I Struggle With Addiction
I think addiction is incredibly difficult. People should not be judged harshly for being addicted, any more than you would judge a mentally disabled person for not being "able." It is the same situation, just on a much smaller scale.
People initially have the misconception that the way they interact and interpret the world is an OBJECTIVE situation, that everyone shares. This is natural to assume, and it's reasonable within one's genetic relations; but outside of that, it is an unhelpful assumption.
Most people who look down on addicts feel that the addicts are behaving that way because they are selfish and do not care about others. Now, after a certain amount of harmful life experience - that very well may be true. But for the majority, it is not accurate.
People use drugs because they LACK something in their lives. Sometimes they lack chemicals that make them not feel anxious around others, sometimes they lack chemicals that make them feel happy, or anything else. Because THAT is how evolution works. Little random changes and if it works out great - awesome - it will thrive in the population. If not, well then it will die off and not be propagated...
But say you don't feel happy - this is the easiest because I can use myself as an example. I am unhappy. I'm not a bad person, I don't have bad ethics or morals; I just am unhappy and lonely. Being unhappy and lonely is a cycle that empowers itself, and lonely people do not attract happy ones. The strange part is that I am unhappy because I am lonely. When I am with others that care about me (or I have fooled myself to think they have) I am very upbeat and happy!
But I would say, where most people when walking around - let's give them a value of 10 for their "normal level of happiness, or mood". 15 would be super happy, and then 5 normally very sad, and below that range would only be potentially reached by the medically disadvantaged.
I feel like a 7 or 8 all the time. When something great happens, I go up to 12 or 13 - and I feel wonderful.
If something marginally disappointing happens, it brings me down by 3 points - as it would a normal person. But, instead of being at 7, now I am at 4... And if I endure a very sad situation, I go down to 1 or lower, compared to the normal minimum of 5.
This is why certain decisions become acceptable, such as self-destructive behavior. I KNOW taking drugs is bad for me, but at all times in my life, I have not really wanted to continue living. I know that sounds dramatic, but it actually is how I experience life.
So, if someone takes opiates (or likely other chemicals for other deficiencies) they feel better - but probably a bit better than a "normal" mood level. If I take opiates and get high, I'll feel like at 13... But then it reduces when I come down, to maybe a 6... Then when I get high it's only 12... It will be like that for a month or less, and then down another peg; etc.
George Carlin explains this beautifully... Paraphrased: "Drug use starts out as 90% fun and 10% bullshit, it ends up as 10%fun..."
But so people are not using to just be selfish. They are trying to regain normal life, for the most part. I know when I got high - I used to go to work and earn money! People LOVED me, because I was really positive and helpful and not trying to gouge them for every dollar - because I was in a good mood.
I hope that explains a bit to some people...
Methadone maintenance is super helpful for people who don't have the option to do absolutely nothing, and get taken care of and loved, for a minimum of a month. If you can get those things, then going cold turkey - or a short step-down method (for very high average use) is the best idea.
It's like making a balloon payment on a loan, or making regular payments over x amount of years... I am unsure of whether or not their is interest. That's a tough one to determine...
People initially have the misconception that the way they interact and interpret the world is an OBJECTIVE situation, that everyone shares. This is natural to assume, and it's reasonable within one's genetic relations; but outside of that, it is an unhelpful assumption.
Most people who look down on addicts feel that the addicts are behaving that way because they are selfish and do not care about others. Now, after a certain amount of harmful life experience - that very well may be true. But for the majority, it is not accurate.
People use drugs because they LACK something in their lives. Sometimes they lack chemicals that make them not feel anxious around others, sometimes they lack chemicals that make them feel happy, or anything else. Because THAT is how evolution works. Little random changes and if it works out great - awesome - it will thrive in the population. If not, well then it will die off and not be propagated...
But say you don't feel happy - this is the easiest because I can use myself as an example. I am unhappy. I'm not a bad person, I don't have bad ethics or morals; I just am unhappy and lonely. Being unhappy and lonely is a cycle that empowers itself, and lonely people do not attract happy ones. The strange part is that I am unhappy because I am lonely. When I am with others that care about me (or I have fooled myself to think they have) I am very upbeat and happy!
But I would say, where most people when walking around - let's give them a value of 10 for their "normal level of happiness, or mood". 15 would be super happy, and then 5 normally very sad, and below that range would only be potentially reached by the medically disadvantaged.
I feel like a 7 or 8 all the time. When something great happens, I go up to 12 or 13 - and I feel wonderful.
If something marginally disappointing happens, it brings me down by 3 points - as it would a normal person. But, instead of being at 7, now I am at 4... And if I endure a very sad situation, I go down to 1 or lower, compared to the normal minimum of 5.
This is why certain decisions become acceptable, such as self-destructive behavior. I KNOW taking drugs is bad for me, but at all times in my life, I have not really wanted to continue living. I know that sounds dramatic, but it actually is how I experience life.
So, if someone takes opiates (or likely other chemicals for other deficiencies) they feel better - but probably a bit better than a "normal" mood level. If I take opiates and get high, I'll feel like at 13... But then it reduces when I come down, to maybe a 6... Then when I get high it's only 12... It will be like that for a month or less, and then down another peg; etc.
George Carlin explains this beautifully... Paraphrased: "Drug use starts out as 90% fun and 10% bullshit, it ends up as 10%fun..."
But so people are not using to just be selfish. They are trying to regain normal life, for the most part. I know when I got high - I used to go to work and earn money! People LOVED me, because I was really positive and helpful and not trying to gouge them for every dollar - because I was in a good mood.
I hope that explains a bit to some people...
Methadone maintenance is super helpful for people who don't have the option to do absolutely nothing, and get taken care of and loved, for a minimum of a month. If you can get those things, then going cold turkey - or a short step-down method (for very high average use) is the best idea.
It's like making a balloon payment on a loan, or making regular payments over x amount of years... I am unsure of whether or not their is interest. That's a tough one to determine...
