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Mental part of withdrawal
Hey...I posted a few days ago. I'm trying to get off my latest binge and quit for good. I got a couple days clean this week and the physical part wasn't too bad at all. I even slept 6 or 7 hours on Day 2. But, it seems like the mental part is worse this time. In the past, when I was using alot more everyday, the physical withdrawal symptoms were horrible but the cravings weren't too bad. Do you guys have some ideas of how to deal with the mental side of withdrawal and cravings? It just seems like I can't keep my focus. Thanks...hope everyone is doing good today.
i agree great post !
you actully made me understand myself a bit there, for me i feel the mental part was telling myself i needed this drug to survive etc to the point i convinced myself that i couldnt manage without it and i was able to control it ...WRONG!!
im back on track now and wont be making the same mistake again.
thank you for your post i think it will help others understand the mental side of wds as well.
jen
you actully made me understand myself a bit there, for me i feel the mental part was telling myself i needed this drug to survive etc to the point i convinced myself that i couldnt manage without it and i was able to control it ...WRONG!!
im back on track now and wont be making the same mistake again.
thank you for your post i think it will help others understand the mental side of wds as well.
jen
Great post! I have read End Your Addiction Now...not the other 2..gonna pick em up soon
Mental wds//not physical cause over 90% of relapses..we will worry about physical wds and take imodium, sumpin for sleep etc...then the mental part hits! OUCH..it hurt me bad
The amino acids and the thomas recipe helped me for both physical and mental wds...the mental part just lasts so much longer..it is alot of work to stay disciplned and keep up the behavior to make it thru..often people do not realize this but it seems u do...so if u know ur weakness and what to expect, often we can turn that around to our advantage.
..
For me it was almost like going to war agnst the pills ...almost like u gotta pull out the big guns.,.it can be a fight to stay clean....most try to do it alone...they hide and do not seek the support they needsometimes addiction can be a life or death thing.....do whatever u can to fight back and often educating urself like reading the books mentioned above can help..i learned alot from one of those books..also looking back and trying to see ur reasons for failing before and figuring out what u can do different this time can be good....keep posting
Mental wds//not physical cause over 90% of relapses..we will worry about physical wds and take imodium, sumpin for sleep etc...then the mental part hits! OUCH..it hurt me bad
The amino acids and the thomas recipe helped me for both physical and mental wds...the mental part just lasts so much longer..it is alot of work to stay disciplned and keep up the behavior to make it thru..often people do not realize this but it seems u do...so if u know ur weakness and what to expect, often we can turn that around to our advantage.
..
For me it was almost like going to war agnst the pills ...almost like u gotta pull out the big guns.,.it can be a fight to stay clean....most try to do it alone...they hide and do not seek the support they needsometimes addiction can be a life or death thing.....do whatever u can to fight back and often educating urself like reading the books mentioned above can help..i learned alot from one of those books..also looking back and trying to see ur reasons for failing before and figuring out what u can do different this time can be good....keep posting
the so-called mental part is, in my opinion, the most real part of recovery from addiction.
it's not just a thought or an attitude, it's an all too real bio-chemical thing of the brain.
we like substances of abuse so well because our brains are wired to use them. they mimic the very neurotransmitters that make the brain work and which make us feel good. they are like turbo-charged neurotransmitters, so when they hit the brain we instantly feel REAL GOOD.
amazing thing that the brain is, when it sees that it's getting all these turbo-charged neurotransmitters it does two things: 1) it quits making those plain, non-turbo neurotransmitters because it has no use for them; and 2) it changes the physical structure of the brain by creating extra receptors so that it can take advantage of this flood of to use all these turbo-charged neurotransmitters.
for whatever reason, the brain build too many receptors. so despite being supplied with what was an amazing flood of turbo-charged neurotransmitters, with so many new receptors the flood isn't enough and the brain feels short changed -- TOLERANCE: we need more to get the same effect because the brain has increased its capacity to use the substance.
