[beauflow]

So December 5, 2008, was my breaking point point... Stopped the hard drugs and the life style- was fed up with it, fight broke out, and I left my home; was homeless for a little bit but I never look back on it- have not went back to hard drugs not even a slip since this date- And as far as marijuana(I am sorry I do not consider the same class as Coke or Meth or Ecstasy)-only 2009 and early 2010 a few puffs of marijuana but that was dropped as well after back surgery and pain with back, and the 2009-10 was really really rare puffs. (an 8th had lasted me through that time- if anyone understands that)

Any ways--- Today.. I said Brush your teeth!! And make it a habit- Sorry if this is a little gross, but I will admit it to you PC guys for I want to hear if anyone else has this issue or some tips for me. But brushing my teeth has not been a major habit of doing for years, when starting drugs I had time periods of just brushing the hell out of them (usually meth) then stopping and not doing it forever.... I do that to this day with being sober.

Simple thing, healthy thing- to brush your teeth! Something that should be second nature with the society I live in and the day and age of this society!

I have always wondered-- If i would had went to rehab, with help with getting off drugs-- instead of just dropping everything, all friends and everything if some things would be different.

Brushing the teeth is the lesser of the scale of things.

I seem to be unable to really want friends besides my boyfriend. I am content for the most part with staying at home, being with my animals and doing my art or what not. Keep myself busy with projects.

I know there are other factors to this for me, however I just have to wonder...

Has anyone else that was in the same boat as me, cleaned up by themselves with out rehab, that has gone through similar things or what not?

And if you have gone to rehab- I just have to wonder-- I guess the question I have with that is in the name- it helps you rehabilitate your life in many areas I am sure.

Thanks for letting me babble.. It is a re-occurring thought that I only share with my boyfriend really... and I thought maybe to through it out here on PC.

[unaluna]

the best period of my life was when I did the Alcoholics Anonymous program A.R.T.S. - Artists Recovering Through the Twelve Steps. It's not a substance abuse thing, you just promise to do your art every day! You can go online and see if there's a group in your town, or start one yourself if you can find a couple people, if there's a regular AA meeting place? The main office will send you materials etc. There are also phone-in sessions, I keep forgetting to try that.

Originally Posted by beauflow

I have always wondered-- If i would had went to rehab, with help with getting off drugs-- instead of just dropping everything, all friends and everything if some things would be different.

And if you have gone to rehab- I just have to wonder-- I guess the question I have with that is in the name- it helps you rehabilitate your life in many areas I am sure.
.

rehab gave me the first real straight memories I had for a long time. I guess I needed somewhere to feel safe at the time and rehab did it for me. I did two 11 month programs and a couple of shorter attempts at it. I didn't want to leave rehab....I knew I would not last long outside.

I don't think I went there to stop using...I think I went there to experience 'not using'....because when I did leave I kept using. did this for another 4 years and real bad and kept drinking for another 8 years.
it's only been nearly 3 months sober for me now even.

I guess rehab just proved to me that I had to stop sometime at least!...or die or go to jail. I experienced about 3 years of my life straight because of it and it was the drugs that were killing me at the time....but I did end up stopping them by myself eventually because I just couldn't do it anymore.

rehab seemed to me to be a very individual thing....people do it for different reasons. I really didn't know exactly why I was there....just like..."well here I am for now, this is the next part of my life"

[madisgram]

Has anyone else that was in the same boat as me, cleaned up by themselves with out rehab, that has gone through similar things or what not?

And if you have gone to rehab- I just have to wonder-- I guess the question I have with that is in the name- it helps you rehabilitate your life in many areas I am sure.

i think it's great you had the fortitude to get clean without rehab. i can't say i felt i could get sober without rehab. i had NO self discipline. i learned a lot about the disease concept there too. i later got sober and used AA to reinforce my sobriety without another rehab. not proud of my multiple attempts of failure to stay sober. for me it was really about acceptance and action that helped me turn that corner and stay sober.
AA has helped me "rehabilitate" my entire life. not rehab tho it helped me open that door.
and for now don't worry bout brushing your teeth. that's a healthy thing. re friends-do yo attend AA? lots of friends there. you just haven't met them yet.

[roads]

I'm very independent, not & never have been a joiner, freaked when several of my mom's "connected" friends arranged for me to go the sorority route in college, etc. Have even been self-employed because I'm "not a team player" & was read as such in interviews.

And yet when I decided to get clean I didn't even seriously try on my own--I knew I couldn't do this without help. Don't know how I knew that.

But, beauflow, I went in and out without rehab affecting anything but my addictions. The thing that isn't pointed out much about addictions is that they are the wrapping paper of Mental Illness: The primary behavioral effect that addictions have is that they disguise everything else. By letting me view my life through often rose-colored glasses, things look great when in fact they are awful. And by making nothing more important than my getting my drugs, they make me a liar, a cheat--whatever it takes.

So, when I got sober, the rest of my life was still the total disaster it had always been. In the years since I first quit using in 1981, my primary work had been to stay clean. When that worked, I worked on the depression which had been diagnosed when I was eight. Then life happened some more after eight, my husband & daughter died when I was around 25 & I mis-handled that big-time + self-medicated for a decade. By the time I got clean there were all sorts of things I needed to work on to stay clean--then I could start work on the depression!

And when I finally began to make some headway on that, issues of anxiety, OCD, PTSD ... my entire life was an unbearable-to-look-at-mess & it's no wonder at 25 I started buying drugs in the Family Size! So yes, now is the time for getting help and working on all the underlying stuff. The. AA arts program is a great group.

And about brushing your teeth? Long story short: I've got dentures