Beating Addiction

[JEFFERSON MONEY]

Share some tips on how you have kicked the habits of crack, smoking, porn, anger, booze, gambling or other things to the curb.

[Kblaze8855]

I honestly wished at one point I could become addicted to something just to prove I have the will power to quit cold turkey.

Ive never understood how a person with half a brain does something they know will addict them long enough to get addicted. I do feel for people who get pills from a doctor then end up hooked to painkillers though.

That...I can get.

[AirTupac]

I've dabbled in it all in my early 20's (not crack or gambling lol) I just dont think I have an addictive personality.... or maybe my will to succeed was greater, so when I decided to focus on my life and career, it was pretty easy giving up all the bad things -- partying, drinking etc. because I was ultimately more motivated by other things.

[Norcaliblunt]

I honestly wished at one point I could become addicted to something just to prove I have the will power to quit cold turkey.

Ive never understood how a person with half a brain does something they know will addict them long enough to get addicted. I do feel for people who get pills from a doctor then end up hooked to painkillers though.

That...I can get.


Stop posting on ish for a year.

[Prometheus]

I have been on pretty much every drug you can think of.

I've smoked crack, banged dope, eaten all kinds of prescription pills, smoked dmt, used to sell acid by the 10 strip

If you ever wanna know what it's like to be on or around drugs, I'm a great person to talk to.

However, I can't tell anyone anything about how to beat addiction. Of all the chemicals I've recklessly taken, I never even came close to getting addicted to anything - except coffee and weed. And I can't seem to stop either one for even a single day.

If I don't drink coffee by midday, I have a nasty headache and want to shoot everyone I see. If I don't smoke weed, I get an overwhelming combination of restlessness and boredom - like I HAVE to do something, but NOTHING seems fun. No physical withdrawal, just a terrible sense of emptiness and absence of joy.

[highwhey]

staying busy certainly helps. having a job where i work long days i don

[Kblaze8855]

Stop posting on ish for a year.

Ive been gone for months at a time. never a year though.

I could not post here pretty easily. Not using the internet at all would be tough.

[Norcaliblunt]

Ive been gone for months at a time. never a year though.

I could not post here pretty easily. Not using the internet at all would be tough.

Try to stop watching basketball or TV/videos. Don’t listen to the radio while you drive. Refrain from music and any sort of entertainment all together.

[RoseCity07]

I honestly wished at one point I could become addicted to something just to prove I have the will power to quit cold turkey.

Ive never understood how a person with half a brain does something they know will addict them long enough to get addicted. I do feel for people who get pills from a doctor then end up hooked to painkillers though.

That...I can get.

You really don't understand? Like how the brain works. We are animals. We seek rewards. Dopamine hits. Some people have less control than others. Choice is an illusion. There is no such thing as free will.

[scuzzy]

I honestly wished at one point I could become addicted to something just to prove I have the will power to quit cold turkey.

Ive never understood how a person with half a brain does something they know will addict them long enough to get addicted. I do feel for people who get pills from a doctor then end up hooked to painkillers though.

That...I can get.
"I just don't get why gay people can't stop being gay and like the opposite sex?"

"Just flip the on/off switch"

"wtf addicted to sex? half a brainers trying that out in the first place is stupid"

[kennethgriffen]

1. stopped drinking and driving ...i kicked the addiction because if i get caught breaking the law while on probation i might go to jail for 5 years


its a strong inhibitor


2. i also stopped going to the casino.. lost over 50 grand. another good inhibitor.. stick to poker games between buddies now.



3. used to be a social alcoholic. still sorta am. so i became antisocial and only hang out with buddies 1-2 times a week now. the inhibitor was acid reflux and fighting too much

[Kblaze8855]

You really don't understand? Like how the brain works. We are animals. We seek rewards. Dopamine hits. Some people have less control than others. Choice is an illusion. There is no such thing as free will.

So....I dont have a choice about trying opiates or not?

Yet...ive avoided them.

I didnt take them when a doctor told me to. I didnt take them with a bad back. Dental work. Broken leg.

Why?

Be stupid to become a junkie for 4-5 hours of pain relief. I had some for like a month and ended up giving them away. I feel like I may have taken one of those now that I think on it but I honestly dont remember for sure. I remember my mom joking about it like I was gonna be high but....I cant really say if I took it or not. Ive always been wary of shit like that. I ask for non narcotic pain killers. have for 10+ years. I got a cortisone shot in my back once instead of the pain killers.

I did say I understand people getting hooked in that situation...which is why ive not put myself in it. Sucks for people who have conditions that dont really give many other options though.

[Kblaze8855]

"I just don't get why gay people can't stop being gay and like the opposite sex?"

"Just flip the on/off switch"

"wtf addicted to sex? half a brainers trying that out in the first place is stupid"

We really comparing being gay to being a crackhead?

Really where you went?

[RoseCity07]

So....I dont have a choice about trying opiates or not?

Yet...ive avoided them.

I didnt take them when a doctor told me to. I didnt take them with a bad back. Dental work. Broken leg.

Why?

Be stupid to become a junkie for 4-5 hours of pain relief. I had some for like a month and ended up giving them away. I feel like I may have taken one of those now that I think on it but I honestly dont remember for sure. I remember my mom joking about it like I was gonna be high but....I cant really say if I took it or not. Ive always been wary of shit like that. I ask for non narcotic pain killers. have for 10+ years. I got a cortisone shot in my back once instead of the pain killers.

I did say I understand people getting hooked in that situation...which is why ive not put myself in it. Sucks for people who have conditions that dont really give many other options though.

You're you. You don't have the brain of an addict. I see what you're saying. I ask the same questions. Why do people do this or that. They do it because if they were different they wouldn't.

I have family that gambles their retirement away. I see why it's stupid. I would never do it. But they have a problem.

[Kblaze8855]

I dont know if im an addict or not.

I dont do things at a rate id expect to risk addiction. I feel bad for smokers....but not that bad for ones who get hooked as adults.

What did they think smoking a bunch of them would do? Its a chemical addiction. Its in there. You know it before you put one in your mouth.

I dont think ive even been what id call drunk in 10 years.

Anything I felt like I was starting to NEED id not let it go any further. I understand being hard to break addiction. I dont understand becoming one.

