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how do you define addiction
I struggle with not knowing the actual meaning of addiction. I have been doing a lot of soul searching and my thoughts are running left and right. Can any of you wonderful people please tell me what your own definition of being an addict is to you or towards others? Thank you
It doesn't really matter the legal definition, but you can look at the DSM and there are criteria a doctor must see to diagnos addiction. It was chemical deoendence up until the DSM V came out with addiction as an actually prognosis. There are five main ones: continued use despite negative consequences. Obsessive concern for a drug. Unable to take as prescribed or quit. If drugs take up time to acquire and thinking about them all the time. Anyway, none of that really matters. My therapist and doctor are not sure I am an addict or if other mental issues caused my compulsive use. It doesn't change anything for anyone but me. Recovery is similar for drugs, rape, mental illness, or any crisis that causes us to lose control of ourself. I decided focusing on the solutions have been far more helpful than focusing on any one problem. You see, I never craved after a few months of detox, I don't feel tempted in the least. So, I say I am an addict for my own sake. I think CBT counseling had helped me most. What ideas do you have for aftercare? That for me is when it all started to make more sense. Keep up the good fight.
happy to see u back..Keep going and try and get some kind of support.Hang in there and keep posting we have all been there and r here for u..Good morning..
Your comment is what made me think the most. Thank you. Cuz that is how I feel. I know right from wrong and yet I still choose to take a few. But I am tapering down slowly.
Wow yes great responses.I like u struggled for years to admit I was powerless over my addiction.I have been clean from my drug of choice for 17 years,so when prescribed loritab for pain by a dr,I took them.For 8 years they controlled my life...Congrats on admitting to yourself and taking your life back.I will be 54 next month and I am doing this again..we all have been there
Thank you. That means a lot. I am working towards (being clean) another term I'm struggling to use :( but have not mad the jump completely. Life is good and things are not out of control but I know that that's just a good reason to quit not to be used as an excuse to keep taking pills. Its a struggle but I am trying.
Hi there~ SO many wonderful responses here!! just wow...
I just wanted to add my experience... I had a very difficult time admitting I was an addict. I couldn't work, was in the midst of losing my home (which I did lose) ... went through all my savings which was substantial all in less than a year of using... but I was no addict lol... I knew I needed some help, but I'm not a crackhead. UGH.
It wasn't until I was well into my first week of inpatient rehab that I fully came to realize and absorb I AM an addict... wow... that was hard reality but also a RELIEF!! Because I also learned there IS a SOLUTION to my madness. :) Praise God ~ in three months I will have four years sobriety and I am forever grateful... that first step is a doosie.
If we are using ANY substance to change or escape the way we think or feel, we are more than likely an addict.
You've made a huge step for yourself Penny!! There is a solution! So glad you're here ~ I hope you will keep coming back for support
I just wanted to add my experience... I had a very difficult time admitting I was an addict. I couldn't work, was in the midst of losing my home (which I did lose) ... went through all my savings which was substantial all in less than a year of using... but I was no addict lol... I knew I needed some help, but I'm not a crackhead. UGH.
It wasn't until I was well into my first week of inpatient rehab that I fully came to realize and absorb I AM an addict... wow... that was hard reality but also a RELIEF!! Because I also learned there IS a SOLUTION to my madness. :) Praise God ~ in three months I will have four years sobriety and I am forever grateful... that first step is a doosie.
If we are using ANY substance to change or escape the way we think or feel, we are more than likely an addict.
You've made a huge step for yourself Penny!! There is a solution! So glad you're here ~ I hope you will keep coming back for support
Yep! Kyle described it very well..Like they say..When you live to use or use to live..
On whatever substance it may be..There are all kinds of Addictions too. Like shopping, gambling, sex, sugar, etc..
Addiction is NOT a Bad Word..It is a Disease. The sooner we realize it the better a person is on getting it under control by getting the Support they need.
Bless
On whatever substance it may be..There are all kinds of Addictions too. Like shopping, gambling, sex, sugar, etc..
Addiction is NOT a Bad Word..It is a Disease. The sooner we realize it the better a person is on getting it under control by getting the Support they need.
Bless
Thank you for all the great responses. I will have to admit I'm having a hard time admitting to myself I'm an addicted to pain pills. But I also know that is the first step to quiting no matter how little or how big the dose. I still take it and not always for the right reasons. So I saddly will say yes I'm addicted. That was so hard to admit. Hitting send :(
The definition has been pegged by wise people years ago with the key phrases like "unmanageable" and "powerless" and "insanity" and "sickness" but there is one thing that even the best definition cannot seem to do - it cannot keep those of us prone to it from being caught in its trap. We only seem to truly get the meaning of the definitions after we have experienced all the hell they describe. I guess that it's sort of like trying to describe hot to a baby. If the purpose of your question is to deteime whether or not you qualify, believe me when I say that if you are close enough to ask, you are too close. Please find a healthy alternative before you become one of us and the definitions begin to Really make sense.
