does any addict stop?

who has really screwed up stories?

going for real.....

no doubts

...just going for it

[ape9090]

Yes if an addict really wants to stop only for himself/herself then yes indeed they can stop......but you have got to want to stop for you,,,,,,,not for your spouse or your family.....the decision must be made by you and for you so you can better your life,,,,i have spoke to tons of rehabilitation facilities across the US and thats the anwer i have always gotten. So yes i have stopped for 3wks.....its not easy but i take it 1 day at a time. trust me it can be done....good luck

[RaggedyAnn67]

First, Unfortunately, we are addicts for life until the chemistry & function of the mind is ever really understood and the miracle meds are found.
Looking at the big picture of quitting for life is absolutely too scary for me to even think about. Getting through the first few days & months seemed to be the toughest. So, I had to learn (over years of trying/practicing quitting) to focus on one day at a time (sometimes the hour was tough enough). Each day I had a plan I made up in the mornings for the things I wanted to get done so that I could focus on something else. I noticed that if I prevented the urge from occurring in the first place, it helped a lot. (For me, once I let that urge grow...it didn't matter who I talked to, I was going to use.) And, I had to learn not to panic over getting the things done in the list I wrote. Tomorrow will come to get those things done then. Today, I would do the best I could.
Second, I think we (as addicts) need to be careful how we define "quitting for ourselves". I did think about others to quit. As I was sitting in an outpatient program (for the 10 zillionth time), I looked around at the people there and starting thinking about the fact that they were seriously make efforts towards quitting and were having success, actually. It didn't seem fair all of a sudden that they were truly struggling to change their lives and thinking processes...when I wasn't. I felt selfish. So, I started to work on seriously making efforts. Here's were the thinking gets twisted (I think), I looked at others and thought about how I was sort of the bad influence and wanted to change for them. But, looking at it deeper, I am doing it for me. It is my morals and values that drove me to quit myself because I don't want to be a bad influence for anyone. So really, I did it for myself.
As I turned from gambling, it was for my son. I saw him with the early symptoms and decided I needed to stop in order to save him from this life of hell. And, I did. ...but, who am I really stopping for?...me. I needed to be strong for my son because that is who I really want to be.

[Willcat]

Originally Posted by dubblemonkey

does any addict stop?

I like to think that, yes, any addict can stop using and maintain a drug free lifestyle. However I have seen addicts that do everything suggested they do by people that are very knowledge about addiction and not recover from addiction. I do not know why this happens.

I know for myself that when my desire to stay clean/sober is greater that my desire to use I get better by way of an addiction treatment plan.