[Prometheus]

I dont know if im an addict or not.

I dont do things at a rate id expect to risk addiction. I feel bad for smokers....but not that bad for ones who get hooked as adults.

What did they think smoking a bunch of them would do? Its a chemical addiction. Its in there. You know it before you put one in your mouth.

I dont think ive even been what id call drunk in 10 years.

Anything I felt like I was starting to NEED id not let it go any further. I understand being hard to break addiction. I dont understand becoming one.

I can see why you feel the way you do, but unfortunately when you say you don't understand, you're hitting the nail on the head. That really is all this is - just something you personally don't understand.

Try not to judge people. Each one had to live their entire story.

[Kblaze8855]

IVe had the conversation with plenty of addicts. My stepfather was both a brilliant man...and a crackhead. A ****ing engineer, master plumber, and master electrician building power plants out west....becomes a crackhead.

So I know it isnt an issue of having a brain. It is an issue of decision making though.

IVe been peer pressured a thousand times about all kinds of things. Im just not doing it. I cant say I WOULDNT become an addict if I did try coke.

But im not gonna find out.

[tpols]

So....I dont have a choice about trying opiates or not?

Yet...ive avoided them.

I didnt take them when a doctor told me to. I didnt take them with a bad back. Dental work. Broken leg.

Why?

Be stupid to become a junkie for 4-5 hours of pain relief. I had some for like a month and ended up giving them away. I feel like I may have taken one of those now that I think on it but I honestly dont remember for sure. I remember my mom joking about it like I was gonna be high but....I cant really say if I took it or not. Ive always been wary of shit like that. I ask for non narcotic pain killers. have for 10+ years. I got a cortisone shot in my back once instead of the pain killers.

I did say I understand people getting hooked in that situation...which is why ive not put myself in it. Sucks for people who have conditions that dont really give many other options though.


heroin is the only blatant thing that everyone knows theyd get addicted to if they tried. internet, alcohol, weed, gambling, shopping, jerking off, etc etc can all creep and become addictions. especially for somebody who doesnt have a good social network and has become dependant on them to pass free time. Look at some of the posters on this site with 15 accounts. Thats deep rooted mental illness you cant simulate with a "hey let me do it, im so strong ill beat it" by definition you arent in their long term shoes then.

[Ben Simmons 25]

I dont know if im an addict or not.

I dont do things at a rate id expect to risk addiction. I feel bad for smokers....but not that bad for ones who get hooked as adults.

What did they think smoking a bunch of them would do? Its a chemical addiction. Its in there. You know it before you put one in your mouth.

I dont think ive even been what id call drunk in 10 years.

Anything I felt like I was starting to NEED id not let it go any further. I understand being hard to break addiction. I dont understand becoming one.

Without knowing you, I'd say it's likely you're an internet addict. The extreme vast majority of society is unconsciously addicted to the internet. And people typically dare not say that they are because so many ignorant people don't understand and they're stupid and will judge despite being internet addicts themselves.

[RoseCity07]

IVe had the conversation with plenty of addicts. My stepfather was both a brilliant man...and a crackhead. A ****ing engineer, master plumber, and master electrician building power plants out west....becomes a crackhead.

So I know it isnt an issue of having a brain. It is an issue of decision making though.

IVe been peer pressured a thousand times about all kinds of things. Im just not doing it. I cant say I WOULDNT become an addict if I did try coke.

But im not gonna find out.

That's a profoundly ignorant thing to say. Everything happens in the brain. Everything.

Watch Robert Sapolsky's video on youtube about human behavior. He talks about depression and other mental illness. Tell me if you still believe we make these "choices" after listening to him.

[Prometheus]

You're absolutely right, it's an issue of decision-making. The illusuon you seem to have is that poor decision-makers can simply... decide... to stop making bad... decisions. Their brain is literally worse at it. Like how some people don't have proper motor skills to be able to dance well. And how others can't grasp abstract logic well enough to do complex math. Or how some brilliant people are oblivious to social cues.

For addictive personalities, or even just people with behavioral disorders, there is a great internal struggle happening that you and I can't imagine.

Saying you don't understand how people can make those decisions is just admitting you have a hard time empathizing with struggles that are not like yours.

You might as well be saying you don't understand how I can't dunk. But you know better, because we all acknowledge the body has obvious limitations that vary between individuals. What you need to appreciate is that minds come equipped (or unequipped) with equally varying sets of strengths and limitations.

You were just blessed to have brain chemistry that lends itself to enough caution and foresight... or something like that... to not be an addict. Others don't have those strengths.

[Ben Simmons 25]

You're absolutely right, it's an issue of decision-making. The illusuon you seem to have is that poor decision-makers can simply... decide... to stop making bad... decisions. Their brain is literally worse at it. Like how some people don't have proper motor skills to be able to dance well. And how others can't grasp abstract logic well enough to do complex math. Or how some brilliant people are oblivious to social cues.

For addictive personalities, or even just people with behavioral disorders, there is a great internal struggle happening that you and I can't imagine.

Saying you don't understand how people can make those decisions is just admitting you have a hard time empathizing with struggles that are not like yours.

You might as well be saying you don't understand how I can't dunk. But you know better, because we all acknowledge the body has obvious limitations that vary between individuals. What you need to appreciate is that minds come equipped (or unequipped) with equally varying sets of strengths and limitations.

You were just blessed to have brain chemistry that lends itself to enough caution and foresight... or something like that... to not be an addict. Others don't have those strengths.

Well, to be fair, they can simply decide.

It's just that they're going to have a hell of a lot harder of a time of saying no initially.

There is a distinct difference between simplicity and easiness.

It's always a simple choice to make... it's just not always an easy one to carry out.

I agree with all of your post, but at the end of the day, it really does just come down to decision making.

[scuzzy]

We really comparing being gay to being a crackhead?

Really where you went?

We really comparing addiction to only substance abuse

Really where you went?

[scuzzy]

IVe had the conversation with plenty of addicts. My stepfather was both a brilliant man...and a crackhead. A ****ing engineer, master plumber, and master electrician building power plants out west....becomes a crackhead.

So I know it isnt an issue of having a brain. It is an issue of decision making though.

.


