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Nurofen Plus Addiction
I have been addictted to these pills for about 18 years, I take them in secret but it is getting harder as they are so expensive. I desperately want to get off them but they are my coping mechanism and i am unable to resist. I don't know how to get the willpower to stop them. Any ideas?
hey Samay. I agree with the other posters, wanted to re-emphasize the importance of doing some emotional changing/work. I have had several relapses and I don't think I really understood before the importance of changing things in ourselves that act as triggers. like you, I thought a lot of beating this addiction was based on willpower. now I am attacking it from a different angle. in a sense that is more challenging; on the other hand, you can feel relieved that you don't have to act on willpower alone. good luck! :)
Hi there! I just wanted to welcome you and give you a little support. Annie pretty much said it all. Just please know that you can do this. this site is a wonderful resource full of knowledgeable, supportive people. We are here for you, so please keep posting. I wish you nothing but the best of luck with quitting the pills and on your recovery. Take care!
Hi there & Thanks for reaching out!
First, I feel for you! What struck me right away in your post was the term 'willpower'. That's the first misconception we must lose. It's not just about willpower. If it were, a lot more folks would get & stay clean.
Eighteen years is a long time BUT I just wanted you to know that you absolutely CAN do this. (I was 30+ yrs.) The thing is..you have to do things & look at things in a different way.
The first thing I would suggest is that you 'come out' to someone around you that is clean. (A non-judgmental, understanding type..friend/family member, etc.) The more people you do this with the more 'witnessed'/protected you become & the more support/help you'll garner for yourself. Secret use is deadly for us. If no one else knows it is far too easy for us to relapse because we have no one else to answer to & our 'habits' -- the way we make excuses to ourselves -- the 'Oh, just this one time' voice is so insidious. Often, we keep these secrets out of fear of judgment from those near and dear to us while in point of fact many of us discover when we come clean that the thing that bothers them is that we didn't tell them sooner! Letting someone else know will be a huge relief & will level the playing field for you.
The second thing I'd suggest is to cut all sources , contact with drug friends & flush your stash.(this is a must, btw. Scary, I know but we've got to get serious about this.) Continuing contact with these people &/or having drugs around simply doesn't work.
It's really important to have a good plan for your detox ahead of time. If you do a search for 'Thomas Recipe', you'll find a wealth of excellent detox tips. If you work & can get a week or two off, that would be ideal!
Also, it's important to realize that we addicts use for emotional reasons -- that we're habitual in the way we think & the things that 'trigger' us. So, it's really, really crucial that we do some serious soul-searching to discover what these reasons/triggers are & why we began in the first place.
Perhaps the most important piece of all is to build a 'framework' -- a safety net to support our sobriety after detox. This would include some or all of the following: Meetings (NA/AA), some form of therapy/counseling, System of Spirituality, Hanging out with sober friends/family, Healthy hobbies/passions, reaching out when you feel angry, sad, bored, restless, etc. before you slip, coming forward and being 'witnessed' if you do slip before it becomes a full blown relapse, and, finally, to give back via MH or otherwise.
I've found that the most difficult part for me is not to isolate & to simply sit 'in my own skin' when uncomfortable feelings & old urges manifest. It's a learning curve but I'm so, so glad that I'm doing it. I realize now that I wasn't really living for all those years in the sense that I wasn't really 'experiencing' life to the fullest extent I could because my emotions were all at 'arms length'. I was numb. I can't tell you how differently I see and feel things now. That right there, is worth the price of admission!
You deserve better! (We all do.) We weren't meant to live that way. This site is an incredible resource if you use it. As you go along with your detox there are many wonderful folks here who will support you & give you the benefit of their experience. You're much stronger than you know & you've got to start telling yourself that each & every moment. Here's wishing you all the Clarity & Determination you'll need to make it stick. We're here & we're pulling for you, my friend!
Annie
First, I feel for you! What struck me right away in your post was the term 'willpower'. That's the first misconception we must lose. It's not just about willpower. If it were, a lot more folks would get & stay clean.
Eighteen years is a long time BUT I just wanted you to know that you absolutely CAN do this. (I was 30+ yrs.) The thing is..you have to do things & look at things in a different way.
The first thing I would suggest is that you 'come out' to someone around you that is clean. (A non-judgmental, understanding type..friend/family member, etc.) The more people you do this with the more 'witnessed'/protected you become & the more support/help you'll garner for yourself. Secret use is deadly for us. If no one else knows it is far too easy for us to relapse because we have no one else to answer to & our 'habits' -- the way we make excuses to ourselves -- the 'Oh, just this one time' voice is so insidious. Often, we keep these secrets out of fear of judgment from those near and dear to us while in point of fact many of us discover when we come clean that the thing that bothers them is that we didn't tell them sooner! Letting someone else know will be a huge relief & will level the playing field for you.
The second thing I'd suggest is to cut all sources , contact with drug friends & flush your stash.(this is a must, btw. Scary, I know but we've got to get serious about this.) Continuing contact with these people &/or having drugs around simply doesn't work.
It's really important to have a good plan for your detox ahead of time. If you do a search for 'Thomas Recipe', you'll find a wealth of excellent detox tips. If you work & can get a week or two off, that would be ideal!
Also, it's important to realize that we addicts use for emotional reasons -- that we're habitual in the way we think & the things that 'trigger' us. So, it's really, really crucial that we do some serious soul-searching to discover what these reasons/triggers are & why we began in the first place.
Perhaps the most important piece of all is to build a 'framework' -- a safety net to support our sobriety after detox. This would include some or all of the following: Meetings (NA/AA), some form of therapy/counseling, System of Spirituality, Hanging out with sober friends/family, Healthy hobbies/passions, reaching out when you feel angry, sad, bored, restless, etc. before you slip, coming forward and being 'witnessed' if you do slip before it becomes a full blown relapse, and, finally, to give back via MH or otherwise.
I've found that the most difficult part for me is not to isolate & to simply sit 'in my own skin' when uncomfortable feelings & old urges manifest. It's a learning curve but I'm so, so glad that I'm doing it. I realize now that I wasn't really living for all those years in the sense that I wasn't really 'experiencing' life to the fullest extent I could because my emotions were all at 'arms length'. I was numb. I can't tell you how differently I see and feel things now. That right there, is worth the price of admission!
You deserve better! (We all do.) We weren't meant to live that way. This site is an incredible resource if you use it. As you go along with your detox there are many wonderful folks here who will support you & give you the benefit of their experience. You're much stronger than you know & you've got to start telling yourself that each & every moment. Here's wishing you all the Clarity & Determination you'll need to make it stick. We're here & we're pulling for you, my friend!
Annie
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