swim NEEDS to stop using cocaine/ecstasy, swim doesn't want to!!

[fireflywa]

Swim's life is being taken over by cocaine and MDMA.... Swim knows he needs to quit using them, and if he doesn't, he will lose absolutely everything he has worked for. Swim has already noticed the process starting.

Swim does not want to quit MDMA. Swim would like to kick cocaine, and believes he could if he could avoid it... However, Swim has class with users and dealers. A tough situation to avoid.

Swim loves MDMA and enjoys raves while rolling balls. Swim only sees one negative aspect to MDMA usage - two of Swim's friends will ditch him if he uses again. How can Swim convince himself he needs to stop using MDMA??

Swim needs support, and doesn't know where to find it.

Swim isn't even really sure what else should be said, but Swim is crying out for help in some way...

[Felonious Skunk]

This is a pat answer, and no doubt SWIY doesn't want to hear it, but:

SWIY will have to actually lose a lot before he will want to stop. Right now SWIY is enjoying MDMA and cocaine too much. It will take a lot of grief to counteract that enjoyment.

SWIM knows because he enjoyed cocaine for 24 years before he wanted to stop. And yes, he lost quite a bit.

It sucks, but this is usually how it is--and yes, SWIY has heard it all before. Probably many times.

Good luck brother SWIY.

[Fight Club]

NIK used to have people tell him "you're not ready to quit, because you haven't hit rock bottom yet." Fuck "rock bottom", don't believe that shit. You have already taken an important first step in realizing that you have a problem; that your use has gotten out of control, and has or is about to have serious consequences if you keep it up. Make sure you are ready to quit for you, and not due to pressure from SO, parents, employer, etc. This will not work.

You do not need to lose everthing in order to realize that its time to quit. What you should realize is that it is harder to quit one substance while still using another. NIK never had a problem with alcohol, but gave up cocaine, alcohol, weed, and all other mind-altering substances when he finally realized that he had a problem he couldn't fix on his own in March 2006.

In 12-step programs, they talk about addiction leading to jails, institutions and death. If these things haven't happened to SWIY, great. They call them the "not yets" because eventually, untreated addiction will catch up with you. Many addiction scholars believe that the sooner you turn your life around, the easier it will be in the long run.

Bear in mind, however, that quitting before you have lost everything has its own set of challenges. After you have been clean for 3-6 months and your body starts feeling "normal", your brain will tell you that you can use again, and you are more likely to relapse because you don't have the constant reminders (health, financial, legal problems) that got you there in the first place.

Good luck. NIK got clean without losing anything; he damaged important relationships with the people he loved, and put his kids at risk more than once. These are the only reminders he needs to stay clean "one day at a time".

FC

[Felonious Skunk]

In some ways, addiction is like accounting, balancing the books. Often, the more you lose, the more you want to quit. Some people are willing to lose everything for their habit.

But most people aren't.

[TheMorphineMan]

Originally Posted by Fight Club

Bear in mind, however, that quitting before you have lost everything has its own set of challenges. After you have been clean for 3-6 months and your body starts feeling "normal", your brain will tell you that you can use again, and you are more likely to relapse because you don't have the constant reminders (health, financial, legal problems) that got you there in the first place.

This is true. Your mind will try to convince that you've changed, you no longer have an addictive personality, you don't even really think about it that much anymore, it would be okay if you did it "just once more". And there begins the cycle again.

However, swim personally doesn't believe that realizing you NEED to quit is necessarily enough to keep you from relapsing. You do have to realize what you will lose, but you have to find things in your life that you cherish more than your habit and you have to WANT to quit. At least in swim's experience. Swim is not saying give up if you don't want to quit everything, but it's something to think about. If you have realized that you need to quit, you will realize how much you want to quit sooner or later, swim just fears it involves losing (not necessarily hitting rock bottom, but losing).