WOW!!! I just love all the remarks..Some hit home for sure.
I went on a mission to find all the info I can about this disease in a scientific way that the Brain works.
Feel free to click on my name and go read some of the info I put in..One is the "Nature of Addiction" and the other one is the "Pleasure Pathway beyond Willpower". NEVER in ALL my Years of using or Drinking recreational would I have thought about any of this until the later 90s when I got hooked on the Hydo/Oxys which lead up to using Methadone for pain and Pleasure and by adding 2 more drugs to it..This Time I could not walk away. I now had no pain but was using to get me wired up to GO and get Lots of work done and all at the same time..Now since I have experienced some multiple deaths in my Life the last 4 months (1 &1/2 years in) I do like what OxyTired said about the Challenges in Life..Now I have a different out look on this all. I have read Many post out here on this subject "Addiction vs Dependent". Every one above said it SO well..
Bless
I went on a mission to find all the info I can about this disease in a scientific way that the Brain works.
Feel free to click on my name and go read some of the info I put in..One is the "Nature of Addiction" and the other one is the "Pleasure Pathway beyond Willpower". NEVER in ALL my Years of using or Drinking recreational would I have thought about any of this until the later 90s when I got hooked on the Hydo/Oxys which lead up to using Methadone for pain and Pleasure and by adding 2 more drugs to it..This Time I could not walk away. I now had no pain but was using to get me wired up to GO and get Lots of work done and all at the same time..Now since I have experienced some multiple deaths in my Life the last 4 months (1 &1/2 years in) I do like what OxyTired said about the Challenges in Life..Now I have a different out look on this all. I have read Many post out here on this subject "Addiction vs Dependent". Every one above said it SO well..
Bless
"But I have taken them when I'm stressed."
The problem with that is when you come down, the thing that stressed you out is probably still there, in addition to any other problems you've incurred while you were high on pills.
I had a friend who drank whiskey from the time he got up till he went to bed. He'd pour it in a coffee cup in the morning so people wouldn't know what he was drinking and his hands shook so bad till he got a few down he could barely hold the cup.
But he would not admit he as an alcoholic, and when I tried to get him to describe to me what his idea of an alcoholic was, he would get mad and storm off, because he knew he was, he just couldn't admit it to himself.
He drank himself to death.
I know I'm an addict. I have been all my adult life and always will be, and my addiction has plenty of time and patience to wait for me to slip.
The problem with that is when you come down, the thing that stressed you out is probably still there, in addition to any other problems you've incurred while you were high on pills.
I had a friend who drank whiskey from the time he got up till he went to bed. He'd pour it in a coffee cup in the morning so people wouldn't know what he was drinking and his hands shook so bad till he got a few down he could barely hold the cup.
But he would not admit he as an alcoholic, and when I tried to get him to describe to me what his idea of an alcoholic was, he would get mad and storm off, because he knew he was, he just couldn't admit it to himself.
He drank himself to death.
I know I'm an addict. I have been all my adult life and always will be, and my addiction has plenty of time and patience to wait for me to slip.
My days were similar to Rosy's. I woke up and wanted to start my day with my vicodin...felt like I NEEDED to start my day that way." Is it time? Not yet. 30 more min...if I can wait until 9:00 am , then I am not an addict. How many pills left in the bottle? When am I due for my next refill? Is there anything left in the medicine cabinet that will help if I run out? Oh, husband never finished this bottle. Phew. Ok....has it been long enough? Rx says every 6 hours, I'm at 4 hours...close enough". I have been clean off vicodin for over 100 days. Guess what happened along the way? Alcohol. I was always a social drinker. I found myself replacing the vicodin with the vodka. "If I don't drink before 4:00pm, then I am good. I don't take the vicodin any more, but need the vodka to take off the edge. Life is stressful. I deserve it"....yep, I'm an addict.
I take norco about 2 or 3 a day. For about year half. I posted several weeks back. I chose not to take any for 5 days in February and did experience w\d. I then took it off and on sometimes going days with out. No cravings. When I posted here a few weeks ago I didn't take any again for several days. I did have very mild w/d. I just struggle if I'm adictid. I dont crave and I don't stress over pills. But I have taken them when I'm stressed. I also know that I'm physically dependent.
