Concerned that this forum is enabling
Addiction is frightening. I do not want to rely on substances to make life manageable.
I have not admitted to my alcohol abuse, however. I am very afraid of being stigmatized / labeled and subsequently being refused benzo prescriptions (which would be intolerable).
I am about to move to a large city and start my dream job at an advertising / translation agency. I will conquer this myself, even if it means sweating my face off and vomiting on my pillows for nights on end.
How manageable is that?
As far as bottoms go, they can be as high or as low as you allow them to be. For some people, their bottom was sitting in the dark after work with a six pack, depressed and contemplating suicide..for others, rock bottom is death.
How low will your bottom be? What is your tolerance for pain? Will it be a high bottom or will it be six feet under?
Your call.
![Carlotta is offline](https://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/images/statusicon/user_offline.gif)
I will be starting my new job on 2 mg of clonazepam daily.
I anticipate drinking at night on top of that.
My hope is that I will adjust to my new job and be able to level off on my substance use.
For now, everything is f*cking terrifying and I will do anything to keep the soul-wrenching anxiety at bay.
I anticipate drinking at night on top of that.
My hope is that I will adjust to my new job and be able to level off on my substance use.
For now, everything is f*cking terrifying and I will do anything to keep the soul-wrenching anxiety at bay.
![Kabukicho is offline](https://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/images/statusicon/user_offline.gif)
I live in a nice city and have a good job and a loving girlfriend.
Btw, when I quit drinking I lived (and still do) in a nice city, have a great job (money is not that good but it is wonderful work) where I am well respected and good friends.
Did not mean that I was not an alcoholic and that my life was manageable.
You don't need to lose it all to hit bottom.
![Carlotta is offline](https://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/images/statusicon/user_offline.gif)
Well, obviously you are not ready to quit but still I would suggest that you bookmark this site and hopefully keep coming back and reading. Deeker's suggestion to go to a AA or NA speaker meeting is a good one too.
When you are ready and when you have that "moment of clarity" where you feel that you are on top of a cliff and it is terrifying to continue and it is terrifying to stop we will be there for you. Right now, the pleasure of using still outweigh the pain of it but believe me, at some point the balance will shift.
Good luck with your new job.
When you are ready and when you have that "moment of clarity" where you feel that you are on top of a cliff and it is terrifying to continue and it is terrifying to stop we will be there for you. Right now, the pleasure of using still outweigh the pain of it but believe me, at some point the balance will shift.
Good luck with your new job.
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Member
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: louisa, ky.
Posts: 6
dear kabuchiko you do have my compassion. withdrawl from benzos is going to be painful,most likely. it will pass. do ask for help from medical sources. that is their job. no shame attached to this. talking is your friend. don't do this alone.
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Member
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Gulf Coast, Florida USA
Posts: 5,731
I found when I stopped drinking and got off benzos my anxiety went away. Because I was building days I was proud of and not being in total fear the next day after a black out.
I wasn't ashamed of what happened or may have happened the night before.
What have been some of the consequences of your alcohol and drug use?
I wasn't ashamed of what happened or may have happened the night before.
What have been some of the consequences of your alcohol and drug use?
![deeker is offline](https://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/images/statusicon/user_offline.gif)
My bottom was not an event, it was a slow bleed of things that used to matter to me. I never had legal, financial or marital issues.
Sobriety isn't an event either. It is a series of choices.
I will tell you the one thing I am struggling with at this point is beginning to see that I really rewired my brain to look for short term gratification. I really have to push myself hard to make choices that are healthier options, I got really used to the quick fix.
You are training your brain to reach for something external to deal with internal crap. I am not saying you might not always take meds, but I would impress upon you the idea that you are actually rerouting neural pathways by making choices that feed addiction. I wish somebody had told me that when I was 26.
Sobriety isn't an event either. It is a series of choices.
I will tell you the one thing I am struggling with at this point is beginning to see that I really rewired my brain to look for short term gratification. I really have to push myself hard to make choices that are healthier options, I got really used to the quick fix.
You are training your brain to reach for something external to deal with internal crap. I am not saying you might not always take meds, but I would impress upon you the idea that you are actually rerouting neural pathways by making choices that feed addiction. I wish somebody had told me that when I was 26.
![jaynie04 is offline](https://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/images/statusicon/user_offline.gif)
Right now, the pleasure of using still outweigh the pain of it but believe me, at some point the balance will shift.
This is exactly my predicament. I am still in the "pleasure" zone. I deeply, truly believe that I gain benefits from substance use. Yet I am afraid of addiction.
I will continue to humbly come to this forum, both to offer and receive advice.
This is exactly my predicament. I am still in the "pleasure" zone. I deeply, truly believe that I gain benefits from substance use. Yet I am afraid of addiction.
I will continue to humbly come to this forum, both to offer and receive advice.
![Kabukicho is offline](https://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/images/statusicon/user_offline.gif)
What have been some of the consequences of your alcohol and drug use?
I am sorry (happy?) to say that I have experienced ZERO consequences of my drug / alcohol abuse. No wrecked relationships. No DUIs. No family problems.
If anything, the raw facts of life itself have caused me infinitely more harm than drugs / alcohol. I use substances to medicate my pain away. Hence my issues.
"All my bad choices were made when I was drunk." That's what my aunt said. I disagree. "All my bad choices were made when I was sober." That is my reply.
I understand that I am a complicated case.
I am sorry (happy?) to say that I have experienced ZERO consequences of my drug / alcohol abuse. No wrecked relationships. No DUIs. No family problems.
If anything, the raw facts of life itself have caused me infinitely more harm than drugs / alcohol. I use substances to medicate my pain away. Hence my issues.
"All my bad choices were made when I was drunk." That's what my aunt said. I disagree. "All my bad choices were made when I was sober." That is my reply.
I understand that I am a complicated case.
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Formerly ScrewdUpInDe
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: In the Nightmare in my head
Posts: 5,329
My bottom was not an event, it was a slow bleed of things that used to matter to me. I never had legal, financial or marital issues.
Sobriety isn't an event either. It is a series of choices.
I will tell you the one thing I am struggling with at this point is beginning to see that I really rewired my brain to look for short term gratification. I really have to push myself hard to make choices that are healthier options, I got really used to the quick fix.
You are training your brain to reach for something external to deal with internal crap. I am not saying you might not always take meds, but I would impress upon you the idea that you are actually rerouting neural pathways by making choices that feed addiction. I wish somebody had told me that when I was 26.
Sobriety isn't an event either. It is a series of choices.
I will tell you the one thing I am struggling with at this point is beginning to see that I really rewired my brain to look for short term gratification. I really have to push myself hard to make choices that are healthier options, I got really used to the quick fix.
You are training your brain to reach for something external to deal with internal crap. I am not saying you might not always take meds, but I would impress upon you the idea that you are actually rerouting neural pathways by making choices that feed addiction. I wish somebody had told me that when I was 26.
![Upward2Enlightenment is offline](https://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/images/statusicon/user_offline.gif)
Member
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Gulf Coast, Florida USA
Posts: 5,731
Well here is another suggestion. Number 2
This is a link to an AA basic text. I would look it over.
Big Book Online Fourth Edition
Linked With Permission Of AA World Services, inc
I wish you the best!
This is a link to an AA basic text. I would look it over.
Big Book Online Fourth Edition
Linked With Permission Of AA World Services, inc
I wish you the best!
![deeker is offline](https://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/images/statusicon/user_offline.gif)
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