Yes, to me "period" means THAT'S IT. Done. Overwith. NO MORE. To me, I will never drink/use again means that I am a permanently committed non-drinker/non-opiate-user.
That term drove another poster mad recently and exploded into an argument of whether I am a "real addict" or not. The implication was whether I am a disease victim or not. I am not going to get into a scientific argument here that not even the researchers can agree on (despite the recent declaration by the American Society of Addiction Medicine -- not to be confused with the American Academy of Addition Psychiatry -- in a policy statement declaring addiction to be a disease entity).
Frankly, I am tired of arguing semantics, because I am going to treat my propensity towards addictive behaviors in the same way regardless of the terminology. I AM A NON-OPIATE USER.
As a non-opiate-user, if I have surgery, I will accept anesthesia for surgery and take pain medication IF needed postoperatively, but that will not change my mind-set not to self medicate with opiates EVER again. That's where the trouble begins in some cases, so due diligence is in order. It is the MIND SET (neurobiologically-based as it may be) that does not change. I will still be a non-opiate user before, during, and after a surgical event. Postop, I'm on my own to maintain my non-opiate-user identity.
While I do not consider myself diseased, I will never again be "opiate naive" as it is medically defined, however. That's why due diligence is so important when exposed to these things.
For those determined to continue identifying addiction as a disease, AVRT still works. Even cancer is being "treated" in the major research centers using a mind-set approach. Studies have been done using imagery by the patient to kill cancer cells. "Mind over matter" may be an age-old concept, but it is not a myth.
I've gotten off track, but I wanted to address those issues.
FT