Jody675

I want to start in saying that i have only ever tried drugs (pot) twice in my life so i have no real experience in that, but my last bf was into it heavily well before i met him and then only took acid (never in front of me) a few times a year. after spending a bit of time on this site to try and understand him and his addictions, i started to wonder what it was that everyone substitutes their choice of drug for?

for example. i was abused as a child and so used sex as a means to try and fill that void of acceptance and love which was missing in my life. it took me many years to let go of this pain, and fill my void with self acceptance.

my last bf has no idea what is missing from his life, so wonder if that if he is in denial or that people just don't always think that hard during recovery (or is he not in recovery and in denial?)

likehappiness

Jody,

I don't necessarily think I did drugs to replace something in my life. I have and had a great life before I used. What drugs did for me was gave me and extreme euphoria that I loved. I loved that feeling of "feeling great" all the time. Unfortunately it doesn't stay that way. An addict starts chasing that feeling and that's when it becomes an addiction.
So I guess not everyone is replacing something. I just liked the way they made me feel period. Until it definitely interferred in my daily life.

Jody675

my last bf said the same thing...he just liked the feeling.

Threshold

Yeah, some of us use to escape fears and feelings. Some use to GET a certain feeling and get hooked physically and mentally on THAT.

But I think if any of us stay on them very long, we get bad at dealing with real life feelings and situations and have to learn, or relearn how to live.

Tom88

I just liked to get high. The big draw with opiates for me was the high and the dulling of physical pain. I started out liking to take pills before id work out because i could work out longer. Over time though i exercised less and took more pills which led to heroin which led me here 3 years later. I find myself trying to keep doing something physical to take my mind off the withdrawal.