Need Some Help...

[Florida_Guy737]

Hi...almost a year clean and not having cravings per se but was wondering if anyone else misses the "I'm not worried, pain free, relaxed feeling" that occasionally was there while on meds.  I don't drink, do exercise, but man, sometimes I want to come down from the stress.

Any ideas are seriously appreciated...

Thx

[Breakingfree]

I will probably always miss them waaay down deep. You know the love-hate relationship with them. When I feel that way I also think back on all the bad i.e. spent money, lies, being sick, running out so early every month & so on. That pushes the 'missing them' even further down inside. When I think back to myself that 6 weeks I detoxed, I never want to have to go through that again. Good luck & Congrats!

[vinnysmommy]

Not really having cravings.  I have a little over three months clean and emotionally started feeling better at about a month and a half.   I still have that section at the back of my brain that reminds me of the way I felt when I was using (that damn addict in me!). It really happens when I find myself in stressfull situations and I know that is because I am still trying to deal with emotions sober.  Man is that hard.  I do attend na and  about to start the steps and I am really looking forward to that.  

[merrymaria]

i miss the feeling sometimes when stress hits but remember at the same time i am an addict and will always be.   It s only a temp fix and life isn t that bad living it straight...maria

[mtgoat911]

i am 4 yrs clean, still have cravings
its normal for a drug addict to have cravings, thoughts to use enter my mind, and i go over what i have learned by working the steps
and the cravings leave
i did try to get clean without a 12step program in 1999, i manage to stay clean by going to church for almost 2 yrs, but its not the same
real addicts need na, it gives us an outlet
we are taught how to live without drugs, then we start helping others
i believe that helping others is a major pary of staying clean
i enjoy leading people through the steps, visiting homebound addicts that cannot get to meetings, volunteering at my old homeless shelter, speaking every other friday at an adolecent detox unit
all this gives me a sense of purpose, without it i would certainly use
use your computer to find a recoevry program that works for you
google
s.m.a.r.t
reformers unanamous
to figure out which 12 step program you belong to
read the liturature
na basic text online
aa big book online
after studing both na and aa, i found the one that worked for me
happy searching
xo

[road2recovery]

yes, I know exactly what you mean...That is what i have been going through...It doesn't feel like the cravings i had early on...But like you said more of the "I don't want to feel", or be sad thing...There are things in my life now that i have no control over, but its still hard...I have joined a womens AA group, and will start the step AGAIN...I really think this is the only way to keep going for me....
Good luck and hang in there
r2r

[laurel453]

to florida guy..

me too :) there are no cravings now but this abstract feeling

to gizzy

me too  ( of both :) maybe at the same time ?

to enufisenuf

me too ....  i have no other replacement apart from the golden fact you've just stated :)


and  i know i'll  miss other things from the past so .... i'll just leave these thoughts behind ( i dont like this thing with  nostalgia even about drugs haha ) and i know i need doing more  things at present and forget about my future worries but .... i need also  giving myself time  and keep it  as simple as this  , but  this is ... easier said than done. :(

[enufisenuf]

Of course I miss it...I am 8 weeks hydro-free tomorrow...but now the feeling I miss is further back in my brain.  If I took even a half, that feeling would be too strong to not act on. So I do not.  Like you, I do not have cravings, but do miss it...but only miss that little bit of good, not the 95% bad.  Just does not work long term...too bad, but true.  I do not have anything to replace it other than the fact I feel pretty good most of the time instead of really good a very little bit of the time.

[gizzy32]

Well first of all, congrats on almost reaching that 1 year milestone, that is amazing. Although  pills were not my DOC i still can relate to what you said, although cocaine did not relax me, lol.  Sometimes i did use it to cope, to not worry about stress, but i guess that's what most addicts do.  I hate admitting it, but there are times i  miss exactly what you say, that care free good feeling while high, but that is not craving, it's just old thoughts and ways resurfacing. i don't crave nearly as often now and im shocked how much it does get better with time. Ok it's early and i'm babbling now, lol. Exercise is a great stress reliever and so is sex so maybe you need more of both, haha, i know i do.

CONGRATS on all that recovery time