Author: tearj3rker
Posted: Tue Mar 27, 2012 9:53 pm
Just so you’re all aware ORT = opioid replacement therapy. I’m using ORT instead of Sub because everything here is equally relevant to those on methadone.
I’m wanting to use this thread so anyone can comment and make suggestions on ways we can improve ourselves as people while on Suboxone.
We all acknowledge the need to work on ourselves and our recoveries while we are on Suboxone. We each have our own flaws that contribute to our desire to use, and our inability to stop without the assistance of replacement therapy, be it methadone or Suboxone. But there’s also a lot of common traits among people prone to addiction. And they’re the flaws I’m mainly talking about here.
For those of us who are aiming to get off ORT at some stage – if we were exactly the same person when we tapered off ORT as we were before we went on it, IMO it’s fair to say that without any personal growth or changes in our time on ORT, we’d all be using again in no time. Even those people who are staying on Sub indefinitely, without doing any work on their addictive traits, they could find themselves not living up to their potential as a person. The addict within can still undermine other areas of all our lives.
Even while we’re on Sub and our cravings are under control, we can still work on the parts of ourselves that prevent relapse on opioids. Even something simple like learning not to give into our everyday urges or spoiling ourselves, can teach us to refuse to use when faced with a craving.
These are some of the traits commonly associated with addiction:
| Quote: |
| Poor Coping Skills
– the addictive activity freezes time, puts our lives on hold and provides just the right distraction so that the we don’t have to face any problems. Self-censoring – the substance eliminates that internal censor allowing the user to feel free and be “him or herselfâ€?. Need For Immediate Gratification – the substance provides that “quick fixâ€? you take or drink whatever and you know that within a reasonable amount of time you will be feeling good. Excessive Approval Seeking/Being Obsessed With Image – the substance can work two ways on this one. Either you are getting approval from whomever you are drinking/drugging with or you end up being numb to the rejection that you are so afraid of in the first place. Self-less – for someone that feels they don’t know who they are, addiction provides a pseudo-identity, even if it’s a negative one. Trouble Having Real Pleasure – addiction provides pseudo-pleasure. This kind of ties in with someone who self censors all the time, they can’t let go and have fun but the substance allows that. Intimacy Problems; Feelings of Isolation – the drug substitutes for a relationship, relieves the feelings of isolation and sometimes the act of getting and using the drug offers a community feeling. |
Those characteristics weren’t found by a study, rather written by someone who works in the field of addiction recovery.
There is something else I really need to add to this though that’s really relevant to everyone here. That is the importance of curbing or stopping our use of other drugs we are addicted to.
When I quit heroin that first time for 13 months, a lot of the skills I learnt from that made it a LOT easier to quit smoking later on. As a poly-drug user who’s been addicted to heroin, cigarettes, amphetamines, cocaine, I’ve found that the psychological tools we need to recover from an addiction vary little if at all between drugs. A phenomenon of craving is pretty much the same across the board. The only difference is some drugs induce stronger cravings than others (IV heroin and IV cocaine, followed by cigarettes, I found to be the hardest).
I strongly believe based on my own experience that when we we develop the tools to quit any drug, those same tools can be used to fight our other drug addictions. ie if someone were to quit smoking cigarettes or marijuana while they were on Suboxone, IMO their chances to stay off opioids post taper would improve markedly because they’ve developed tools to deal with their cravings when they arise.
For me, the main things I’m working on are:
– Delaying gratification. Just by doing little things, like making sure all my chores and study is done before wasting time online. When I get a craving to buy a coffee or consume something I don’t need, I ask myself whether I really need it.
– Staying off cigarettes. This has given me a ‘recovery workout’ and helped me learn to deal with cravings.
– Coping mechanisms. My bipolar disorder played a big part in my addiction to opioids, and every relapse I had after a long stretch of clean time was brought on by some kind of bipolar mood episode. Recently I’ve realised that my issues arose from a need to control or fight my mood changes. Any time I’d detect a period of depression coming on, I’d do everything in my power to prevent it – jog, swim, compulsive sex, move interstate .. and of course, drugs. Acceptance and committment therapy (ACT) has helped me accept my mood changes, and work around them, rather than try to control them. It has made a huge difference.
IMO Acceptance and commitment therapy can make a difference to a lot of addicts
– Giving up the counter-culture stuff. I’ve taken out my piercings and got a straight haircut. Any time I start thinking in that alternative / fuck the world mindset, I pull my head back to the productive future I’m aiming for.
– Preventing thoughts about drug use in whatever form. The moment I think about using drugs to get high, whether it’s a book or movie about it, or my own using history, or a friend who is using, I pull my head back to my recovery goals straight away.
What are some of the things you are doing to work on yourself? Any suggestions for others?
