seriously after a bad day

[pcrissy]

My question is how do you cope ? I wanna know if anyone wlse uses alchol or mariuana to stop
themselves from going off the deep end . Lol I just dont know bout how everyome else feels rwgarding this topic
but I think it feels pretty darn good to remedy muself with these things and I want to know how many others
will own ip to the fact that getting blazed helps .I apologize for the typos just wanna know because inth8nk
most people are too embarrassed to say but it really does help me , so what do u do ? Sorry ive had some tallboys
but if u cant be in a blazed stupor than what .?

[weaver71]

Your other question is more difficult. What are other options. I write and read a lot. I try to have things going in my life that are more important than feeling good. For a weak example, I go to all my daughters Tae Kwan So events. I don't feel like being there every time, but a little discomfort is worth it me to support my kid. I try to remember it's not all about me an how I feel. On a bigger scale, I am writing a book, built a private library, and have formed plans and accountability for the future. Exercise regularly and eat as good as I can, and use my CBT tools every hour, no matter how I feel, good or bad. I can say for sure that those things help way more ham pot or alcohol for me. I've been asking the same question a lot lately. What inspires you, what is something you would be willing to make sacrifices for, even feeling uncomfortable sometimes? We can't make it easy, so what would make it all worth it?

[weaver71]

My doctor wants me to take a antipsychotic if I get too out if control. The interesting thing to me is all the side effects are very similar to cannabis. So, they want me taking a daily drug to make me dull, then knock me out when that isn't enough. For years I used alcohol and cannabis just as you describe. I can say every single BP person who goes to my doctor and therapist smoke cannabis, accept a couple who get paranoid, they all claim a similar benefit with less hang over than a pharm antipsychotic or benzodiazepine. Do I think the hallucinogenic properties of marijuana could help? Yes, I do, likely more experimentation done on that plant than any of the psych meds. They still don't know why the psych meds help either, just testimonies of those taking them and observation by others, no different than pot in my mind. My doc doesn't prescribe it, but she doesn't condemn it either. If it works it works, nobody knows why any drug helps us. I do find it helps me calm down or focus a bit more, I think that has to do with how the alkaloids effect the filtering mechanism of perception. I don't beinghave a problem with self medicating if it actually works. Most addicts I know never used street drugs, they just followed the doctors prescriptions and got hooked with intense consequences. I am an addict, so self-medicating doesn't work so well for me. It took awhile to find a doctor I trust. Most doctors here don't care if a BP smokes pot, they have seen the benefits from it for over 20years.

Now, alcohol, that form of depressant has horrible side effects , aside from addiction potential. Dehydration, hangover, liver stress, and many other long term side effects make me think it is not a good choice for treating BP and often makes it worse over time. I have seen schizophrenics and BP people smoke pot and drink alcohol many times. I have seen no negative consequences other than temporary paranoia in very isolated cases from cannabis. Alcohol has consistently lead to some major consequence down the road. I will have 1 or 2 drinks socially, occasionally, but stop as soon as I can feel any change in my head. It is okay socially, but I have gone manic and caused many problems on alcohol, I only drink heavy if I am psychotic with mania. That could be causing my bias, but I have had many tell me that it may take years, but alcohol always ends up costing too many consequences for the BP person.

I doubt my view is popular, but you asked for honesty of opinion.

[mainergurl]

Drugs and alcohol can make mental issues harder to cope with or worse overall. Addiction and alcoholism go hand in hand with mental disorders because yeah it makes you forget temporarily that your day was **** but it wears off,Everyone has bad days even people that don't have mental health issues...but not everyone resorts to alcohol/drugs to cope. There is behavioral therapy that can help you learn some coping skills.. for me I've found that doing something I enjoy like painting, reading, talking to friends, listening to music,etc can help me calm down or distract me long enough so the moment passes.

[rogelio63]

Alcohol and marijuana are self-medicating if you're using them to help you through a crisis,,even a small one.  There are other things you can do.  The thing is that those wear off and leave you having to self-medicate again.  If you adopt some behaviors that help you cope without resorting to drugs and alcohol (drugs,,illicit, not meds), you get stronger emotionally and mentally.  Talk to your medical support about it. They should be able to give you some specific coping skills that you can start using to get you through the tough times.  Support groups help alot too.

[CRSeaside]

It depends how you choose to live your life.  Being heavily medicated makes me feel like crap. Pamela

[thatquietgirl]

I would talk to your therapist and psychiatrist about this.  Alcohol doesn't go well with many medications and marijuana is considered self-medicating.  There are other coping mechanisms that don't involve using drugs like alcohol and marijuana, and your therapist can help you learn these.