Addiction

[Deleted member 23273]

Thankfully haven't suffered from addiction.

I'd class social media as a new kind of addiction for some people, wrecks their mental health and perception of reality, and they live their lives through it.

Good luck to anyone fighting an addiction, I hope you can pull through.

Pretty much this for me. Even when I was a smoker, I could easily go without for days on end and I didn’t have any cravings. I knew people who had to light up the second they woke up. I tried it once and nearly threw up. I stopped at 25, the day after I met mrs EJK because she didn’t smoke and I also pretty much knew that it was bad for me. Me and Mrs EJK are still together and been happily married for 26 years in a smoke free house.
So I can say that addiction has never been an issue for me. I’ve never done drugs. I used to enjoy a beer when I was young and stupid and in the army back in the 1980s and 90s it was very much a way of life but now I still have beer in my fridge from months ago. I’ve put four bets on in my entire life. Won the first one - Sunderland at 16/1 to get promoted and lost the other three .
I know from my line of work that addiction is a huge problem for many people, not only affecting them but also their family and friends. I also see that quitting the actual thing you’re addicted to is only part of the solution, but at least admitting to yourself that you do have a problem is knowing that you want to do something about it. A few years back I replied on a post that @hank williams had put on about his problems with the drink which was well received by many on here. Looking at this thread, to which he has contributed he still has issues. Hank mate, it’s never too late to get help.
To the op. You know you have a problem. Get help. It will be tough, but don’t run away from things. Confront it.

 

[Idlewild Mackem]

Some people are more prone to addiction than others. Has nothing to do with weakness. Addicts are not weak, but under control of the influence of something that their brain has made them believe that it is bigger than them. No different from those who suffer from OCD. It is not simply a manner of "being strong". Addiction is a truly debilitating disease. But it is that, a disease.

I wish only the best for those who have to deal with addiction. It takes professional help to get better.

One often influenced by trauma and adverse experiences in childhood. Tons and tons of scientific evidence to support this. To claim it's a weakness is, at best, ignorance.

 

[Dave Herbal]

Well those Venezuelan midget grannies aren’t going to shag themselves are they?

I’ve got that one. Dunno about Venezuelan but they’re certainly foreign.

And somebody has the suck the farts out of Brazilian ladies bot holes.

And that

 

[The Lonious Monk]

There are some addictions which occur by poor fortune, eg people given opioids for genuine pain - post surgery or whatever - and find themselves in the grip of subsequent addiction.
But anyone taking up certain crap like smoking - tabs or crack - in the full knowledge of what it does to their health and how it affects those around them, has an absence of will, or a weakness of mind, in that they failed to make an adult decision to pass it up. So at this moment I stand by my occasionally vacillating affirmation that certain people become addicts due to misfortune, others due to weakness.

Sorry, Tex, but I completely disagree with this post. There people that just have addictive personalities and where the dopamine hormone is strongest when performing certain self-harming actions and that rush is just as addictive as any chemical addiction for some people. The brain is a powerful organ that will do anything to get you to give it that rush of dopamine. This is not weakness by any means. It would be like saying that people with OCD are weak. That's just simply not the case. Would you tell someone that suffers from depression that they are weak? I think not. For some, these addictions are no different. It's not weakness, but the inability to change a behavior due to the sabotaging by their own brain.

It is about changing behavior and finding something else to replace the rush. It's not enough to stop the activity. Life loves a vacuum and stopping the action will only lead to a void that will need to be filled. It's about replacing the action and filling that void. However, for some the only way they can change these behaviors is by professional help and constant maintenance to avoid falling into the behavior again. For some people, this is a life long struggle and something they have to fight every single day of their life. I can only hope that anyone who is suffering from addiction can get the professional help they need to get better.

One often influenced by trauma and adverse experiences in childhood. Tons and tons of scientific evidence to support this. To claim it's a weakness is, at best, ignorance.