On and on that cycle goes . . . increased level of use use leads to greater capacity/need, which leads to increased level of use, which leads to greater capacity/need, which leads to increased level of use, which leads . . .
Finally, something wakes us up and we realize that using is destroying our life. We decide to stop and we do. We get over the "physical part" and think we should be home free. But, we've failed to consider that our brain has undergone significant physical changes during the cycle of our use.
All this stuff may be on a level that's too small to see (even if it were open to view), but it's very real, it's very powerful and very dangerous. Thinking of it as "just mental," and therefore not quite real, is dangerous too.
As recovering drug addicts there are many mental things that we need to do, but dealing with the very real changes in brain structure and chemistry isn't one of them.
Take a look at End Your Addiction Now, by Charles Gant; The Mood Cure, by Julia Ross; and Seven Weeks to Sobriety, by Joan Larson. All can help in restoring brain chemistry.
The brain chemistry angel isn't the whole answer, but it can be a critical part of an active program of recovery,
CATUF
1725
it's not just a thought or an attitude, it's an all too real bio-chemical thing of the brain.
we like substances of abuse so well because our brains are wired to use them. they mimic the very neurotransmitters that make the brain work and which make us feel good. they are like turbo-charged neurotransmitters, so when they hit the brain we instantly feel REAL GOOD.
amazing thing that the brain is, when it sees that it's getting all these turbo-charged neurotransmitters it does two things: 1) it quits making those plain, non-turbo neurotransmitters because it has no use for them; and 2) it changes the physical structure of the brain by creating extra receptors so that it can take advantage of this flood of to use all these turbo-charged neurotransmitters.
for whatever reason, the brain build too many receptors. so despite being supplied with what was an amazing flood of turbo-charged neurotransmitters, with so many new receptors the flood isn't enough and the brain feels short changed -- TOLERANCE: we need more to get the same effect because the brain has increased its capacity to use the substance.
On and on that cycle goes . . . increased level of use use leads to greater capacity/need, which leads to increased level of use, which leads to greater capacity/need, which leads to increased level of use, which leads . . .
Finally, something wakes us up and we realize that using is destroying our life. We decide to stop and we do. We get over the "physical part" and think we should be home free. But, we've failed to consider that our brain has undergone significant physical changes during the cycle of our use.
All this stuff may be on a level that's too small to see (even if it were open to view), but it's very real, it's very powerful and very dangerous. Thinking of it as "just mental," and therefore not quite real, is dangerous too.
As recovering drug addicts there are many mental things that we need to do, but dealing with the very real changes in brain structure and chemistry isn't one of them.
Take a look at End Your Addiction Now, by Charles Gant; The Mood Cure, by Julia Ross; and Seven Weeks to Sobriety, by Joan Larson. All can help in restoring brain chemistry.
The brain chemistry angel isn't the whole answer, but it can be a critical part of an active program of recovery,
CATUF
1725
Oh yes, and this outpatient program i will be attending does NOT include suboxone or methadone. I have been reading a lot on here and that seems to be what people turn to when the mental part hit. I do not think its a good idea, i think it would only cause us more of the same problem we are trying to get away from. This is only my opinion. Im just hoping you will try some hardcore recovery care first. I think its a healing process and learning new ways of dealing with life without drugs, like we are used to. I know suboxone and the like have their place but i dont think it should be the first option. Again, much luck to you and i am here a lot if you would like to talk....
I too am really struggling with the mental part. It is sucking the life out of me. I went to my doctor today and was put on Cymbalta to help with the depression and given a referral to an intense outpatient treatment program in my area. This in conjunction with the drug counseling i am already getting. I think its a lot of hard work and we just have to keep plugging along. At this point i am willing to do anything to keep my 21 days. And we have each other here, a big help for me. I hope you can get yourself some aftercare as well, im finding out its the only way. You will be in my prayers, best of luck to you.
Luv, Jacky
Luv, Jacky
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