Yes that's why addiction is clinically diagnosed as a mental illness universally worldwide. It's a hoax, he has a smart uncle thats a boozehead. That's the definitive anecdotal evidence


"just flip the switch and say no"

[scuzzy]

"It's just a matter of choice"

Step 1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol - that our lives had become unmanageable.


"just walk away"

"just put it down"

[Prometheus]

Well, to be fair, they can simply decide.

It's just that they're going to have a hell of a lot harder of a time of saying no initially.

There is a distinct difference between simplicity and easiness.

It's always a simple choice to make... it's just not always an easy one to carry out.

I agree with all of your post, but at the end of the day, it really does just come down to decision making.

Ultimately, what you are saying is true.

In application, the unfortunate truth is humans are predominantly driven by unconscious thought. We can say we're in control, but most of the time our conscious thoughts are devoted towards rationalizing what our gut has already decided.

At the end of the day, an addictive personality trying to just... not... despite ongoing chemical dependency, environment, etc... is as able to succeed instantly as I am attempting to bench 300. I can't just do that right now. It would take a long time and a lot of commitment for me to one day do that. It is like that for the addict trying to relearn how to live life.

[Kblaze8855]

That's a profoundly ignorant thing to say. Everything happens in the brain. Everything.

Watch Robert Sapolsky's video on youtube about human behavior. He talks about depression and other mental illness. Tell me if you still believe we make these "choices" after listening to him.

There is nothing anyone is gonna say to me to convince me that addicts have no choice but to begin the drug they get hooked on. I accept addiction as real. I dont accept that you have no choice but to do meth the first time you do it.

[Ben Simmons 25]

Ultimately, what you are saying is true.

In application, the unfortunate truth is humans are predominantly driven by unconscious thought. We can say we're in control, but most of the time our conscious thoughts are devoted towards rationalizing what our gut has already decided.

At the end of the day, an addictive personality trying to just... not... despite ongoing chemical dependency, environment, etc... is as able to succeed instantly as I am attempting to bench 300. I can't just do that right now. It would take a long time and a lot of commitment for me to one day do that. It is like that for the addict trying to relearn how to live life.

Well to be honest I'm skeptical that we actually make any decisions at all.

I'm starting to come to the opinion that there's a certain level of determinism to all of this, in the sense that genetics and environmental factors shape who we are, both of which aren't choices. And given how much they shape us, every subsequent thought and decision including this very post is a result of said experiences and uncontrollable factors.

tldr; I'm starting to think free will is a mere illusion.

[tpols]

Well to be honest I'm skeptical that we actually make any decisions at all.

I'm starting to come to the opinion that there's a certain level of determinism to all of this, in the sense that genetics and environmental factors shape who we are, both of which aren't choices. And given how much they shape us, every subsequent thought and decision including this very post is a result of said experiences and uncontrollable factors.

tldr; I'm starting to think free will is a mere illusion.



You are an NPC :biggums:

[Kblaze8855]

Without knowing you, I'd say it's likely you're an internet addict. The extreme vast majority of society is unconsciously addicted to the internet. And people typically dare not say that they are because so many ignorant people don't understand and they're stupid and will judge despite being internet addicts themselves.


I think the issue there is how integrated its become in all out lives. I could stop posting tomorrow. Would I stop googling to remember a song name stuck in my head? Stop checking the weather tomorrow on my phone? Not see what my friends put on facebook? Not order shit I want off amazon? Not watch a youtube video on fixing something on my car? I doubt it. That isnt an addiction to a single thing so much as...information and interactions being online now.

If you were addicted to the internet and needed to know if it would be raining tomorrow...you not going to something connected to the internet? You watching the weather channel?

Im not even sure what channel that is.

Internet addiction is hard to separate from just....the world being connected online.

[Ben Simmons 25]

I think the issue there is how integrated its become in all out lives. I could stop posting tomorrow. Would I stop googling to remember a song name stuck in my head? Stop checking the weather tomorrow on my phone? Not see what my friends put on facebook? Not order shit I want off amazon? Not watch a youtube video on fixing something on my car? I doubt it. That isnt an addiction to a single thing so much as...information and interactions being online now.

If you were addicted to the internet and needed to know if it would be raining tomorrow...you not going to something connected to the internet? You watching the weather channel?

Im not even sure what channel that is.

Internet addiction is hard to separate from just....the world being connected online.

It's not hard to separate... you're literally giving justifications for your behavior and everyone else's.

Here's an easy way to tell if you're addicted or not. Give it up for 1 week unless it's an internet interaction REQUIRED BY YOUR JOB. Your life will be just fine and you're not going to get hurt or miss out on anything you actually NEED in a week's time.

Or... next time you take a week off of work... just leave it alone entirely.

If during that week you feel deeply compelled to start browsing the web or basically do ANYTHING online, you'll know you're addicted. If you don't feel the urge to do anything online during that week, congrats, you're not addicted.

[Loco 50]

Share some tips on how you have kicked the habits of crack, smoking, porn, anger, booze, gambling or other things to the curb.

I would not want anyone to feel like they have to do it alone, firstly. There are addiction psychiatrists out there that can help plug the person into the tools that will be needed to stay away from temptation. These professionals will be covered by medicare/medicaid since this is a medical illness.

Does everyone need one? Not at all, but as any addict will tell you overcoming the addiction will probably be the most difficult thing they will be attempting during their lifetime.

Techniques that addiction psychiatry will focus on, but a few things that folks can do on there own:

1.)Therapy- gotta get to the root cause of the problem. Nobody sets out in life aspiring to be an addict obviously, so we need to figure out why this happened. Oftentimes, addiction is caused by a patient self-medicating.

2.)Support- the patient is not alone and can turn to usually a group or one on one care if needed. Find a spiritual group if desired. AA has a very strong foundation in Christianity.

3.)Clean living- exercise, exercise, exercise. Eat better=feel better=less desire to use.

4.)Avoidance- patient has to avoid triggers.
Examples:
-Never drive anywhere near the place that liquor used to be purchased at.
-Don't go near the place where you used to smoke.
-Don't hang out with people that you used to gamble/use/engage in the addictive behavior. Have to cut them off for the patients own well-being. An addict cannot go clean if he/she has a fellow user in the house currently using. It is impossible.
-Engage in behavior that inspires confidence in yourself so you minimize the negative feelings that can cause cravings.