100% agree with this

 

[Tex]

Sorry, Tex, but I completely disagree with this post. There people that just have addictive personalities and where the dopamine hormone is strongest when performing certain self-harming actions and that rush is just as addictive as any chemical addiction for some people. The brain is a powerful organ that will do anything to get you to give it that rush of dopamine. This is not weakness by any means. It would be like saying that people with OCD are weak. That's just simply not the case. Would you tell someone that suffers from depression that they are weak? I think not. For some, these addictions are no different. It's not weakness, but the inability to change a behavior due to the sabotaging by their own brain.

It is about changing behavior and finding something else to replace the rush. It's not enough to stop the activity. Life loves a vacuum and stopping the action will only lead to a void that will need to be filled. It's about replacing the action and filling that void. However, for some the only way they can change these behaviors is by professional help and constant maintenance to avoid falling into the behavior again. For some people, this is a life long struggle and something they have to fight every single day of their life. I can only hope that anyone who is suffering from addiction can get the professional help they need to get better.

100% agree with this

Haway man that’s a crap comparison.

There’s a world of difference between someone having depression (not a choice) and someone taking up smoking which is a (very poor) choice and IMO a sign of weak will.

If we excuse every poor choice that someone makes as it being a result of their nature and them needing to fill a void then no one can ever take responsibility for anything. We already live in a world where nothing is anybody’s fault and everyone has an external ‘thing’ to blame for their predicament. Like I said certain addictions arise out of unfortunate circumstances but taking up smoking tabs or crack is a choice and if it leads to addiction (which it almost always does) then there’s no one else to blame but the smoker. Society didn’t make you START smoking. Neither did biology nor genes.

 

[The Lonious Monk]

Haway man that’s a crap comparison.

There’s a world of difference between someone having depression (not a choice) and someone taking up smoking which is a (very poor) choice and IMO a sign of weak will.

If we excuse every poor choice that someone makes as it being a result of their nature and them needing to fill a void then no one can ever take responsibility for anything. We already live in a world where nothing is anybody’s fault and everyone has an external ‘thing’ to blame for their predicament. Like I said certain addictions arise out of unfortunate circumstances but taking up smoking tabs or crack is a choice and if it leads to addiction (which it almost always does) then there’s no one else to blame but the smoker. Society didn’t make you START smoking. Neither did biology nor genes.

No-one said anything about starting to do anything. I am talking about actual addiction. To say that some people who have an addiction problem are weak is incorrect and unfair.

As far as why certain people start doing things that become addictions in the first place, I think that's too complex a reason to paint a wide brush and say everyone is either "weak" or an "idiot".

It's not about excusing people, Tex. It's about having compassion. Of course that there many addicts who are in the predicament they are in by their own doing, but addiction is still a disease regardless. I am not saying they are blameless, but that their disease is not weakness.

EDIT: @RossTheNinja liked your post, so fuck you, I win

 

[Dave Herbal]

Can we count debt as an addiction? Or rather, spending money you don’t have?
Ever since I had my own money, I’ve been getting into debt. Not by buying silly things, such as range rovers on tick, but by taking advantage of any credit offered. There are people on this thread with gambling addictions who have lost tens of thousands, but at least they have some small chance of winning some back. I’ve borrowed tens of thousands with no realistic way of ever paying it off. If you’re addicted to credit, interest rates just mean you spiral deeper and deeper. I spent 20 years accruing debt, and the answer was always that something would come up to solve the problem, but short of winning the lottery or inheriting vast sums, that was never going to happen. But at no point did I ever think “let’s stop spending and arrest the slide”. Rather it was “let’s go out and get pissed and forget about it for a night”.
To me, that inability to live within your means is just as damaging as a gambling addiction.

 

[ouro]

I can't deny the drink is an addiction. I don't sleep well (whether I've been pissed or not touched a drop for weeks) and I often lie awake at 4am and think 'Right, I'll not have a drink today'.... come noon I am in a bar. When I have had a long hitch in a 'dry' country I think 'Right, I will keep this up' then I get to the airport and swerve straight into a bar. It's frankly the only thing that slows my mind down. Saying that, I haven't tried any class A drugs.

