addiction
The realities of addition; the truth about living under, above and beyond the influence of drugs and alcohol.
Choosing Sobriety
Drugs and alcohol are just chemicals; they don’t have thoughts, feelings, or desires. Yet they can control what we think and want all too easily. Addictive substances are capable of warping our minds and damaging our bodies. They can completely change the ways in which we behave, causing us to lose our jobs, our loved ones, and our way in life.
By Casey Chesterfield6 years ago in Psyche
Using Art to Cope with Substance Abuse and Depression
After three years of addiction, I found myself battling with temptations once again. My wife and I were having problems with our marriage. Although she was there during my darkest days, I never realized how greatly my addiction affected our relationship until I returned home after spending time in rehab. My kids, aged seven and three, were more than happy to see me again, but my wife’s reaction was not as positive.
By Patrick Bailey7 years ago in Psyche
Carry On
Pitch Pine High School Alumnus Alex Davao carried a lucky shirt from a thrift store down on San Bernardino Road. It was not a special shirt, but Alex Davao liked to believe it was, so he wrote his name on the breast pocket in black sharpie, and told everyone it was lucky. He was an IB diploma candidate. International Baccalaureate. The most prestigious high school honor you could get, or so they say. He said he needed all the luck he could get.
By Clarisse Guevarra7 years ago in Psyche
My Choice of Disease
I remember the first time I used a drug for something other than it was intended for. I was 15 and I was at home waiting on two of my friends to come over to talk to me about something I had done to upset them. I was nervous about them confronting me about the situation. I hated confrontation, and I didn't know what I had done to make them angry with me. As I waited, I laid on the couch facing the kitchen, looking at the refrigerator, and sitting on the top of the refrigerator was a bottle of Codeine Cough Syrup, and I thought to myself how good that medicine made me feel a couple days ago when I was taking it for my cough. I thought I should take some now to make myself feel better, because I was feeling like hell because of the situation I was in. 15 minutes later I had taken at least five Tablespoons, and I was a new person. I felt happy, relaxed, I had no anxiety, and I felt confident, and self assured. Enough to face my friends and remedy the situation with no worries. I had just found heaven.
By Darci69 Ezinga7 years ago in Psyche
How Fitness Saved My Life
I’ve always felt different. I’m not talking three arms, or four nipples type different… just different. For pretty much the entirety of my life, I had this ridiculous underbite that people made fun of me for. In a way, I was, “different,” but only because I looked different. The whole underbite thing may not seem like a big deal, but for me this was pretty much the basis of what I believed to be my miserable existence at the time. Don’t worry though, this isn’t just some pessimistic, pity me, sob story—it gets better.
By Chy Garrick7 years ago in Psyche
Understanding Addiction and the Effects It Has on Families
For the average individual, when the consequences are bad enough they can stop using drugs and drinking. They don’t even need to put up a fight. I once knew a person who, when he finally lost his job and no longer had money to pay rent, stopped using. Just like that, he made the decision to stop. He was able to stop and not have the urge to drink or get high all on his own.
By Cassidy Webb7 years ago in Psyche
Living with an Addict
I'd like to start by just saying that addiction doesn't have a face. Anyone can fall victim to the disease. Yes, I said that it's a disease, and that's because it is. Addiction should be treated like a disease and should also be treated with respect. Addiction ruins not only the life of an addict, but also the lives of people around them as well. Too many precious lives have been taken by this horrible disease, and it needs to change. As someone that grew up with a parent struggling with addiction, it shaped how I look at the world around me. I'm going to touch on a very emotional subject, but I want to shed light on the topic too.
By Rena Luxxe7 years ago in Psyche
How Do You Help Someone with an Addiction?
There are many debates raging on right now about how to help struggling addicts or people with possible addictions. From safe injection sites that reduce the risk of death from overdose, to raising the legal drinking limit, to using fear campaigns to scare you straight. Yet at the same time the government has made addictive substances, like alcohol, more readily available by allowing sales in grocery stores, offering "buck a beer" deals, and legalizing marijuana (not that I'm against that last one) all the while cutting funding to fight the onslaught of addiction. What we really need are more well informed media campaigns, more front line staff, and most importantly, people who understand how to help an addict in their own way. So what should and shouldn't you be doing to help someone struggling with addiction?
By Jeffrey Joseph7 years ago in Psyche
Addiction
Addiction tears you apart. You can almost give it human personality traits. It's so complex and unique to each addict. Like people, the basics are pretty much the same. Humans all have a body of some sort. Most have hair, skin, eyes, etc., but not everyone has all of these things, and even if they do, they can be dramatically different. Addiction is similar because everyone has their "story," or reason why/how their addiction started. Some are as basic as they just wanted to fit in with a certain crowd; others are much darker and tragic, but there is always a reason. Addressing that underlying cause must be done to ever gain control of it
By Candida Reece7 years ago in Psyche
