When does it get better?

[Spiderman]

So, if you have struggled with alcohol or drug addiction, how much sober time did it take before you felt like you were back to normal?

Since my drug of choice was meth, I hear that it can take years for the brain to heal from the damage done to the dopamine receptors.

I'd only really been using it regularly for roughly a year, and wasn't using it daily. Plus I'm still young, so maybe with grace from above, things will improve quickly.

I was really tempted today. The cool thing is I lost my EBT card yesterday, so I couldn't relapse when I slipped into a rage and felt out of control.

It's the first of the month so everybody's high here. Had I not lost that card , it could be very likely I would have relapsed.

God works in mysterious ways!

I cut myself off from the lady I was primarily buying from. She's the type of person that will not offer me a second chance once I've made the decision that I want to quit.

Other people are not so honorable, but I do have a sign on my door that's let everybody know not to sell to me.

The first week is hell!

 

[The Hammer]

To get sober it took me several years, 2 IOP programs, a DUI and loss of career (not in that order), to "get sober". How long after I actually stopped drinking did I start to feel "normal"? About a year or so, and getting in to regular routine therapy helped.

 

[MonkeyFire]

I cant stop smoking weed or I feel torment. Can anyone relate?

 

[Spiderman]

I cant stop smoking weed or I feel torment. Can anyone relate?

Yes
Anger, rage, anxiety, and exhaustion

 

[BSM1]

I struggled with alcohol from the time I was 15 (with a couple of DUI's and other alcohol related arrests to prove my point), but I haven't had a mind or mood altering substance since 1974. However, hardly a day goes by that I don't find myself remembering what it felt like to have a drink or a joint. After all this time I am 100% sure that I can now have one mixed drink (rum and coke!), or one beer, or one glass of wine for dinner or one toke before a gig and walk away from it. I am also 110% sure that I can't take that chance. Sobriety is not an end game my friend, it's a day to day struggle. But it is definitely worth the fight. For the record, there is no such thing as "recovered alcoholic or addict", you are always recovering. The only time you can consider yourself "recovered" (and therefore "normal") is when you take your last breath without ever having backslid. Hang in there; it's worth the stretch.

 

[Spiderman]

I but I haven't had a mind or mood altering substance since 1974. .

Truly impressive!

The only coin I found in jail was a 1974 penny and the first four letters of the word coincidence are coin. I'm sure it means something.