5.)Humility- understand that once an addict, you are an addict for life and cannot use in moderation. Those that think they can control it fall back into full blown use again. Without fail.

I hope that anyone that suffers from these problems understands that firstly, it's not your fault that you are an addict.

Where some fault does lie ,however, is whether or not you seek help for it. That is entirely in your hands.

[warriorfan]

Blaze spouting some ignorant shit like it

[Loco 50]

I honestly wished at one point I could become addicted to something just to prove I have the will power to quit cold turkey.

Ive never understood how a person with half a brain does something they know will addict them long enough to get addicted. I do feel for people who get pills from a doctor then end up hooked to painkillers though.

That...I can get.
I hope you have never said anything like this to an addict. It's extremely belittling and harmful.

The problem with addiction is that since everyone's biochemistry is different it is unknown whether or not that one hit of cocaine will cause full blown addiction. Some can use casually for an entire life-time while others will succumb immediately.

Addiction is not a function of time. It's a function of biology. It's all rooted to dopamine as a few others have alluded, but not really gone into detail.

The problem is every time dopamine hits at the extremes that these substances, or gambling success, or sex, or food the neural pathway is strengthened. Much in the same manner as learning, how quickly these pathways are strengthened is up to our own neurobiology. Some folks adapt quickly and some slowly.

These pathways take into account everything that happens in that instant of the dopamine rush.

Was it your birthday? You'll get cravings and triggers when your birthday rolls around.

Were you at the park? Everytime you think of that park or go near that park you'll get cravings.

Here's the key one though. Were you feeling like shit? Did you use to feel better? Now every time you're feeling down, your brain sees the escape from that down feeling in that bottle, or meeting up for some random sex, or food, or gambling or whatever your particular vice might be.

Now your brain has developed an emotional crutch that overrides your other coping mechanisms. Day to day hassles become harder to cope with.

Something I thought was fascinating was that people develop more complex and mature coping mechanisms with time and experience. This is not the case in addicts. Addicts coping mechanisms no longer develop and are essentially frozen at the age when addiction strikes. So if addiction strikes in adolescence then this person will have the maturity of an adolescent until they have learned to overcome that crutch.

What complicates things is your brain now gets adjusted to these artificial dopamine spikes so normal enjoyable things are never quite as enjoyable as they used to be. This causes a constant drag, a depression. One where the addict eventually seeks relief. The relief in recurring use.

This is the fundamental cause of addiction.

What eventually causes death usually is the fact that nothing ever surpasses that first high. You chase the high by using more and more of the substance, but your brain has now adapted to protect itself from the unatural dopamine highs. The organs will adapt as well to a degree, but never in a healthy manner.

Now you can't get high anymore and you can't even feel normal. Your mood baseline has shifted. Has been corrupted.

The only way out of this hole is years and years of rewiring the brain to enjoy the things that the patient used to enjoy prior to addiction. Again, it's difficult because those things have lost some luster, but they have to strive and they have to have a strong support system. Make them feel like shit by attacking them or blaming them and the craving to escape that feeling enters into play again. It's not there fault for feeling bad and it's human nature to seek relief from misery.

So they have strive and do everything in their power to not go and strengthen the neural circuits of addiction by relapsing and using even a single time. Otherwise, you start all over again. Doesn't matter how long they were abstinent. That's a tall order for a lot of people.

Another of the most interesting things I've learned studying this stuff and working with folks is that addiction is not dependent on things like willpower or intelligence. There's a 10 percent chance of being susceptible to falling into addiction. Race, money, intelligence. Doesn't matter. It's all biology.

The major factors that do matter then. Genetics and history of mental pathology in family members.

I should correct myself, if one has the willpower to never use even a single time then obviously willpower is a factor. The difficulty is when you are with a bunch of friends that have used casually and swear to you that you'll never get addicted because look at them.........

It's genetic Russian roulette.

It takes dedication, passion, and patience, intelligence and understanding to help these folk out. These are rare qualities today, which explains why we have such an epidemic currently and will have one for the foreseeable future.

[AlternativeAcc.]

I honestly wished at one point I could become addicted to something just to prove I have the will power to quit cold turkey.

Ive never understood how a person with half a brain does something they know will addict them long enough to get addicted. I do feel for people who get pills from a doctor then end up hooked to painkillers though.

That...I can get.
You're addicted to sugar like most of the population.

You wont quit cold Turkey because you'll just deny your addictions or come up with excuses for why it's not convenient/possible.

You're all talk.

[JEFFERSON MONEY]

I'm addicted to ISH and it's not even funny.

I'm sick and tired of coming on this site powerlessly. Since age 15. Unreal. Time to leave.

Please pray for me.

Thanks.

[Ben Simmons 25]

I'm addicted to ISH and it's not even funny.

I'm sick and tired of coming on this site powerlessly. Since age 15. Unreal. Time to leave.

Please pray for me.

Thanks.

Aren

[RoseCity07]

You're addicted to sugar like most of the population.

You wont quit cold Turkey because you'll just deny your addictions or come up with excuses for why it's not convenient/possible.

You're all talk.

Very true. Ask anyone that tried to get into ketosis. You start to feel like shit. Some even get depressed. Your body will punish you for trying to quit carbs.

[FatComputerNerd]

Wish I could provide advice but as a borderline non-functioning alcoholic I don't wanna be a hypocrite. :cheers:

[coin24]

I'm addicted to ISH and it's not even funny.

I'm sick and tired of coming on this site powerlessly. Since age 15. Unreal. Time to leave.

Please pray for me.

Thanks.



The answer is religion. Fall even deeper into it:cheers:

[Kblaze8855]

You're addicted to sugar like most of the population.

You wont quit cold Turkey because you'll just deny your addictions or come up with excuses for why it's not convenient/possible.

You're all talk.


Funny thing about that?

I have a co worker who convinced me to try Keto. Ive had no sugar at all for weeks at a time. I do have powerade zero though. I was given some candy yesterday and its just sitting in my car. Im not a dick about it...someone brought me coffee that was already sweet and I drank it...but ive found I can do without sugar. Its only annoying at dinner. Hard to stop drinking juice. I do have some cranberries in the house too but I wouldnt call them sweet.



Anyway....




It's not hard to separate... you're literally giving justifications for your behavior and everyone else's.

