Cant Addicts Think For Themselves?

[bettie1976]

I see post after post asking "so & so's" for help. These people do not run your lives. A part of recovery is getting to know yourself (and Id say trusting your instinct). So maybe you could try and do a google search or something before going straight to the person youre asking advice of. Yea I know its easier to just post here and get a quick answer but try doing some of the work yourself. It feels good.

[tobybear]

I am glad that you are doing great.  I have been looking into the internet for answers for months and have found more ways to get pills, and more ways to fake pain.  Problem is when you want to get clean it seems you run into more pitfalls then you started with.  While I like to think and learn for my self, I have found this forum that not only educates a person about addiction, but has a heart and compassion. This forum is a place where you can go to and get help to stop taking drugs and not get hooked into other things. I hope to be as strong and positive as you one day.  I really use to do all my own thinking and reserch, then the pills clouded my judgement.  That is one reason I read all the post and learn  from others. God Bless.

Tobybear

[shyloh]

I understand where you are coming from.  I surfed the net for all kinds of information regarding my problem.  I spent hours reading court cases, addiction literature, going to group meetings, going to rehab, etc.,  but I still needed advice.  Coming here and posting with other addicts helps me in my recovery.

S

[cherokee_gal]

Well Im not sure how your recovery works for you but if thinking for yourself works more power to you. I know for most of us that our thinking gets us in a hell of a lot of trouble. My brain is out to get me. No I am not a mental case, just a person with alot of experience in thinking i could figure out all of this addiction stuff myself. And what a surprise that it hasnt worked for 20 years. I had 41/2 years clean and sober and started thinking that i knew more than others and that maybe i really didnt have a problem at all. It has taken me 15 years to get clean and sober again. And I truly believe that the only reason for that is because i humbled myself and became willing and teachable. As the saying goes, you can never be too stupid to get clean and sober but you can be too smart.
Hope all works out,
Deb    

[Dave W.]

I hear you guys,loud and clear. The internet has so much info,but if your searching
for info,on a subject that you know nothing about,you may be suprised when you
get info,that's wrong.I rescently told my PM Dr.,that I didn't want steroid shots,since
I read so much info about them inhibiting healing. He said,"Who know's more about,
this,me or you"? I didn't mean to insult him,just stated,that after reading site after site,
about all the downfalls of injections,that I wasn't sure,that's what I wanted to do. Just
because you read the same info from site after site,obviously doesn't make it 100%
correct.It's just stating someone's opinion,time after time,just like we do on here.
We have to make our own descisions,whether we are in addiction mode or not. You
can't expect everyone to hold your hand,at everything you do? Right or wrong,we have
to learn from our mistakes,it's what makes us stronger,no matter how much we fall down,
or make the wrong choice in life.Peace.

[tzt2lady]

I think that we are each others eyes and ears at times.   There is a lot of stuff I know,  but need reminders because when Im in the thick of something, I cant see the forest for the trees so to speak.  It those times I ask for help.  My best thinking got me addicted and I must remember that.  Others can see what I am blind to.  Not that I wouldnt have the solution for another, just cant see it for myself.

[Mangee]

Do not begin to doubt yourself. You are the rock you must stand on through all of this. Everyone has their own way of doing or looking at things as you said. You do not need to change your way of thinking completely. You may have to alter it slightly in order to evaluate what others have to say regarding withdrawal. As for offending anyone, it is not offense it is merely a difference of opinion.

[bettie1976]

So maybe I came across wrong....I think what I MEANT to say was that I see SO many posts asking people this and that. Maybe Im more advanced than newcomers to addiction and so I see things differently. Im sorry if I offended anyone, I guess I have to remember that everyone's got their own way of doing things and Im so used to it being my way or no way at all, need to change my way of thinking and be more understanding.

:D

[Mangee]

That is where I was at. I had no true idea where to turn. As said, the internet can be a plus or a minus, depending on where the info comes from. Many internet advisorys carry a money sign. They are there to make a buck and do not really have the true way to withdraw. There were so many ways of withdrawing that my head was spinning. Even some so called "Clinics," were phony. I finally found this forum and with the advice of many who were and had been there, along with my will to overcome, I managed to break the thread and withdrew completely. You have to be there to know what it is all about. Very few proffesionals know the extreme truth about addiction until they have walked the walk. It is easy to dispense advice when most of it comes from a book. How many addicts do you know who are full blown that can coherently express their problem? There is the odd pro who delves deeply into these problems and takes a keen inerest and is able to help. These are few and far between outside of rehab. Many addicts will not go to rehab because it reveals their problem to family, friends and workplace.

[retiredrn]

YES!

[Savas]

The best thing about the Internet is it offers so much information. The worst thing about the internet is it offers SO much information!
What your talking about happens on every type of forum, not just here. Some people are more knowledgeable about how to do searches than others. The biggest problem about hunting for information on the internet is if you don't know anything about the subject, that alone makes it difficult. Do google search on "addiction" and you'll get over a million hits.

Also, when you get the information, is it right? Will it work for you? When I first started researching methadone, I found 1,000's of hits stating it's the only successful treatment for addiction. Imagine if I'd accepted that, staying on methadone for the rest of my life, instead of asking around places like this for other people's experiences and if they'd detoxed and gotten sober successfully!

[retiredrn]

Maybe some people don't know how to google.  Also, I know I couldn't 'see the forest for the trees' when I was actively addicted.  Some people need more help than others and thank goodness some people are nice enough to help.

[bettie1976]

good point...and i see where youre coming from but I HAVE to trust my instincts, they are the ones telling me not to answer the phone when that "friend" calls to offer me drugs and that other so called friend calls needing something from me.

[CATUF]

My answer to your title-question would be "no, not for some time."

My experience is that it is profoundly unwise to trust your own instincts in early Recovery.  I found in myself, and have seen in others, that this was especially true during the first 90 days.  However, on the same basis I found it to be generally true for the 1-1.5 years.  I do trust my own instincts now (at 26+ months), but with anything of any significance I still ALWAYS run those instincts by someone I trust who has long-term Recovery.

There was an inherent loss of dignity in coming to terms with the fact of my addiction.  I had always been a very self-sufficient person.  Early on there was an almost overwhelming desire to recapture that independence and, thereby, that lost dignity.  I now believe that such a desire runs in opposition to sustained Recovery.  Rather than Recovery, it promotes things that fueled my active addiction, such as isolation and arrogance.

I find that many, perhaps most, things about Recovery are counter-intuitive.  This is one of them.

CATUF
Day-809