Various Addictions...
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Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: North of South Dakota
Posts: 86
Various Addictions...
In order to distract myself, I've been watching a lot of addiction related documentaries - from Intervention to youtube videos.
I've watched documentary videos about eating disorders (both under-eating and over-eating), Gambling addictions, OCD cleaning addictions, porn addictions, and gambling addictions. Which gave me some thoughts....
Does anyone else think the other addictions are more difficult to quit than drinking?
I've watched documentary videos about eating disorders (both under-eating and over-eating), Gambling addictions, OCD cleaning addictions, porn addictions, and gambling addictions. Which gave me some thoughts....
Does anyone else think the other addictions are more difficult to quit than drinking?
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Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 27
It turns out that it's pretty difficult to research recovery rates (among many other issues, researchers have to face the fact that many people who relapse aren't available to respond, and also just because someone leaves AA or a support group doesn't mean that they relapsed).
From my personal experience, though, of having friends with various afflictions, eating disorders seem just as difficult (if not more difficult) to recover from as drugs/alcohol. In fact, it has always seemed to me that it would be much harder to go through an ED than an addiction to drugs/alcohol for one simple reason: it is possible to construct a world relatively free from drugs or alcohol (i.e. you can avoid it fairly easily for the most part)... but this is clearly not the case for food... eating is a biologically necessary part of life, whereas drinking alcohol is not. Just my own biased opinion, though.
From my personal experience, though, of having friends with various afflictions, eating disorders seem just as difficult (if not more difficult) to recover from as drugs/alcohol. In fact, it has always seemed to me that it would be much harder to go through an ED than an addiction to drugs/alcohol for one simple reason: it is possible to construct a world relatively free from drugs or alcohol (i.e. you can avoid it fairly easily for the most part)... but this is clearly not the case for food... eating is a biologically necessary part of life, whereas drinking alcohol is not. Just my own biased opinion, though.
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Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Quantum superposition
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Everyone is different. Addictions are as hard as you make them. For me, opiates and alcohol were the hardest.... for someone else... video games might be the hardest... Nobody can say, "my addiction is harder to quit than your addiction"...
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Join Date: Apr 2013
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I agree with Lazy, everyone is different.
And different drugs do different things to different people. I fell hard for alcohol, but I tried ecstasy and rather than wanting to do it again, I want to stay away from it. I am sure that is not the case for everyone, or nobody would do ecstasy.
For many of us, I think we have underlying issues to work on if we're going to quit the addiction. So quitting may not be just about quitting the addiction but also include learning real coping skills and dealing with other things. Dealing with depression is just as hard regardless of whether you turned to alcohol or anorexia to drown it out to start with. (Although alcoholism and anorexia can both contribute to being depressed... cycles.)
And different drugs do different things to different people. I fell hard for alcohol, but I tried ecstasy and rather than wanting to do it again, I want to stay away from it. I am sure that is not the case for everyone, or nobody would do ecstasy.
For many of us, I think we have underlying issues to work on if we're going to quit the addiction. So quitting may not be just about quitting the addiction but also include learning real coping skills and dealing with other things. Dealing with depression is just as hard regardless of whether you turned to alcohol or anorexia to drown it out to start with. (Although alcoholism and anorexia can both contribute to being depressed... cycles.)
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Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Canada
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Alcohol is the apex of my addictive personality type...and when giving in to that one, I drop my guard for a lot of others...cigarettes, losing money at casinos, hangovers lead to binge eating and I drunk dial/text a bad man I've been trying to get rid of.
I kick the alcohol..I have the strength to knock down the others. Essentially, I got learn to know, care for and love myself to the best of my ability. Sobriety makes that a whole lot easier.
I kick the alcohol..I have the strength to knock down the others. Essentially, I got learn to know, care for and love myself to the best of my ability. Sobriety makes that a whole lot easier.
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Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 2,443
Crossfitdad,
That was funny.
In my twenties I just stopped doing cocaine one day. Not hard. About the eighth time I tried to quit smoking, it finally stuck.
Quitting alcohol was by far the hardest thing I have ever done in my life.
That was funny.
In my twenties I just stopped doing cocaine one day. Not hard. About the eighth time I tried to quit smoking, it finally stuck.
Quitting alcohol was by far the hardest thing I have ever done in my life.
Grateful
Join Date: May 2013
Location: NC
Posts: 1,763
I've been addicted to several different substances, alcohol, opiates, nicotine and caffeine. I might have missed a few but these are the "Big 4".
The hardest short term 1-4 with 1 being the hardest:
1) opiates
2) alcohol
3) nicotine
4) caffeine
Long term 1-4 with 1 being the hardest
1) Alcohol
2) nicotine
3) opiates
4) caffeine
The reason opiates drop 2 spots on the long term list is because of availability. I can go to the grocery store and get the other 3 anytime. There were times where it took a lot of work and some risk to get my opiates. But once I stayed off of them for awhile I wasn't exposed to them any longer.
The hardest short term 1-4 with 1 being the hardest:
1) opiates
2) alcohol
3) nicotine
4) caffeine
Long term 1-4 with 1 being the hardest
1) Alcohol
2) nicotine
3) opiates
4) caffeine
The reason opiates drop 2 spots on the long term list is because of availability. I can go to the grocery store and get the other 3 anytime. There were times where it took a lot of work and some risk to get my opiates. But once I stayed off of them for awhile I wasn't exposed to them any longer.
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Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 28
Originally Posted by DG0409 
I agree with Lazy, everyone is different.
And different drugs do different things to different people. I fell hard for alcohol, but I tried ecstasy and rather than wanting to do it again, I want to stay away from it. I am sure that is not the case for everyone, or nobody would do ecstasy.
For many of us, I think we have underlying issues to work on if we're going to quit the addiction. So quitting may not be just about quitting the addiction but also include learning real coping skills and dealing with other things. Dealing with depression is just as hard regardless of whether you turned to alcohol or anorexia to drown it out to start with. (Although alcoholism and anorexia can both contribute to being depressed... cycles.)
And different drugs do different things to different people. I fell hard for alcohol, but I tried ecstasy and rather than wanting to do it again, I want to stay away from it. I am sure that is not the case for everyone, or nobody would do ecstasy.
For many of us, I think we have underlying issues to work on if we're going to quit the addiction. So quitting may not be just about quitting the addiction but also include learning real coping skills and dealing with other things. Dealing with depression is just as hard regardless of whether you turned to alcohol or anorexia to drown it out to start with. (Although alcoholism and anorexia can both contribute to being depressed... cycles.)
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