 

[Tex]

Can we count debt as an addiction? Or rather, spending money you don’t have?
Ever since I had my own money, I’ve been getting into debt. Not by buying silly things, such as range rovers on tick, but by taking advantage of any credit offered. There are people on this thread with gambling addictions who have lost tens of thousands, but at least they have some small chance of winning some back. I’ve borrowed tens of thousands with no realistic way of ever paying it off. If you’re addicted to credit, interest rates just mean you spiral deeper and deeper. I spent 20 years accruing debt, and the answer was always that something would come up to solve the problem, but short of winning the lottery or inheriting vast sums, that was never going to happen. But at no point did I ever think “let’s stop spending and arrest the slide”. Rather it was “let’s go out and get pissed and forget about it for a night”.
To me, that inability to live within your means is just as damaging as a gambling addiction.

It’s OK mate it’s not your fault and nothing to do with bad decisions that you made you have a disease so you’re not responsible just go on out and blow your wad.

 

[Idlewild Mackem]

Can we count debt as an addiction? Or rather, spending money you don’t have?
Ever since I had my own money, I’ve been getting into debt. Not by buying silly things, such as range rovers on tick, but by taking advantage of any credit offered. There are people on this thread with gambling addictions who have lost tens of thousands, but at least they have some small chance of winning some back. I’ve borrowed tens of thousands with no realistic way of ever paying it off. If you’re addicted to credit, interest rates just mean you spiral deeper and deeper. I spent 20 years accruing debt, and the answer was always that something would come up to solve the problem, but short of winning the lottery or inheriting vast sums, that was never going to happen. But at no point did I ever think “let’s stop spending and arrest the slide”. Rather it was “let’s go out and get pissed and forget about it for a night”.
To me, that inability to live within your means is just as damaging as a gambling addiction.

Sorry, Tex, but I completely disagree with this post. There people that just have addictive personalities and where the dopamine hormone is strongest when performing certain self-harming actions and that rush is just as addictive as any chemical addiction for some people. The brain is a powerful organ that will do anything to get you to give it that rush of dopamine. This is not weakness by any means. It would be like saying that people with OCD are weak. That's just simply not the case. Would you tell someone that suffers from depression that they are weak? I think not. For some, these addictions are no different. It's not weakness, but the inability to change a behavior due to the sabotaging by their own brain.

It is about changing behavior and finding something else to replace the rush. It's not enough to stop the activity. Life loves a vacuum and stopping the action will only lead to a void that will need to be filled. It's about replacing the action and filling that void. However, for some the only way they can change these behaviors is by professional help and constant maintenance to avoid falling into the behavior again. For some people, this is a life long struggle and something they have to fight every single day of their life. I can only hope that anyone who is suffering from addiction can get the professional help they need to get better.

100% agree with this

How dealing with past trauma may be the key to breaking addiction This is worth a read.

 

[Pseudonym Number 1]

Tabs
Chocolate
Sex
Video games

 

[Dave Herbal]

It’s OK mate it’s not your fault and nothing to do with bad decisions that you made you have a disease so you’re not responsible just go on out and blow your wad.

I think you’re in a minority here beating that particular drum. If you’ve got an addictive personality, it doesn’t matter what your particular poison is, the addiction is all the same. You do something that makes you feel good and don’t want to stop, regardless of logic or reason.

 

[D.A]

Exercise, mainly running. I love pushing my body to see how fast/hard I can go. Recently I done the Lakeland 100. 105 miles 'run' in the lake district.

I love drinking but only ever binge.

Would love to try heroin but I've heard it's a bit moreish, don't want to get addicted and that.

 

[Latka Gravas]

Does anybody on here willing to admit they suffer from or have suffered from addiction.

My addiction is gambling ,it has destroyed every little part of my life. I gamble to chase the substantial amount of money I have lost.... In reality I know this can never occur but yet I cling onto that hope.

I've lost friends relationships self respect..ive even been sleeping rough in the past because of gambling.