Here's an easy way to tell if you're addicted or not. Give it up for 1 week unless it's an internet interaction REQUIRED BY YOUR JOB. Your life will be just fine and you're not going to get hurt or miss out on anything you actually NEED in a week's time.

Or... next time you take a week off of work... just leave it alone entirely.

If during that week you feel deeply compelled to start browsing the web or basically do ANYTHING online, you'll know you're addicted. If you don't feel the urge to do anything online during that week, congrats, you're not addicted.

What im saying is....would you count using apps and so on that we use to get products as the internet?

I literally just ordered a car part. Think id go pay 60 bucks more at advance down the street than I got it online to prove a point?

Im gonna get something to eat off Bitesquad. Why? My car...which I ordered a part for? Is down. I took the part I need off....and im waiting for the new one. Im on vacation. I dont need the car.

So...should I instead find a phonebook to figure out a local pizza place phone number? Because googling it would be using the internet?

I need to know if its gonna rain saturday....when im gonna fix the car. Must I what...go buy a news paper? Does someone give you directions to a new place you need to go? Or do you GPS it on your phone? How long has it been since someone told you turn by turn directions like in the old days?

The internet is just information at this point. Its how you interact with a business....get a phone number...order food...get products you need. We dont watch the news and wait for the story we want. We read the news. ITs a modern newspaper. It would be quite hard to stop using the internet because the internet is how modern society functions.

Ive been on my bank site today. Paid a credit card bill. What would be fitting to prove im not an addict? Mail a check? Does anyone under 60 mail bills that can be paid online? I wouldnt even know what to send. My bills get emailed to me. The reason its hard to go without internet access is because its asking someone to live an entirely different life than everyone around them. The american lifestyle is built off the assumption you have internet access.

I wouldnt know the number to a cab if I have to go somewhere tomorrow. ill just uber.

Calling out a modern american for using the internet is just calling him.....a modern american.

[Kblaze8855]

I hope you have never said anything like this to an addict. It's extremely belittling and harmful.

I have in fact. Several times. Only two of my 8-10 closest friends dont smoke. Me and one other guy.

Quite a few have discussed with me how they got hooked.

My best friend didnt start smoking till he was in his 20s and considers it the dumbest thing he ever did. All the rest started young. He started by being handed them in bars. He...like everyone else....decided to do something he knew could addict him.

I dont blame people for chemical addictions existing. I blame people for doing the things they know can give you such an addiction.

I dont know if I could just break a meth habit. But I know im not dumb enough to start using meth. It is a decision. IVe watched people make it. Iv watched people try coke the first time. All kinds of pills. Lean. I choose not to.

Im not saying the choice is simple once youre hooked. Addiction is clearly real.

Im saying using it to begin with is a choice.

[Kblaze8855]

[QUOTE]Blaze spouting some ignorant shit like it

[90sgoat]

I'm definitely addicted to the internet.

I feel like shit if I cant go online.

Unless I'm out in the wilderness or something.

[Ben Simmons 25]

I have in fact. Several times. Only two of my 8-10 closest friends dont smoke. Me and one other guy.

Quite a few have discussed with me how they got hooked.

My best friend didnt start smoking till he was in his 20s and considers it the dumbest thing he ever did. All the rest started young. He started by being handed them in bars. He...like everyone else....decided to do something he knew could addict him.

I dont blame people for chemical addictions existing. I blame people for doing the things they know can give you such an addiction.

I dont know if I could just break a meth habit. But I know im not dumb enough to start using meth. It is a decision. IVe watched people make it. Iv watched people try coke the first time. All kinds of pills. Lean. I choose not to.

Im not saying the choice is simple once youre hooked. Addiction is clearly real.

Im saying using it to begin with is a choice.

I

[DCL]

Share some tips on how you have kicked the habits of crack, smoking, porn, anger, booze, gambling or other things to the curb.


if this topic pertains to something you're going through, what specifically are you trying to beat?

[tpols]

Is this really hard to get?

I am not saying you can prevent a chemical addiction though will power.

Im saying whatever youre hooked on...be it crack, meth, opiates or a different category like sex or....anything.

You DECIDED to do it.

Will power cant stop your brain from developing a dependency to some chemical you give it all the time.

Will power can stop you from ever trying whatever it is to begin with.

What I wonder is if my will power is such I could quit if put in that position. But its obviously not worth it to find out.


Have you tried alcohol? (how do alcoholics exist?)

You dont become an addict from trying something once...unless its heroin.

[Loco 50]

I have in fact. Several times. Only two of my 8-10 closest friends dont smoke. Me and one other guy.

Obviously the consequences of a flip remark will be different when saying something like that to a smoker, a habit that at least has the courtesy of taking a few decades to kill a person, as opposed to coke that could kill them with the next hit.

Problem as I see it. It would be akin to telling an amputee, "I wish I knew what it felt like to have to get around on one leg for the rest of my life."

Nah, you really don't.


Quite a few have discussed with me how they got hooked.

My best friend didnt start smoking till he was in his 20s and considers it the dumbest thing he ever did. All the rest started young. He started by being handed them in bars. He...like everyone else....decided to do something he knew could addict him.

I dont blame people for chemical addictions existing. I blame people for doing the things they know can give you such an addiction.

Agreed, it's foolish, but it happens all the time. I know many folks that started late and will actively slap the shit outta their mouths if they try to light up in front of me.


I dont know if I could just break a meth habit. But I know im not dumb enough to start using meth. It is a decision. IVe watched people make it. Iv watched people try coke the first time. All kinds of pills. Lean. I choose not to.

Im not saying the choice is simple once youre hooked. Addiction is clearly real.

Playing the odds. You can't. The stuff, like crack, is designed to hook you on first use. Fortunately, you're smart enough not to play with fire. A lot of folks aren't. They want to believe they're above that. It would never happen to them. Never. Until it does. Or they got caught up in a social situation and figure what's the harm in doing it once?


Im saying using it to begin with is a choice.
100% agreed, but you and I both know we've got a lotta people that don't logically think things out.

[Loco 50]

Have you tried alcohol? (how do alcoholics exist?)

You dont become an addict from trying something once...unless its heroin.
This is a myth. Some alcoholics do become addicted on first use. There is a euphoria that the alcoholic brain receives upon intake that a person without that gene does not get.

