Wow, one more time I say to myself "Audiosex forum rules" !

 

With time, old wounds heal. Don't let your mind drag you back to that life. You will regret it more than you ever regretted starting to do drugs in the first place. Hold tight brother, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Not only your body, but your mind has to detoxify from that evil.

 

In fact, it makes sense to extend this thread to addictions in general, because otherwise those who have not used substances think they are off the hook.
I don't think I know a single person who is or was free from addiction

btw.:
Almost everyone lost friends/relatives to addictions

But to be honest, it has to be said that in our time (when we were 15 to 25 years old), drugs were difficult or even impossible to get, depending on the country or region.

Where I live (western Europe) it became much easier to obtain drugs from around 1980 onwards. Drugs became socially acceptable, and their use was seen as "cool" e.g. Cocain in celebrity circles, party drugs, synthetic drugs.
At the latest with the triumph of the Internet, the authorities lost control completely (Prevention of drug-abuse) and it was no longer possible to prevent drugs from coming into circulation; instead, people were only punished if they were caught as dealers or consumers (downstream punishment) ergo closing the barn door after the horse has escaped.

In general, it can be said that an early onset of substance use (i.e. in adolescence or young adulthood) is associated with a higher likelihood of developing a severe dependence, longer periods of dependence and greater difficulties in recovery or treatment. Adolescents and young adults are in a critical developmental stage where the brain is still maturing.

So anyone who has "made it" or was lucky enough not to become dependent on substances by the age of around 25 will rarely succumb to this danger for the rest of their lives.

From the point of view of psychology/psychiatry, however, there are many more addictions than just "substance addictions" and many people who do think they have never been addicted succumb to them. And the consequences can be just as bad:

Spoiler: Non-substance-related addictions

Examples without any claim to completeness:
Gambling addiction
Betting addiction
Computer addiction
Television addiction
Internet addiction
Online addiction
Online sex addiction
Pornography addiction
Cell phone addiction
Sex addiction
Shopping addiction
Work addiction
Sports addiction
Addiction to extreme sports or extreme situations
Messie syndrome
Binge eating, bulimia, anorexia
Book reading addiction
Collective addiction

 

Last edited: Feb 14, 2024

Yeah some 'normal' addictions sneak up on you.

From 15 to my early 40's I had a bad collector addiction - Records, Dvd's, Blurays, Comics, Books, Games. Through the 90's I lived with other collector/DJ's and we were immersed in UK underground music culture. It was a great time to explore new music.

It was an acceptable and cool hobby that over time morphed into just chasing a purchase dopamine hit.

So 10 years ago I cut it all down and now I'm a very focused light collector of just films.

I could have bought a house with how much i spent over the years, but in a couple of cases like records, it's been a pretty good investment.

And I do have a killer record, film and book library, so I don't regret it!

 

KUSHSMOKERLIT, you could listen to Kratomabuser4life's, shall we say, idiotic advice.
Or you could just take a tour here.

 

Yes, being on drugs makes everything seem better. That's the drugs not the activity. Ask someone on heroin if they feel good and enjoy what they're doing and they'll probably say yes.

Abilify is a harder drug than anything I've taken in my life (and I have plenty of experience with drugs)

Also you mentioned that you "will be living without dopamine for 11 years" due to Abilify (Aripiprazole). There's nothing to back that up. You would die if you didn't have dopamine. It seems like dopamine regulation (post Abilify treatment) can take anywhere from 90 days to (maybe) 180 days following treatment (difficult to find info on pubmed related to this).

Here's some info about Aripiprazole that may help your understanding:

"Even if considered classically as a D2R partial agonist, multiple lines of evidence suggest that aripiprazole acts at D2Rs impacting the dopaminergic system in different ways, depending on the contingent conditions in which the biological system is examined. Therefore, aripiprazole has been described as a full antagonist, a moderate antagonist, or a partial agonist at D2Rs in different preclinical paradigms, consistent with biased ligand features of the compound. The ‘adaptive’ features of aripiprazole are strikingly different from all other antipsychotics, the action of which remains relatively stable in all biological conditions. One main consequence of this feature is that using aripiprazole may prevent the development of long-term dopamine-related neurochemical adaptations that may possibly affect long-term response to antipsychotics. Indeed, chronic treatment with aripiprazole has been observed to prevent the development of dopamine supersensitivity [134]. While the intermediate intrinsic activity of aripiprazole at D2Rs may per se represent a suitable explanation for the lack of dopamine supersensitivity, it cannot be excluded that this may depend on the pharmacological action of aripiprazole, which ranges from agonism to antagonism and therefore oscillates between stimulation and inactivation of the receptor."

