relapse or kicking the habit?

[samsa]

just yesterday, a friend and swim went to a comedy show incrdibly drunk. the topic of cocaine use came up, and swims friend mentioned to him that he was interested in trying it, but was frightened by the cocaines potential for addiction, having previously been addicted to pain killers. swim found himself telling his friend, having been addicted to meth at one point, that if one has decent willpower you only need to beat addiction once, and that the virtue of the fact that one could beat addiction renders him relatively invaulnerable to it. This was true in swims case, but swim was also too intoxicated to even realize that most people relapse rather then beat addiction.

in any case, my question is, does the same idea of "being relatively invaulnerable to addiction" and alternatively using in moderation apply to swiy who have been addicted before, or have swiy found yourselfs relapsing into the same addictive behaviour?

[Fight Club]

NIK leads a Sober life now because he believes that "testing the waters" will lead him back to a raging addiction with his DOC.

NIK doesn't want to go there. He gets on just fine without drugs or alcohol these days.

FC

[Metomni]

Cocaine use does not directly correlate to cocaine addiction. Just be careful with SWIY's intake and set guidelines.

For example, say SWIY wants to do some blow this weekend so that the stress of finals week is easier on him. So he tells himself, "I'll get enough for this weekend." SWIM believes the best thing to do is then get a few friends over, sort out the money, and then everyone just has a really good time and uses it all. Then, there is no more even if SWIY wants it. Availability is key.

Good luck.

[Fight Club]

Originally Posted by Metomni

Cocaine use does not directly correlate to cocaine addiction. Just be careful with SWIY's intake and set guidelines.

For example, say SWIY wants to do some blow this weekend so that the stress of finals week is easier on him. So he tells himself, "I'll get enough for this weekend." SWIM believes the best thing to do is then get a few friends over, sort out the money, and then everyone just has a really good time and uses it all. Then, there is no more even if SWIY wants it. Availability is key.

Good luck.

Cocaine use does correlate to cocaine addiction (you can't become addicted to cocaine if you don't use it - )

That having been said, the correlation is not 1:1. Your post above suggests that you have never really had a problem with addiction. If you had, you would understand that the pull of addiction is not conquered by finishing what you buy, then just not buying more.

It's all about the spark of obsession that even one little line can trigger. NIK thinks that successful recovery from an addiction is a two-sided coin. On one side, NIK believes that once you have become addicted to a substance, (any substance), you are more prone to both cross-addiction as well as relapse with your DOC.

On the other side, the experience gained in the recovery process does not vanish just because you choose to use again. NIK thinks it helps, to some degree, at least if you know what it takes to get to 30 days, 90 days, a year (well, NIK doesn't know how that feels . . . yet).

FC

[Metomni]

Well first off, could it be that SWIM has not had a problem with addiction because he does things such as what he described?

SWIM is not saying you can prevent it from ever happening, but with some self control and methods of limiting intake you can go a long way in preventing addiction while still indulging in what it has to offer. SWIM is also not saying that this will work for everyone, just that it might work for some people and that it has worked for him. He was just trying to give some helpful advice that was once given to him and helped.

Different strokes for different folks.

[Fight Club]

Originally Posted by Metomni

Well first off, could it be that SWIM has not had a problem with addiction because he does things such as what he described?

SWIM is not saying you can prevent it from ever happening, but with some self control and methods of limiting intake you can go a long way in preventing addiction while still indulging in what it has to offer. SWIM is also not saying that this will work for everyone, just that it might work for some people and that it has worked for him. He was just trying to give some helpful advice that was once given to him and helped.

Different strokes for different folks.

I think we are on the same page here. You are smarter or more aware than NIK was in recognizing that cocaine could become a problem if you let it.

Once you have a raging addiction, it's like trying to put toothpaste back in the tube; going back to controlled use of your drug of choice just isn't going to happen.

FC

[sweetsugar]

Originally Posted by Fight Club

Once you have a raging addiction, it's like trying to put toothpaste back in the tube; going back to controlled use of your drug of choice just isn't going to happen.

FC

Well put i thought.

Swim doesnt think she'll be going through life completely soba, that perhaps for sure. But now having had an addiction to a certain substance, swim is all too aware how easy it is to replace that addiction with another.
Swim certainly wont be playing with fire, or even matches for that matter! (when it comes to a certain substance)

But like Swim said, going through life completely soba (at present anyway) she wont be doing.. MODERATION IS THE KEY.

*swim is just expresing her opinion, swim is in no postion to advise. swim is only 7/8 wks clean from her addiction.*

[hippie_lain]

swim has been about 3 years clean and would never touch any drug with the potiential for attiction again because he knows that every time he touchs a drug it gets easier to do it again. it could start with o one hit/line wont hurt. then next swim tells himself that if he used just socially it would be ok. soon enough swim would be right where he started forking out 40 bucks a night on cocaine on top of 50 a week for liquer to help him fall asleep after hours of lines.

[samsa]

Originally Posted by hippie_lain

it could start with o one hit/line wont hurt. then next swim tells himself that if he used just socially it would be ok. soon enough swim would be right where he started forking out 40 bucks a night on cocaine on top of 50 a week for liquer to help him fall asleep after hours of lines.

swim has found the toughest part of addiction is that it becomes easy to justify.

[Fight Club]

Originally Posted by samsa

swim has found the toughest part of addiction is that it becomes easy to justify.

It is not easy to get honest with yourself. NIK has found that the lies he told himself to justify his active cocaine addiction were just rediculous in hindsight.

NIK left his young children alone and in harms way to get 10 minutes alone to slam coke in a gas station bathroom. Fucked up shit.

Every time he thinks about the stuff he used to do and what might have happened, it reaffirms his commitment to be honest with himself and others.

His kids don't remember ever seeing him high or drunk, and he hopes to keep it that way.

FC

[infekt]

Samsa, may I ask you how often do you drink? I believe the answer to your question may lay right in front of you