They can often recall where, when and exactly what they were doing the first time they tasted alcohol whereas to most it was not really a big deal. Often they describe the moment as the best moment in their lives and will describe the feeling as meeting their true love.

I've seen their eyes sparkle when reminiscing.....

[Nanners]

I honestly wished at one point I could become addicted to something just to prove I have the will power to quit cold turkey.

Ive never understood how a person with half a brain does something they know will addict them long enough to get addicted. I do feel for people who get pills from a doctor then end up hooked to painkillers though.

That...I can get.

you post a lot of idiotic shit but this crap is so stupid it makes starface look like a nobel prize candidate.

If you want to become addicted to something just to prove you can quit, go and get yourself addicted to opiates... let us know how that works out for you

[Kblaze8855]

Have you tried alcohol? (how do alcoholics exist?)

You dont become an addict from trying something once...unless its heroin.


This is my point...

I tried alcohol. It was my choice.

If id tried heroin instead....that would be my choice. Making the consequences...a matter of choice.

[Kblaze8855]

you post a lot of idiotic shit but this crap is so stupid it makes starface look like a nobel prize candidate.

If you want to become addicted to something just to prove you can quit, go and get yourself addicted to opiates... let us know how that works out for you


Did I say id do it? Did I even say I could break a serious addiction?

I said id like to be able to test my willpower to try....obviously...without actually having the addiction.

As an experiment.

If I could give myself the chemical urges to use meth that a meth addict has...knowing I could make them go away by say....pressing a button and not actually using meth?

Id sign up in a second. Id like to understand that plight to see what im made of.

[Nanners]

Did I say id do it? Did I even say I could break a serious addiction?

I said id like to be able to test my willpower to try....obviously...without actually having the addiction.

As an experiment.

If I could give myself the chemical urges to use meth that a meth addict has...knowing I could make them go away by say....pressing a button and not actually using meth?

Id sign up in a second. Id like to understand that plight to see what im made of.


heres what you said


I honestly wished at one point I could become addicted to something just to prove I have the will power to quit cold turkey.

if you truly want an experiment, and you want to give yourself chemical urges like a meth user has, go and get yourself addicted to opiates. I dare you.

you think drug addiction is some joke that only effects weak people or some nonsense.... go kick an opiate addiction and then get back to me, ****ing idiot.

[Prometheus]

There's a lot of ignorance even in making the "they're stupid for even trying it" argument. I had a mother and uncles and an older brother who live respectable lives, all of whom warned me about drugs (and other dangers in life) when I was young.

Not all people come up with good influences like that. If you come from a broken hkme, and your mom is too busy with men to give you the time of day, and all you have is your 5th grade D.A.R.E. program to tell you smoking crack is a bad idea, then you see your friends from school huddled around under the bridge after school, you're gonna try it.

[tpols]

This is my point...

I tried alcohol. It was my choice.

If id tried heroin instead....that would be my choice. Making the consequences...a matter of choice.

The point is you tried alcohol and didnt get addicted. That proves there's much more to an addiction than a first time choice...its almost always a long pattern and buildup.

[Kblaze8855]

Obviously if it were a wish to be hooked on actual crack id go find some crack. Its a desire to test my will power. Though the situation in question came from a discussion with friends who were trying to quit smoking.

You have seen nothing from me to suggest chemical addictions arent real. The whole idea is me knowing they are real...and wishing to understand what it takes to break them better. I grew up with crackheads in the house. A fairly intelligent one as I explained.

My views have been pretty clear on this.

1. Its stupid to use drugs in the first place.


2. The addiction is clearly real.

3. Id like to see if I could break an addiction...but wont..because of #1.

If I could give a simulated version that would come down to pure will power? Yea.

Id see what it was like. Id probably come out with sympathy for the afflicted...but still knowing its foolish to try some things to begin with.

[Kblaze8855]

The point is you tried alcohol and didnt get addicted. That proves there's much more to an addiction than a first time choice...its almost always a long pattern and buildup.


But it all requires the first time choice.

And before you ask...was I stupid to try alcohol?

Yes. Like I was stupid to try smoking.



There's a lot of ignorance even in making the "they're stupid for even trying it" argument. I had a mother and uncles and an older brother who live respectable lives, all of whom warned me about drugs (and other dangers in life) when I was young.

Not all people come up with good influences like that. If you come from a broken hkme, and your mom is too busy with men to give you the time of day, and all you have is your 5th grade D.A.R.E. program to tell you smoking crack is a bad idea, then you see your friends from school huddled around under the bridge after school, you're gonna try it.

Im from a broken home.

I barely saw my mom. I was raised in my grandmothers house.

I am from terrible neighborhoods....I know more crack dealers than you would believe. Several were my friends.

I have seen crack cooked. I have smelled crack smoke coming from my bathroom. I have watched friends snort powder since I was about 14.

Never even considered it. And its not like im special. Clearly a great many people also didnt start smoking crack off peer pressure. We were all from broken homes. Half of us didnt have stable homes or a family. We ALL had friends on drugs or at least smoking cigarettes.

Quite a few people came out clean.

[Prometheus]

But it all requires the first time choice.

And before you ask...was I stupid to try alcohol?

Yes. Like I was stupid to try smoking.




Im from a broken home.

I barely saw my mom. I was raised in my grandmothers house.

I am from terrible neighborhoods....I know more crack dealers than you would believe. Several were my friends.

I have seen crack cooked. I have smelled crack smoke coming from my bathroom. I have watched friends snort powder since I was about 14.

Never even considered it. And its not like im special. Clearly a great many people also didnt start smoking crack off peer pressure. We were all from broken homes. Half of us didnt have stable homes or a family. We ALL had friends on drugs or at least smoking cigarettes.

Quite a few people came out clean.

Where did you learn that it was a bad idea?

[Kblaze8855]

The same place I learned not to drink gasoline.

Common sense.

Nobody had to tell me not to smoke crack.

Did someone have to tell you not to smoke crack to know it wasnt a good idea? Not like crack was being smoked by my friends at 7. By the time someone could potentially give you some crack to smoke you are old enough to know better...usually. Note....I said usually.

[Prometheus]

The same place I learned not to drink gasoline.

