SLGibson

I am currently 17 years old and to make a very long story short, I have a bad substance abuse problem(Pillls,drinking, cocaine etc.). All this did was put me into a phycatric hospitial. I have completed a rehab program and have been back in my hometown for 3 months. I have everything somebody could possibly want a great family a nice house. I even have a girlfriend she still uses but, i love her and wont give up on her. I just dont know what to do anymore im in theropy and i am suffering from depression. Everyone told me that my life would get better beign sober and so far it has only gotten worse. Everyday it seems like i should just go back to my old life but i cant do it. I dont have any friend because the only friends i have were the people i used with and can no longer go around. I just feel stuck and i feel like the only way out is to start drinking again. The only friends i have are people that drink all the time and try to get me to drink with them. I have only relapsed once and it was a very bad experiance, there has to be more to life but, i just can't find. I feel very alone and i need someone to tell me it will get better not worse. What do you do in times like this i really need some good advise.

Anna

Hi SLGibson,

Welcome and yes, it definitely does get better. You have made a great decision to get sober. Getting therapy is a good idea too. It takes time and it takes many changes in life and hopefully your therapist can help you with this. Have you talked to your dr about the depression because it could be possible that medication would help you, but talking to your dr is the best thing to do.

Here are some links for teens that you might find helpful:

http://www.12stepforums.net/teens.html
http://www.activeboard.com/forum.spark?forumID=42762
http://www.12stepforums.net/chatroom4.html
http://www.activeboard.com/forum.spa...opicID=1454408

im2sweet4u1983

There was a time in my life that I was using pretty bad but one day I did something stupid and I went to jail. When i got out i had no desire to use again but then I met thhis guy and we hit it off. He was a recovering addict (at least thats what he told me) I was apparently in a daze for awhile i guess cause I didnt see the signs that he was actively using. But one day I showed up at his house unannounced and his mom never made me knock she would tell me to come on in the hosue so I did this time like I always do and when I opened his bedroom door he was sitting in his room smoking crack (which was my drug of choice) the smart thing would have been to turn away and walk out but I didnt. We started using together and this time period of me getting high almost cost me my life. I know you say you love this girl and you cant and wont give her up, then you are not ready to be sober and she will lead you back to drugs. I will write that in stone if I could. thats why youre so unhappy. Another reason youre unhappy is because people who use drugs over a long period of time cause their brain to stop producing dopamine because the drug is doing the dopamines job so it just stops cause you dont need them anymore. So when you decide to get sober and the drugs arent being your dopamine anymore you will feel like **** until you get on some antidepressant medicatin that will teach your dopamine to start wokring again and you will feel happier and better doing that along with getting rid of the girl is she dont get clean will open your eyes to how wonderful life can be and hoe happy you can be

CarolD

Welcome to SR!

Congratulations on your clean and sober time!

Blessings

carly0009

You're seventeen!!!! A time when life is so full of possibilities. In the best case scenario, before you marry you'll have dated more than this woman still using. She's still young too and full of possibility as well and you have to redefine your relationship. Why would you ever be less of yourself to please someone else or stay in old habits that hurt you because you thought it'd hurt more to lose someone? (Ask me I've done it)

When I'm going through a hard time, I get out the calendar and mark a day in the future with a big X and count back from that. So every breakup or rotten thing that happens I try to calculate what the psychological time is to feel semi-normal again and give myself the goal of making it till then. I don't indulge myself or take myself too seriously until I've hit that date.

I'm not trying to minimalize this. I know it hurts...... badly.

parentrecovers

welcome, sl -

it's nice to meet you! i have a 22 year old daughter who started abusing alcohol and cocaine around your age. it affected her grades, relationships, physical health, and caused depression. she also found herself in a lot of legal trouble. she's been clean and sober since september. she also went to rehab and lives in a sober living house now. we (her family) are very proud of her.

she's made a lot of new friends in daily aa meetings - many young folks like you and her. a lot her old using friends don't really get her new way of thinking, so she stays away from the ones who don't support her sobriety. it's not that they aren't still friends, they're just not friends she can be around right now? it sounds like you have a supportive family, so it's a great time to reconnect with them? getting any professional help for the depression? my daughter takes a low dose of anti-depressant daily, and that really helps her.

keep posting! blessings, k