Link to full article: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4602118/

Aripiprazole is complex and can be considered a dopamine (reuptake) modulator (not a complete blocker, does not restrict production to my understanding). It's scary shit with questionable science due to the mass of pharmaceutical company funded studies, and the lack of (or complete inability to perform) randomized double blind, placebo controlled trials, similar to what they do with SSRIs.

Here's some info about dopamine for you:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/your-neurochemical-self/202106/harsh-truth-about-dopamine

It's not as simple as dopamine makes you happy.

I'd highly recommend seeking further psychiatric help to deal with the issues you face considering using (or wanting to use) drugs.

An audio forum is not going to provide help for YOU. Rather, what we're talking about here is based on personal experiences, anecdotes, and uninformed opinions (myself included).

I'd recommend focusing on what you can do if you can't do drugs. Recreational drugs are a temporary distraction from life and obligation. Some people can do them healthily, some people can't.

You should focus on improving yourself. Drugs are not going to magically pull you to a better place. Especially if you have a history of psychiatrist issues and have taken drugs to treat psychiatric issues.

I'm very glad I don't do drugs anymore. I see it hurt many people around me and they're not even aware of it.

 

Last edited: Feb 14, 2024

Heroin lite. Love it.

 

Shouldn't this be on Reddit and not AudioSex?

I came here to escape Reddit.

 

Well, possibly that were more or less second hand emotions, you could also say that it wasn't you who had so much fun, but the drugs.

In many cases, artists are particularly productive when they are experiencing a difficult phase of their lives, even to the point of agony. ...I have noticed that I can even deliberately put myself in this state ...
But is it worth wishing to always be subjected to this agony on the brink of suicidal tendencies
just to be productive (in whatever area)?
Then the drugs/addictions/depression are really just using me.

OK but you have to know that audiosex is not a therapy group but on the contrary it may bring new addictions

 

Last edited: Feb 14, 2024

stay away from any form of drug and alcohol. its very bad.. yes its worth to live without drugs.. the drugs supresses emotions makes you not feel anything but horrible side effects

my grandpa was an alcoholic and drank vodka daily. this didnt make him a bad person, but he needed to escape with this way

 

I agree. Well said

 

Simple. World objectively exists.

 

Another important thing, talk to friends and family who are really close to you (emotionally, empathically). And, if you see the need, don’t be ashamed to seek help. Best luck dude... always!

 

Last edited: Feb 14, 2024

No, I need my morning coffee. And a bar of chocolate every now and then is actually fine too. My brain also needs some sugar regularly, otherwise I can't work. Sex is definitely not bad either, but I'm not sure if it counts as a drug, it's not a substance after all.

 

If you smoke your coffee grounds it hits you a lot harder and faster.

 

I haven't tried it, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't kick at all, but is quite toxic and carcinogenic.

 

My life is worth everything ... and I never took drugs and do not plan of taking drugs. I am sure the question in the OT is the stupidest, most idiotic question I ever heard.

 

I'm sorry to keep hearing of your continuing struggle with drugs as well as now the legal prescription that seems to have damaged you. I myself was addicted to prescribed opiates including Fentanyl (a patch) and Methadone (first tablets and then liquid) after a long lasting and painful injury. I took my time, about a year to wean myself off of those drugs because every time I dipped too quickly the physical and emotional agony was too much to bear. I first tried biting the bullet and going cold turkey a few different times but Fentanyl and Methadone are hard, hard masters to escape from. One day at a time is the way that got me through that nightmare. About 10+ years ago or so I stopped using tobacco/nicotine after 40 years. Now I'm just hooked up with coffee and 65٪ cocoa chocolate and one puff of cannabis at night. I've always been dependent on guitar but see no good reason to stop that.

Keep up the good fight, you'll overcome it all.

 

i've been two days clean off cannabis but i feel i might fall for it today everybody wish me luck i don't know if i will be able to resist

 

I understand, 'cos Marijuana is the third most used psychoactive substance in the world, behind only alcohol and cigarettes. Perhaps you could use Nabiximols (Sativex, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nabiximols), the first cannabis-based medicine used as an option to treat multiple sclerosis pain and spasms (but, in the case of marijuana dependence, the reasoning behind its use is the same as that for drugs that combat smoking. In other words, it offers the body a safer and less concentrated version of the compounds in the drug itself). From then on, the addiction for marijuana would gradually be alleviated ((in cases of non-severe chemical dependency, it would be up to the user to gradually reduce the dose). It's worth getting some information dude.