Common sense.

Nobody had to tell me not to smoke crack.

Did someone have to tell you not to smoke crack to know it wasnt a good idea? Not like crack was being smoked by my friends at 7. By the time someone could potentially give you some crack to smoke you are old enough to know better...usually. Note....I said usually.

That doesn't make any sense. I think you're forgetting something, or taking something for granted. No one just instinctively knows not to do drugs. You have to be exposed to some kind of information about them, be it from school or TV or a family member or something.

That's like saying you knew cigs cause lung cancer when you were an infant. That's not how any of this works.

[Kblaze8855]

By the time you reach an age to make some decisions just living life gives you some information.

Some things are just standard society based information.

I

[Loco 50]

By the time you reach an age to make some decisions just living life gives you some information.

Some things are just standard society based information.

I’ve either raised or had a hand in raising quite a few kids. And I am certain I have never pulled one aside to explain that they shouldn’t smoke meth, drink antifreeze, or jump off a roof.

I’m sure you learn such things somewhere even if too young to remember but....it isn’t what I’d call a lesson.
Thinking back, there wasn't an entertainment medium that did not include a "say no to drugs" message. Messages before movies, commercials, video games. Pick up a comic and there were both ads and sometimes entire stories dedicated to the subject.

The "War on Drugs" officially started in the late 60's, early 70's and continues on, so safe to say you got some exposure there.

Plus, unfortunately as you mentioned, some of us grew up around the stuff, so implicit lessons are learned. There is no more effective lesson than actually growing up around an addict.

[Kblaze8855]

That

[Norcaliblunt]

Some people just like drugs. Some people don

[highwhey]

[QUOTE=Kblaze8855]By the time you reach an age to make some decisions just living life gives you some information.

Some things are just standard society based information.

I

[Ben Simmons 25]

Kblaze I’m still waiting for you to give up all entertainment/leisure based activities on the internet for a week...

No music on your phone or computer, no ish, no news, nothing... texting is ok, banking is ok and ordering NECESSARY products and or food is ok and that’s literally it.

Face it... you are addicted.

[Prometheus]

Just let him be, he's found a way to feel superior to a lot of people. It's probably good for his self esteem.

[Ben Simmons 25]

Just let him be, he's found a way to feel superior to a lot of people. It's probably good for his self esteem.

Oh I assure you he feels superior to most people in a lot more ways than just this...

[Kblaze8855]

As I said you

[Ben Simmons 25]

The overarching point is that I guarantee you reach for your phone/tablet/pc MULTIPLE TIMES A DAY JUST TO PASS TIME AND FOR NO OTHER REASON other than feeling compelled to pass the time via said device. I guaranfucingtee it...

You rationalize by calling it 2019 and I correctly call it denial.

[JEFFERSON MONEY]

There's a lot of ignorance even in making the "they're stupid for even trying it" argument. I had a mother and uncles and an older brother who live respectable lives, all of whom warned me about drugs (and other dangers in life) when I was young.

Not all people come up with good influences like that. If you come from a broken hkme, and your mom is too busy with men to give you the time of day, and all you have is your 5th grade D.A.R.E. program to tell you smoking crack is a bad idea, then you see your friends from school huddled around under the bridge after school, you're gonna try it.


BINGO.

It's harder to resist these kind of things when you have an unfulfilling life--especially early on.

When you're lonely, sad, and want an escape....

I recently read Autobiography of Malcolm X.
He spoke about the people he knew on the streets hooked to things.
ANd a 6 step process---where they'd recognize
a) That they were addicts
b) Why they were addicts (what hole in their life were they trying to plug)
c)
d)
e) Have help during those times of intense craving with brothers and resisting hard against the desire.
f) Then they'd forward it by being there for another addict.

forgot c and d.


My issues (early on) were probably lust, interwebs, music, u could say basketball as well, perhaps meat and sugar too...


----i know people who gamble like crazy and can't say no (several hundred bucks gone in a few moments!!! hey you can't win if you don't play!!!), people who love their cigs and drink and people addicted to the gay lifestyle.

There's just so MUCH POTENTIAL THAT IS BEING HINDERED by these things!!! With those destructive habits out of the way--it would pave way for growth in all facets of life...


IT's so hard though... MInd is wired for reward.

https://svenzel.files.wordpress.com/2015/12/12-steps-aa.jpg?w=474


Anywho I hope that the people reading this can reach out to those in need and help people to stop destructive habits and move to a constructive good life free from these traps.

Every day we move towards our salvation or our destruction.

Let's strive for the former :)

[Kblaze8855]

The overarching point is that I guarantee you reach for your phone/tablet/pc MULTIPLE TIMES A DAY JUST TO PASS TIME AND FOR NO OTHER REASON other than feeling compelled to pass the time via said device. I guaranfucingtee it...

You rationalize by calling it 2019 and I correctly call it denial.


Tell me this...

Its 1998

You are in a doctors office waiting room. What do you do to pass the time?

Read one of the books they have there? Watch the tv they have on? Listen to a portable radio of some kind? Read the newspaper perhaps?

Everything you would do to pass the time 20 years ago is done by one device now.

Internet addiction I suppose exists...but I dont even know how you would identify it these days. Almost all of society assumes you have internet access to interact with it.

Whats my motivation to inconvenience myself tremendously because you want to liken the 300 things we do online every day to smoking crack?

Im not gonna setup my record player to play a song to prove a point to you. My home speakers will play what I want from my phone or xbox. I get facetimed by toddlers who wanna talk to me. Its just how people communicate now.

It annoys me when people cant put a phone away to do something without it. Watch a movie. Eat dinner. Have a conversation.

But there are too many things in life that you need internet access to do efficiently these days. Youre in more denial than I if you cant admit that.

My damn tv requests access to wifi....

[Prometheus]

BINGO.

It's harder to resist these kind of things when you have an unfulfilling life--especially early on.

When you're lonely, sad, and want an escape....

I recently read Autobiography of Malcolm X.
He spoke about the people he knew on the streets hooked to things.
ANd a 6 step process---where they'd recognize
a) That they were addicts
b) Why they were addicts (what hole in their life were they trying to plug)
c)
d)
e) Have help during those times of intense craving with brothers and resisting hard against the desire.
f) Then they'd forward it by being there for another addict.

forgot c and d.


