addiction

The realities of addition; the truth about living under, above and beyond the influence of drugs and alcohol.

Kind Words
How many times have you beat yourself up over something that happened in the past or behaviors that you previously had? How many times have you wished that you did something different, or that you could go back and change those circumstances?
By Ashley Nestler, MSW6 years ago in Psyche
Normy and Not Another Funeral
My cousin calls me last night and tells me the Fred, the boyfriend of her daughter, died on Sunday from a heroin overdose. My little cousin, her daughter Rachel, is on a trip out of state right now and flying home on a bereavement pass tomorrow morning. Fred was always really sweet and they were talking about getting married. Now she and our family will be attending his funeral and she will be sitting next to his mother in the front row of the chapel instead of standing with him at the front of the church. The flowers will be overwhelming and there will be friends sharing stories of love but there won’t be any happy wedding toasts with sparkling cider. These funerals of overdose victims can’t really be celebrations of life, since the addict didn’t love life more than they loved their drug of choice, right?
By Sarah Seas6 years ago in Psyche
How Drug Abuse Affects Dental Health: 3 Ways to Beat the Addiction
When the topic of addiction comes up, we often think about the damage done to an individual's personal relationships, finances, and mental health. Beyond all of these consequences, however, there are also the physical problems caused by repeated drug use. One of the most impacted areas caused by substance abuse is the mouth, especially since this is the entry point for many substances. If you are currently addicted to a substance and are concerned about your health, let's take a closer look at exactly how drugs impact dental health and what you can do to overcome your addiction.
By Carlos Fox6 years ago in Psyche
Teenage Drug Addiction
Before my mouth wrapped itself around the pipe that had the crystal methamphetamine (ice) in it, I was already hiding alcohol in my cupboard, taking pills, MDMA and smoking weed every day. From memory, I was sober maybe once or twice a week. I was 15. They say drinking and small drugs like weed are gateways to others and they aren’t wrong. It is a domino effect.
By Wyborn 6 years ago in Psyche
A RECOVERING ALCOHOLIC
In the interest of full disclosure, there are links to Amazon books. Opening will benefit the author financially. I left off where my friends had left my drunk ass stumbling home and dealing with my mom and the aftermath of that first day of drinking. In continuation, there was the funny times, as I hinted at that were funny based on the rule of comedy: time plus tragedy. Well, not so tragic luckily, but still funny maybe on a scale of: time plus a dumbass!
By Victor Mendez6 years ago in Psyche
My Heroin Career
So, to explain the photo, this was a test strip that I used to test the remaining paraphernalia I had left, after I had overdosed and nearly lost my life to fentanyl. Like most people I started with a Percocet prescription from the “doc” aka my dealer. Soon enough you realize these grab ahold of your life and they do not let go. Soon the dosages aren’t enough and you resort to buying your pain medication on the street. I lasted about 10 years of just using what doc prescribed, but soon enough I was searching the streets of a very dangerous neighborhood, basically racially profiling anyone I thought could get me what I needed. (I had heard from some friends certain blocks have guys standing outside selling them). After about 3 hours of paranoia and debating wether or not to get out of my car I met “T”. He was as friendly as your local deli lady, asked me what i needed and, let me tell you his customer service was bettter then Walmart’s lol. But anyway, I proceed to wait on the corner of a street where 15 other dealers are standing trying to get their money. “T” returns with the Percocet, something seemed different about them but I figured hey it might’ve got messed up during shipping whatever excuse you tell yourself because you value safety less then getting high when you an addict. I even approached it somewhat smart, did half my usual dose to make sure nothing was wrong with them... seemed to be working. I take my normal dose and two hours later I wake up in a hospital, with a breathing tube down my neck because it was laced with fentanyl. And my heart had stopped my lungs would not operate on their own, I was damn near a vegetable. I’ll never forget the pain on my mother’s face... I nearly lost everything I loved, and destroyed the ones who love me...
By B SKOK6 years ago in Psyche
Addiction.
Addiction. A couple of months ago, on the brink of football season ending, I visited my favourite coffee shop in the morning, where I do most of my writing. The Penny on First Avenue. The Penny became one of the key places in my journey with writing, however, the point of this piece is not to sing praises to a coffee shop, but rather to talk about the connections I’ve made there. As a very inclusive and warm environment, The Penny often attracts outcasts alike- people that long for a sense of community, a sense of belonging. That wasn’t the case for me per se. What attracted me to that place was the fact that it is a very healthy working environment. I can’t do my writing within the comfortable confines of my room. My inner self requires that I go out somewhere and do it.
By Alex Barbu6 years ago in Psyche
That Was Methamphetamine I Just Smoked?
Methamphetamine is a very dangerous, illegal drug that can cause short and long term problems in the brain and problems with emotions. It is very addictive, and people using this drug can have hallucinations and delusions and become paranoid and violent. The physical aspects of long-term addiction are tooth decay, weight loss, and sores where the meth user has picked at his/herself to get rid of the imaginary bugs crawling on them. When someone is addicted to meth, they only care about getting high.
By Denise Willis6 years ago in Psyche
Alcoholism
More than 15 million people struggle with an alcohol use disorder in the United States, but less than eight percent of those receive treatment. More than 65 million Americans report binge drinking in the past month, which is more than 40 percent of the total of current alcohol users. These are the facts when it comes to alcohol.
By Jenna Lynn6 years ago in Psyche
Normy and the New Year
December 31 Normy and the New Year Fireworks are already going off outside and its twenty minutes before midnight. This is our first New Year’s Eve in five years that we are fairly certain our daughter is clean and sober. We know where she is. For a parent who has never dealt with addiction, this may not seem like a big deal, but for me it is every birthday wish I’ve made these last few years. As the clock ticks toward the New Year I am so thankful for this simple pleasure; knowing my daughter is safe tonight. We removed all the alcohol from the house before the holidays and let all our family that would be visiting, there would be no alcohol in our home because we do understand that sobriety can be so fragile especially in the beginning.
By Sarah Seas6 years ago in Psyche
Grateful Addict
For most of my life, I lived with a little kid— nagging, picking, pulling at the back of my shirt— come here, come on, you need me, you must have me, I will make you better, you can't do it without me, you need me. Like an annoying little sister, clinging to your every move, demanding your attention and seeking only the most negative of response. And like any good drug addict, my most negative response is what she got.
By Krystal Michelle6 years ago in Psyche
A RECOVERING ALCOHOLIC part I:ENTRY
Hello everyone. My name is, well, the rule is only your first name but since this is my story and I am the author, then you know who I am and I am a recovering alcoholic. I wrote this piece on the 3rd of August, 2014, so I guess it's been a while. I wrote it at the time as I was reaching a milestone I never imagined I'd get to. A milestone of which I am careful to be proud of as they say "Pride comes before a fall", and I sure as shootin' don't want to fall off my lil milestone wagon and so to celebrate I decided I'd write some of my story.
By Victor Mendez6 years ago in Psyche