Originally Posted by
AnvilheadII 
Im told by the doctor they will go away in time because the brain will fully heal.
addiction doesn't go away, the brain never FULLY heals...all recovering addicts are exactly ONE bad decision away from returning to using. that's why addict and alcoholics with multiple decades of recovery can still relapse. addiction is ALWAYS there, inside of us. there is no cure. as long as we never use again, we have a reprieve. that's it, a reprieve.
unless the addict fully recognizes and respects their nemesis, ADDICTION, they will never get that reprieve. play with fire, you will get burned. if we do not protect our sobriety, recovery, every day, in all ways, we leave ourselves open to the resurgence of the demon. it's never far away, it lurks in the bushes. get a little too reminiscent remembering the good old days...let daily life stuff build up too much and get the F*ck its, thinking again that ONE couldn't hurt, I deserve, nothing bad will happen, I have control of this.....and Thunder comes flying out of chute #3.
I dont know about all that, but the doctor at the rehab told me to think about it like diabetes. The diabetic cant eat sugar, my husband cant use cocaine or substances that mimic cocaine. The diabetic brain never forgets sugar, and many diabetics have emotional ties to sugar which makes them want sugar. My husbands brain wont forget cocaine, and he has many emotional ties to the drug that make him want it too. Diabetic eats sugar and gets sick, maybe dies. my husband uses drugs gets sick, maybe dies. Its not so complicated.