How Addiction Happens

Question by Kari Dragon: I’m 14 with an ugly opiate addiction?
I’ve been addicted to opiates since I was 12 years old. I just got off probation, have been to rehab, group homes, and I have come to so many realizations but at every stress, anxiety filled situation I find myself wanting that feeling. I relapsed a month ago and just got my life on track. I’m about to turn 15 and I don’t want to break now.. how am I going to live the rest of my life like this?

Best answer:

Answer by Nancy Rutherford
Answer to your question…”You’re NOT going to live the rest of your life like this! You’re living in the moment (the here and now) like this, and it doesnt mean that in 5 or 10 minutes, that it cant change. It’s all up to you…I’ve been in and out of recovery myself for over 25 years, and one of the hardest things for me to do was “not give up 5 minutes before the mirical”…..and who knows when your mirical will come? Ya never know, that’s my point. It would be terrible if it came 5 minutes AFTER you gave up. So please…just dont give up! Dont give into your disease, thats what it wants. I had to get MAD in order not to give into my disease of addiction. I had to be mad at it, and find new ways to love myself,….and ya know what? After awhile I found out that “ME” being clean through each and every one of those hard times (you know, when the temptation to use was SO strong)…..was actually “the mirical” thats how I “came” to believe that a power greater than myself could (and would) restore me to saniity….tha catch is…ya have to LET it happen. “Dont give up 5 minutes before the mirical! Dont pick up, no matter what (even if your butt falls off) it’s a process, and with any process, it takes time. You CAN and WILL have a good life, just dont use….no matter what, and it will come……promise.

Answer by Mister Answerman
You need to know that anxiety is the biggest problem that all people face and it is those with problems facing or accepting that the anxiety they have can actually be dealt with by practical reasoning rather than medication, that are more likely to have addictions of alcohol, illicit drugs, gambling, and possibly violence and or crime, in the future.

Although your addiction may have started just for fun (or was taken to alleviate some sort of fear or actual anxiety) and grew into something that you felt that you couldn’t live without, I think you now realise that it wasn’t worth those “good times” or relief or release that you felt while on those opiates.

You will need constant counselling, possibly prescibed medication (for stress and anxiety / depression), and you need to know that your life starts now. As long as you keep a goood focus and reasonable goals in mind, you will succeed at most things, just like anybody else.

You do need to separate yourself from those people with whom may have lead you astray or are still addicted to those opiates as even though you may feel clean and clear, the temptation by other people “aww, go on, one won’t hurt you” may very well lead you astray once more and back on the road that you have already trodden.

Also, just put your past down to an experience that you never want to do ever again. If you worry about what you have done or have been through, it will only give you more stress and anxiety and you will turn to the things that you recall as “helping” you thus causing a relapse. It does happen to most people and though I don’t want to enforce that it will happen eventually to you, I’d rather enforce that you can have a reasonable happy normal life, just try not to tell new friends about your sordid past as they may judge you unfairly.

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