My issues (early on) were probably lust, interwebs, music, u could say basketball as well, perhaps meat and sugar too...


----i know people who gamble like crazy and can't say no (several hundred bucks gone in a few moments!!! hey you can't win if you don't play!!!), people who love their cigs and drink and people addicted to the gay lifestyle.

There's just so MUCH POTENTIAL THAT IS BEING HINDERED by these things!!! With those destructive habits out of the way--it would pave way for growth in all facets of life...


IT's so hard though... MInd is wired for reward.

https://svenzel.files.wordpress.com/2015/12/12-steps-aa.jpg?w=474


Anywho I hope that the people reading this can reach out to those in need and help people to stop destructive habits and move to a constructive good life free from these traps.

Every day we move towards our salvation or our destruction.

Let's strive for the former :)

:coleman:

[Ben Simmons 25]

Tell me this...

Its 1998

You are in a doctors office waiting room. What do you do to pass the time?

Read one of the books they have there? Watch the tv they have on? Listen to a portable radio of some kind? Read the newspaper perhaps?

Everything you would do to pass the time 20 years ago is done by one device now.

Internet addiction I suppose exists...but I dont even know how you would identify it these days. Almost all of society assumes you have internet access to interact with it.

That's a big part of the problem. It's so incredibly widespread that a significant portion of the population doesn't recognize that they're addicted. It's simply "normal."


It annoys me when people cant put a phone away to do something without it. Watch a movie. Eat dinner. Have a conversation.

Those people you describe are on the high end of the addiction. They're as close to non functioning as you can get while being internet addicted except for the shut-ins that suffer agoraphobia and massive social anxiety as a result of over stimulation...


But there are too many things in life that you need internet access to do efficiently these days. Youre in more denial than I if you cant admit that.

Oh of course it's a huge convenience. There's no denying that. That has nothing to do with me being right or wrong about most of the population being internet addicted.


My damn tv requests access to wifi....

There's a difference because I'd qualify that as still just watching TV.

When I speak on Internet addiction I'm referring to usage of phone, tablet, or computer for leisure/entertainment.



The difference between reading a book, listening to music, watching a movie and... internet addiction... is the fact that if popping open your phone for online entertainment is almost always your default response to downtime and you do it rather quickly when nothing is happening or maybe something is happening that you are neglecting... you are addicted. It's not the same thing at all as reading a book. Not even close.

Reading a book requires you putting time aside. People don't read a book for 3 lines, put it down and interact with society, and start reading again, only to put it down again 30 seconds later... and repeat over and over and over. They do that with the internet literally all over the place. They are getting those dopamine hits. That's literally what's happening. Additionally, once they're done reading a book, the extreme vast majority of people aren't going to move on to a new book immediately without taking a second to breathe and reflect... but that's exactly what's happening with internet usage literally all of the time.

Additionally, reading a book actually makes your mind more focused and collected. Internet/electronic device usage actually makes you less focused, more anxious and gives you repeated hit after repeated hit of dopamine in your brain. Text messages, clicking links, navigating websites, checking for new replies on web forums, getting new replies on web forums... each a shot of dopamine far greater than the vast majority of any part of any book you'll ever read. It literally re-wires your brain.

[hotsizzle]

kblaze, would you consider yourself an arrogant person

[JEFFERSON MONEY]

6-Step NARCOTICS ANONYMOUS

"Taken from Autobiography of Malcolm X"

1) WHY ARE YOU AN ADDICT?
2) Why use NARCOTICS?
3) Know that there is a way to STOP.
4) There is power to stop.
5) Cold Turkey/Breaks (Make sure to bring other brothers along during the times of insane temptation)
6) Fish up other addicts and help them and encourage the--because you've been there.

[DukeDelonte13]

I think Kblaze and a lot of people don't understand is that nobody just out of nowhere decides to start shooting H or that their addiction stems from a lack of discipline or will power.

Sure there may be a handful of people, but from what I see and deal with probably 85% of people hooked on opiods at one point had a major injury and they got a prescription by their doctor. Once it runs out they are still in pain and then they get hooked in with these shady as f*ck pain management clinics.

Once that stream runs out financially or for some other reason thats when the "heroin" comes into play, only at least here in NE Ohio "heroin" doesn't really exist anymore. It's all fent mixed up with some mystery chemicals.

The drug takes over. Addicts don't think like a non addicted person thinks. It's not a matter of willpower. It gets to a point where they need medical and psychological intervention to have a chance to be successful in sobriety.
A lot of people think that all a junkie has to do is go through an ugly withdrawal phase and their addiction goes away. If it were that easy we wouldn't be having a problem.

You know it's bad when you constantly see parents begging judges to have their kids incarcerated so they can have a chance to stay clean for a short while and they know that their kids aren't gonna die from an OD while they are in jail.

I've only seen a very small handful of people break the habit totally. Most that are "clean" are on subs. Better than the alternative though. I hear good things about vivitrol but it's expensive as hell.

[tpols]

I think Kblaze and a lot of people don't understand is that nobody just out of nowhere decides to start shooting H or that their addiction stems from a lack of discipline or will power.

Sure there may be a handful of people, but from what I see and deal with probably 85% of people hooked on opiods at one point had a major injury and they got a prescription by their doctor. Once it runs out they are still in pain and then they get hooked in with these shady as f*ck pain management clinics.

Once that stream runs out financially or for some other reason thats when the "heroin" comes into play, only at least here in NE Ohio "heroin" doesn't really exist anymore. It's all fent mixed up with some mystery chemicals.

The drug takes over. Addicts don't think like a non addicted person thinks. It's not a matter of willpower. It gets to a point where they need medical and psychological intervention to have a chance to be successful in sobriety.
A lot of people think that all a junkie has to do is go through an ugly withdrawal phase and their addiction goes away. If it were that easy we wouldn't be having a problem.

You know it's bad when you constantly see parents begging judges to have their kids incarcerated so they can have a chance to stay clean for a short while and they know that their kids aren't gonna die from an OD while they are in jail.

I've only seen a very small handful of people break the habit totally. Most that are "clean" are on subs. Better than the alternative though. I hear good things about vivitrol but it's expensive as hell.


There are many many more addictions than dope and most have to do with a lack of discipline.