teragram4

hi, i am new here. would love to take advantage of all there is, but must admit....i am so confused w your site.

there are so many different places to post, i am overwhelmed w where to begin. is it all posts and questions from others? are there articles to read? it's too much for me to spend time looking on, i have 4 kids and can't spend endless time here.

can someone help me to figure out where to begin. i don't just want to read others posts and post my own issues, i want advice and articles from professionals. are they on this site too, or is it all people just talking to eachother?

thanks.

Coldfusion

Welcome, T!

There's a lot to learn here, and you've started in the right place (Newcomer's Forum)

This site is mostly just people talking. In fact, "professional advice" (especially medical advice) is against the rules. We just offer our experience, strength, and hope.

I posted this last night:

Science magazine had a special issue on depression (October 5, 2012). It is available free online:

Science/AAAS | Special Issue: Depression

teragram4

ok, got it. so it's just kind of an message board site? we write back and forth to each other for support? why are there so many different places to post? i'm really confused

Coldfusion

I think there are so many places to post because there are so many people with so many problems related to addiction!

least

If you want articles and information, go to any forum (alcoholism, substance abuse, and so on) and click on the 'stickies' at the top of that page. They are indicated by a padlock on the thread and the word 'sticky' before the title. Lots of information in the stickies.





And yes, we reply to each other's posts and threads. Offer support and encouragement.

Coldfusion

Here's the other article I've referenced around here. So I have two citations in 1200 posts--the pure science is a bit thin around here. But this used to be my signature, until I decided it was too "pro AA."

"...Neuroscientists have begun to recognize that some of the most important brain systems impaired in addiction are those in the prefrontal cortex that regulate social cognition, self-monitoring, moral behaviour and other processes that the AA-type approach seems to target. 'A lot of the treatment programmes out there are targeting these systems without necessarily knowing that they are doing it,' says Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse in Bethesda, Maryland..."

4 March 2009
Neuroscience: "Rethinking rehab", Jim Schnabel, Nature 458, 25-27, doi:10.1038/458025a

teragram4

maybe i'm web illiterate, but i don't see stickies? this site is truely overwhelming. so we just write back and forth to each other? why is it so complicated. i want to understnad it but it's just WAY to visually confusing.

Anna

It really is not that confusing.

You are posting in the Newcomers forum which is a good place to start. So, just relax and stay put and you'll be fine. And, please don't dismiss the power of addicts helping each other. This site has thousands of members and we all really do help each other. Reading what professionals have written is valuable, of course, but reading about what another addict is going through and how he/she manages is priceless.

Dee74

Welcome aboard Teragram

If it makes it easier just stick to one forum for the moment - like Anna said Newcomers is a great place to start.

We're a peer support website - and I think it really works.
the support I found here not only changed my life, it saved it

D

teragram4

thank you all. and i DON'T dismiss peer help, in fact, i prefer it to professionals, i must have worded something wrong, b/c i did not mean i was looking for pro help...i just can't figure it out. so to be clear, what you are saying is that RIGHT HERE.....i should post stuff....questions? comments?

p.s. Anna--i got Siamese too ; )

teragram4

i guess what i am looking for is to find others w similar issues to mine....how do i find those peers? i'm a stay at home mom w a husband who works 7 days a week/80 hours.....and i am dealing w the pressures of being EVERYTHING to 4 youngish kids ALL ALONE. if i have one real addiction it's pot and has been for 35+ years. but of course i drink a lil too and as a result have gotten 2 DUIs in 3 years....blowing 1 point over legal. both times i was stopped for something other than DUI, once a head light and once a rolling stop (which i do when i'm not drinking). not trying to say i didn't deserve them--i DID, but it's frustrating when i feel like the drug i really have issues w isn't the drug that has gotten me in SO much trouble. both DUIs were less than 3 miles from home and i was on my way to grocery store at 10p becuase that's the only friggin time i can go--when he gets off work. so i'm angry at him, somewhat unfairly blaming him, but i know it's my own fault. since the last one, i haven't had a drink, and it hasn't been an issue, i've always been able to NOT drink, in fact, in past 10 years, i would say i drank MAYBE 2 nights a week....and NOT a lot (3-4 glasses). it's the POT i want to stop.....

so am i doing this right yet?

ScottFromWI

Yes, you are doing it right. The newcomers forum is the best place to post and ask questions. Sounds like you have the same issues many of us have or had with drugs/alcohol. Have you actually decided to quit either the pot or drinking yet? Once you decide what you want to do this forum will still be a good place to find resources and support. Then if you decide to follow the path of AA/NA, there are specific forums for those. But don't worry about that now - you'll be fine right here in the Newcomers forum for quite some time.

teragram4

yes, i have stopped drinking and smoking as of now. i actually think it was the Adderall i was prescribed for so long that has kept me smoking pot.....needed to relax from the UP

Dee74

I smoked pot for 30 years Tera - I know others here have experience too.
I'm glad you've given up that and drinking too

D