this post was submitted on 08 Jul 2024
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Privileged, ignorant take by this anon. If you get REALLY down bad sometimes relief in any form is enough. Anybody's who's been there knows what I mean, anybody who hasn't should count their lucky stars and try to.
There’s no shortage of people who refuse to understand addiction. “Why don’t you just…” “All you have to do is stop.” Plus equate the addiction and not stopping as weakness and failure. IMO those with that POV are talking to polish their own moral superiority and aren’t at all interested in the factors surrounding addiction.
The real amusing part of that is there's a very good chance that those people who don't understand are very likely addicted to something legal like booze or caffeine. Hell try anyone to try quitting caffeine and they'll see how much it sucks.
That’s entirely possible. It also leads to the discussion between socially acceptable addictions and those that aren’t. People seem to be “more ok” with addictions that at least offer the veneer of the individual being in control.
Dunno. Alcohol creates more danger to everyone than most of banned drugs. And people still ok with it.
Caffeine is not a good example, no one talked about the negative effects for a long time, they even promote it for the benefits and is extremely common in soda.
Yup, and this is a huge part of why I don't consume caffeine in any meaningful amount (other than a random soda every so often). I had a friend who was addicted in middle school and tried to quit, and had to go back to drinking soda because of the headaches.
I don't want anything to have any meaningful control over me, so I actively avoid anything addicting. The most addictive thing right now. for me is video games, so I've set some rules for myself: no MMOs, generally avoid MP games, no mobile games (outside emulators). I don't drink, smoke, etc, and I prefer to manage pain without Rx (definitely avoiding opiates).
I've seen far too many lives get ruined through addiction. In fact, one of my life goals is to volunteer at a charity to help people kick addiction to consumerism (I'd love to help people get out of debt).
Addiction sucks, and I highly recommend others to be honest about their addictions and work to kick them. If you want some more motivation, volunteer at a soup kitchen or something and talk to the people there, many if not most got there through addiction, and a lot of them had a career before everything spiraled out of control. Don't let that happen to you.
It's most likely from not having enough sleep. Usually lack of sleep correlates with consumption of caffeine(no shit, Sherlock), but caffeine is usually not root cause for it. Usually it is external source of stress like school.
Good human. No, good citizen.
I quit caffeine over a year ago. I still think about it almost every day. Every day I'm so tired, and I think, "there's an easy fix for this, just give me a cup of half-caf." It's never an option for me to think, no, I'm done with that. I always just tell myself, "you can have it next month if you still need it then" Addictions suck.
Theres a lot of us who are this way because we've had to deal with the fallout of the damage those with addictions problems have. It's not black and white, I've gone through a similarly fucked up life as my family members who fell into addiction
My comment has nothing to do with the damages caused by addicts to those around them. You’re right, it’s not black and white, and that’s one of the major issues about addiction vs the people who can’t/wont understand it from the outside. “All you have to do is…” is a cry of frustration and maybe even a defense against the damage caused by the addict. Yeah, they did the damage, no getting around that, and that’s a personal issue that I’m in no way qualified to make suggestions as to how to mend - if at all.
I’m absolutely not trying to detract from or minimize what you experienced, but neither can I offer an exception in your case that it changes how addiction works, and also I am in no way trying to be an apologist for the addict. It’s a shit situation. If it were easy we wouldn’t be having this conversation.
Fair enough, I can agree with pretty much everything you've said here tbh
Hope things work out for you eventually and don't remain unsettled. Sounds like you had some shit to deal with.
Eh, its in the past. The fact that I distrust addicts now doesnt impact my ability to empathize, it just means I personally wont be the one helping them. Thank you for your own empathy though
Fwiw you’re probably right about trusting addicts, they have to fix themselves first.
~~The question was why people CREATE addictions. Not why people are addicted.~~
EDIT: Derp. "Why are people like this and what's to be done with them". This is opposite of refusing understanding addiction. Translation from 4chanian to English: "Why the problem exists and how to solve it".
Tbh it's hard to understand for people that have never been addicted for "real".
Absolutely. But empathy plays a part in our lives. We can try to understand a lot of things our fellow humans experience, but unfortunately when it comes to mental health/addiction, people seem to stop wanting to understand.
Might also be worth noting how DARE made every drug into the Drug That Kills You Instantly. Cocaine instantly causes your heart to explode. Heroin immediately turns your into a vegetable. Weed is a "gateway drug" that's laced with every other drug at once. Bath Salts are causing people to eat each other's faces off.
How many interactions with actual drug users does it take to disabuse you of these notions? The high performing athlete who smokes weed. The kids doing whip its at the concert who look like their having a great time. Fucking gym rats doing steroids and getting swole as hell. The older folks doing oxy and heroin so they can bust through pain and pull an insane shift. The college kids using amphetamines to study through the day and party through the night.
It's not as though drugs don't have very immediate and obvious benefits. People aren't doing them because they want to become washed up stereotypes.
Exactly. DARE and related programs aren't doing anyone any favors because once you try one of those drugs, you'll realize they're really overselling how dangerous they are.
Don't get me wrong, drugs are dangerous and many people get sucked into career-ending addiction. But anti-drug advocacy should be very honest about both the benefits and the negatives, as well as alternatives if you're looking for some benefits (e.g. regular exercise can increase energy levels a lot).
I'm in favor of legalizing most recreational drugs, which should make dosage way more predictable (no more ODs) and detect warning signs before things spiral. I'd like to legalize and tax drugs, and use the tax proceeds to fund rehab programs. Start with weed and shrooms, and expand to whatever is most popular.
What? Is it something I don't understand?
An oblique reference to the Miami Cannibal Attack which police claimed was the result of the assailant being "high on bath salts" at the time of the incident. Toxicology failed to corroborate the claim, but it stuck in the anti-drug media and became a recurring urban legend of sorts that DARE officers would repeat to credulous kids.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miami_cannibal_attack
Edit: I think the bath salts as a cause has been disproven but the story remains.
Ah, the religion.
PCP, so not exactly the same as bath salts but similar.
can make you go cray cray
Couldn't agree with this more.
Also a lot of people who end up getting hooked on drugs first try it when they are young, they still have developing brains and its harder to make long term impact decisions.