[devondegenero]

I was really identifying with what one person had said about my drug use. I am coping with a feeling and if that feeling wasn't there i would find another feeling to cope with. So how do I put an end to all of this so im not coping with drugs and is it normal to have all of these feelings to cope with?

[winter4me]

Are you involved in any peer support group? (AA/NA/SMART...other non-drug but health related,,,)
It would also help to have someone skilled in the use of drugs to deal with emotions (like an LDAC counselor)
Feelings are....and they can be overwhelming but what we can change is how we respond to/act on those feelings.

[devondegenero]

Originally Posted by winter4me

Are you involved in any peer support group? (AA/NA/SMART...other non-drug but health related,,,)

It would also help to have someone skilled in the use of drugs to deal with emotions (like an LDAC counselor)

Feelings are....and they can be overwhelming but what we can change is how we respond to/act on those feelings.

Hello, i am involved with counsling and have a psychologist. We are working on alot of the issues i am having, i was just trying to gain another perspective on the situation. Im learning more and more everyday, staying away from drugs is a sure thing for me.

[splitimage]

I have a friend with long term sobriety describe the process of learning to deal with emotions as "Staying with the uncomfortable, until the uncomfortable becomes comfortable."

I really like it because for years I used alcohol to numb myself from any negative feeling, because there was a part of me that believed that the uncomfortable feelings would overwhelm me. What I've learned, through a combination of counseling, CBT, meditation, and participating in Women for sobriety, is that emotions don't last forever and feelings will pass, you just have to learn a different way of reacting to them and coping with them. Now I know that's much easier said than done, but it's true.

A big thing for me, was finding distractions that worked when ever I got a craving for alcohol. For me, my go to is knitting. But everyone's different. Do you have any hobbies? Is there something you wanted to do but didn't because you were using drugs? If so investigate it.

Another big thing for me, was learning grounding techniques to help me sit with and pass through the negative feelings. Ask your psychologist to teach you some grounding techniques.

Good luck on your continued work on learning to manage feelings.

splitimage

[Misssy2]

I am personally ordering a DBT Skill book and going to do the work in the book and discuss with my therapist.
Don't know if you heard of DBT but it is basically for emotionally unstable people...People who don't cope well with emotions and have struggles in relationships (family and love)....If you look it up maybe a skill book is something you would want to try I saw them as cheap as 14 dollars on shopping on line.