How many of you have...RELAPSESED...Please comment

rush2112

RELAPSED before?

I read posts on here and sometimes comment...i have been clean of opiates for a pretty long time, but remember the early struggle...

I relapsed a few times before i really got clean...it was frustrating...so many of us do...and it scares us...
I am writing this because so many of the newbies to recover relapse and beat the wholly heck out of themselves for it...
so I ask YOU ALL to please chime in...let them know that a relapse, although not ideal, seems to be the norm for most, if not all of us...so what's the key? For me it was to not self loath and pick thyself up, dust thyself off and try try try again until success (one day at a time)

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~Chatter~

my_mayberry

Hey everyone, The forum has been unusually slow the past few months. It's still a mystery to me how the place has become so quiet, but...

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KY33

I joined here around 15 years ago. I was just a 19 year old kid. Since then I got clean then relapsed a few different times. I am curren...

Annnddd....here i am again!

motye51

At this point, I'm at a loss for words. I'm at a loss actually in my heart. It feels weird.......about 2 years ago I came on here to ge...

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Cesi90

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Christie082979

I think the common denominator we all can agree on in here is that those who have successfully managed to stay clean for a long period of time HAVE HAD to endure a relapse or two or three or four and so on... it's a learning process. If you've never relapsed after quitting, you were never an addict in the first place. That being said, it's a learning process and a unique one for each of us. We learn from mistakes, we don't learn from the whole 'this is right and this is wrong and don't question any of it' logic. If we relapse we question why. If we continuously relapse we still question why. Relapse is not a failure period. It's a way of learning how not to quit. We're really not that irrational. Excuses only last for so long until you realize it's getting old and it's better to just solve the problem entirely and with trial and error. NA and AA is not a silver bullet but that's just my opinion. There is no silver bullet, just YOUR bullet. And there are studies out there that show beating yourself up over a relapse does more harm than good in your recovery which I think was the original intention of this post.

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rush2112

thanks, you get it...

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kyle505

Well said. Christe's statement was not accurate. I understand the thought, but it isn't true.
K

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weaver71

When a person is an addict, the mid brain treats drugs as equal or more important than food, water, sleep, etc..., drugs become equal to survival needs. Relapse IMO is not realizing how powerful this side effect is. Willpower is not enough, because our brain has adapted to drugs and believes it can't live without them. This phenomenon is why we actually lose the choice to quit and need outside help to stay on track. Relapse is common because we have lost control of our mind, we are a form of insane. If we can trust in others until we realize drugs are not saving us from pain, then we can keep control of our actions from there, though cravings may still come, control of our lives is restored. Knowing about addiction has helped me a lot. I thought I was weak or undeserving, but I am merely an addict out of control. If one relapses, reach out and lean on others, I think that was your intention with this post. We are not losers if we relapse, we just need to try something new.

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rush2112

I would like to reiterate my original intention of post in...

I had read a members lament about relapsing and feeling like a failure and how they relapsed..and they asked what was wrong with them...

Although relapse does not have to be part of one's recovery, it would seem to be commonplace. I did not intend to condone relapse, encourage it or tell anybody that it normal or has to happen...

My intention was for some of the old school members, such as Clean in Kansas, Kyle, Sara and gnarly to share that many of them experienced relapse but eventually became successful in recovery...so those who are new to the fight can see that even though they may have stumbled, it's not the end of the world and they can become successful just like us...as i stated earlier...we may fall down, but have to get up and try try again...not to give up because they made a mistake, but to learn from that mistake and move forward, not beat themselves up over it...

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