I used to be really discriminatory towards others that suffer from addiction...but that was so wrong of me.

Gambling is all I've ever known...my safety net ...do I want to break away from it... Nope is the honest answer but the future is a very scary place indeed for me...I wish I could just walk away.....but I'm already planning my next pay day...

If anyone on here suffers from addiction or has suffered I salute you for your openness...and good look battling it....admitting it is a huge step

By the way im very lucky indeed ....I read foggys posts and stuff about Luis Enrique daughter dying aged 9 and I'm thankful that I still have my physical health....

Best of luck marra, horrible addiction.

 

[Dave Herbal]

Exercise, mainly running. I love pushing my body to see how fast/hard I can go. Recently I done the Lakeland 100. 105 miles 'run' in the lake district.

I love drinking but only ever binge.

Would love to try heroin but I've heard it's a bit moreish, don't want to get addicted and that.

The thought of going out on the piss is the only thing that gets me through the week, it’s that important to me. Yet I have no real desire to drink the other 6 days of the week.
Drugs are also way better than alcohol btw

 

[D.A]

The thought of going out on the piss is the only thing that gets me through the week, it’s that important to me. Yet I have no real desire to drink the other 6 days of the week.
Drugs are also way better than alcohol btw

Never took a drug before. I've done done when I've been pissed, not sure if I've ever been high.

Never took a drug before. I've done done when I've been pissed, not sure if I've ever been high.

Done dope*

 

[the boot]

You tried Champix mate?
I quit for 6 year on them but stupidly started smoking again, back on the tablets now so my quit date is next Thursday.

They worked really well last time so hopefully will be the same again.

Good luck mate.

 

[rapscallion]

I couldn't quit not being addicted to anything.

 

[YodasBell]

Can we count debt as an addiction? Or rather, spending money you don’t have?
Ever since I had my own money, I’ve been getting into debt. Not by buying silly things, such as range rovers on tick, but by taking advantage of any credit offered. There are people on this thread with gambling addictions who have lost tens of thousands, but at least they have some small chance of winning some back. I’ve borrowed tens of thousands with no realistic way of ever paying it off. If you’re addicted to credit, interest rates just mean you spiral deeper and deeper. I spent 20 years accruing debt, and the answer was always that something would come up to solve the problem, but short of winning the lottery or inheriting vast sums, that was never going to happen. But at no point did I ever think “let’s stop spending and arrest the slide”. Rather it was “let’s go out and get pissed and forget about it for a night”.
To me, that inability to live within your means is just as damaging as a gambling addiction.

Dave, I feel your pain mate. I have just ended a 19 year relationship with a woman that spiralled into huge debts every four/five years by buying cars, thousands on personal trainers, luxury holidays, and I kept clearing it for her. At one point she had sixteen credit cards... I used to not be able to sleep on a night wondering how I could help her pay it back, and how old I would be when I retire. She slept like a baby, purely because she relied on me to sort it out for her as I had so often done in the past.

She's just gone bankrupt, had to call a debt charity in to help her, but it was the only way she was ever going to learn.

 

[Dave Herbal]

Never took a drug before. I've done done when I've been pissed, not sure if I've ever been high.

Done dope*

Done dope and been a bit woozy, rather than done dope and been nailed to the chair/in the carpet grave for 2 hours then?

Dave, I feel your pain mate. I have just ended a 19 year relationship with a woman that spiralled into huge debts every four/five years by buying cars, thousands on personal trainers, luxury holidays, and I kept clearing it for her. At one point she had sixteen credit cards... I used to not be able to sleep on a night wondering how I could help her pay it back, and how old I would be when I retire. She slept like a baby, purely because she relied on me to sort it out for her as I had so often done in the past.

She's just gone bankrupt, had to call a debt charity in to help her, but it was the only way she was ever going to learn.

I didn’t buy any of that stuff though (well not much). Mine was 90% beer money. Coming out with £750 a month and spending £600 of it on the piss was never going to be sustainable.