related crimes are not just stealing money/items to pay for your addiction. Lets look at some facts real quick-

In 1997, 22.4% of Federal prison inmates and 32.6% of State prison inmates have reported being under the influence of drugs at the time of their offense.

Now we can look at drug related homicides-

Drug-related homicides, 1991–1998

Year Number of homicides Percentage drug-related*

1991 21,676 6.2%

1992 22,716 5.7

1993 23,180 5.5

1994 22,084 5.6

1995 20,232 5.0

1996 15,848 4.9

1997 15,289 5.1

1998 14,088 4.8

* Drug-related homicides are those murders that occurred specifically during a narcotics felony, such as drug trafficking or manufacturing.

Source: Table constructed by ONDCP Drug Policy Information Clearinghouse staff from the FBI's Crime in the United States: Uniform Crime Reports, 1991–1998.

Drugs are the "cancer" of society, and by lowering drug related penalties you only create less of a deterrent for people to indulge in these elisit activities. You cant sit there and tell me that by bringing more drugs into the country that it will lower the crime rate.

On another note where the hell do you get off attacking people in this thread. You must feel really cool judging people and their battles with addiction.

I'm done arguing with you, like one of my friends always says

"Arguing with people on the internet is like racing in the special Olympics, even if you win your still a retard."

 
thats all lawyer bullshit to say you were on drugs to lessen the sentence

those are all crack statistics

crack is americas fault too, because america made it impossible for poor people to get anything else.

alot of people get killed for ratting, as they should

alcohol related violence owns those statistics so why isnt alcohol illegal
 
your statistics suck anyways

they say that 19 people are going to try to kill me before the crackhead does.

and 30 percent of inmates are on drugs no fucking shit thats all anybody ever gets arrested for these days

congradulations on your scholarly crock of shit

 
they put you on NA for weed? weird. usually it would just be an AODA assesment/class... anyways i was in NA for quite a long time for numerous drugs and it taught me a lot but definitely has not cured my addictions, just created new connects
 
haha i got put in a drug intervention class for my MIP and its actualy really chill, we only have one tweeker and the rest of the kids are just a bunch of pot heads and drinkers, the whole 2 hours class consists of discussing how much beter weed is than all the other things listed under "drugs"

its pretty awsome, i got in a fight with this fat bitch cus i told her that alchohal makes girls horny and she kept getting all butt hurt and telling me how all my girl friends are sluts, its fun
 
oh wow, wouldn't that be great? a man can afford his addiction! that should fit in there with the pursuit of happiness! i cant beleive you look at it like this, dont you have any idea how most people addicted to something feel? if people avoided the addiction in the first place, they would be much better off, and low availability is a great way to keep people from starting.

also, you dismiss a lot of valid points as myths and bunk. wheres your info on that?
 
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