My bare bones definition of addiction is this..... When you do and continue to do something when it is against YOUR better judgement for whatever reason. Not someone else's better judgement but your own. If you are doing that then you pretty much have an addiction problem of some sort or another.
You have received some great posts already... I knew I was addicted when the first thing I thought of in the morning was PILLS! I kid you not.. My eyes would open and taking my morning dose was MY VERY FIRST THOUGHT! That is really sad considering I have so many more important things to think about! Also, my life literally revolved around counting pills! Vacations, trips, etc were all based upon whether I had enough pills.. Sad! So, long story short, I was powerless & my life was completely unmanageable! You just kinda get to a point where you realize that your entire existence is focused around a bottle and you mistakenly believe that you CAN'T operate/function without pills...
Interesting definition by Weaver. I had set aside the task of definition for the immediate concern of staying totally clean from substances, but have discovered some implications to many of the components of the definition he gives. Part of the insanity is the method the addict chooses to deal with the many uncomfortable challenges any person faces in their lifetime. Instead of meeting the challenge, whatever it is, the addict will use a substance, that both make the problem seem to go away, and also provides immense pleasure.
As a result, of time, the addict is not dealing with life's problems, but becomes increasingly unable to do so.
For me, at roughly 9 months clean, and years of addictive numbing myself, I have my hands full every day relearning how to live. And I agree with Weaver that the process of addiction is not reversible. There is no going back to "moderation", there is only going back to assured destruction if I "relapse."
I do not agree entirely with the "powerless" model. Incidentally, neither does Jack Trimpey, author and founder of the Rational Recovery movement. With my thinking self in charge I can daily take charge of my life and not turn it over to my addictive "beast" nature. But this is a daily one day at a time reprieve I am granted contingent upon working a program of recovery and being ever vigilant (keeping my guard up)
For me, the longer I am clean, the more I discover I have to work on. It is not doom and gloom. It is very exciting to be finally discovering who I am little by little. Each day I am clean now, it seems that this process of healing in the chemistry of my brain cells, my physical body and my mental and spiritual landscape adds just a little more depth to the shallow husk of a person my drinking and drugging created. A moment of peace, a long lost memory, a nights sleep, a worthy accomplishment-life is full of surprises for me now, both good and bad.
The benefits of working a daily program of recovery, and by "working a program" I do not mean just staying clean-of course that is vital and central-but working on all of the little "character defects" I have ignored for years, these benefits manifest in many ways small and large.
My response is full of my opinion, I wanted to state that. But at this point in my life, this finally getting clean experience is exhilarating. And it is two in the morning where I am at so I better take another stab at sleeping.
As a result, of time, the addict is not dealing with life's problems, but becomes increasingly unable to do so.
For me, at roughly 9 months clean, and years of addictive numbing myself, I have my hands full every day relearning how to live. And I agree with Weaver that the process of addiction is not reversible. There is no going back to "moderation", there is only going back to assured destruction if I "relapse."
I do not agree entirely with the "powerless" model. Incidentally, neither does Jack Trimpey, author and founder of the Rational Recovery movement. With my thinking self in charge I can daily take charge of my life and not turn it over to my addictive "beast" nature. But this is a daily one day at a time reprieve I am granted contingent upon working a program of recovery and being ever vigilant (keeping my guard up)
For me, the longer I am clean, the more I discover I have to work on. It is not doom and gloom. It is very exciting to be finally discovering who I am little by little. Each day I am clean now, it seems that this process of healing in the chemistry of my brain cells, my physical body and my mental and spiritual landscape adds just a little more depth to the shallow husk of a person my drinking and drugging created. A moment of peace, a long lost memory, a nights sleep, a worthy accomplishment-life is full of surprises for me now, both good and bad.
The benefits of working a daily program of recovery, and by "working a program" I do not mean just staying clean-of course that is vital and central-but working on all of the little "character defects" I have ignored for years, these benefits manifest in many ways small and large.
My response is full of my opinion, I wanted to state that. But at this point in my life, this finally getting clean experience is exhilarating. And it is two in the morning where I am at so I better take another stab at sleeping.
An addict is a form of acquired insanity. It can run in the family some, but it takes a drug to start the psychosis. It is a gradual and progressive disorder of the brain. It can be started by social influences, but the behavior of the addict is as unique as it is common. The progression can be stopped, but never reversed, it is a biological mystery. Addiction is a full life effecting disorder. It may only appear to effect certain areas to the addict, but that is a false perception of and false sense of security of the addict. I think a period of time sober is required for a true diagnosis of oneself. It is a disease that can only truly be self diagnosed, and a little clean time is required for a less bias view of oneself. Just my opinion.
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