So I smoke on the weekends. This weekend I wanna do a tolerance break but I’m sooooo wanting to smoke. Is that addiction?

A bit of a long post ahead.

I had a severe weed/alcohol/meth addiction from the age 18 - 24 . Always a combination of two substances and often all three (with major emphasis on meth; 🧊🍁 to be at ease in public and 🧊🍻 to kill boredom/crash)

I used to play competitive basketball as a varsity athlete way back in highschool and Uni. I dove into the junkie lifestyle and gave up excercising as a whole at around 20 years old. Im 27 now, 3 years away from 🧊 and 2 years from 🍁. Just an occasional drinker now due to socializing etc. I've been trying to get into the best shape that I can for the past 6 months now. Although I've been able to lose weight, I've never been regain my stamina/cardio (plus a really acidic stomatch). Regardless of how often I run and sprint its like my lungs have holes in them and Im just never able to go to past a certain level of intensity when excercising.

E.g. I'm able to cover 3km in 20-24 mins. Whenever I try to cover this distance quicker I end up gassing out just 5mins In. It literally feels like I've got asthma. This happens despite me being able to excercise extensively at least 3 times a week for the past 6 months now. Healthy diet and adequate sleep included

Has anyone experienced something similar? Trying to regain strength or a certain level of being in shape but just seemed impossible? Need some opinions or same stories

took a bunch of gava last night and im doing it again but after this im doen did i relapes?? my sponsers gonna be mad at me?

I've made it 3 months! Which although I am incredibly pleased about and feel quite amazed by it, I do also feel quite deflated. I haven't felt all the health benefits I was expecting to feel, my sleep is still terrible and I'm tired all the time. I feel irritable and moody and still pretty depressed. I keep thinking that I don't need to do this forever, can't I just slowly bring alcohol back into my life, although rationally I know that isn't as easy I think it is. Is this just how it's going to be from now on, always thinking about when/ how/ if I can drink again?

At some point in your journey of self-improvement, you begin to understand that others must also contribute by growing themselves. If they don’t take responsibility for their self-growth, it’s not up to you to carry that burden. When someone close to you refuses to put in the effort, it often leads to codependency and, eventually, a toxic dynamic.

Grieving and Moving On:

The healthiest course of action in such situations is to grieve the relationship and let it go. Holding on to it can jeopardize your mental health and sobriety. Acceptance is key; it means realizing that this person might never perceive you as you are now. They may constantly belittle you or lack respect. Letting go and grieving the relationship is crucial for your well-being.

Setting Healthy Boundaries:

The greatest act of love and growth in this scenario is to stop engaging in the toxic relationship. Heal your side of the codependency, set healthy boundaries, and intercede for that person prayerfully. If they don’t change their behavior, remember that it’s their responsibility, not yours, ...

https://kin2therapper.com/toxic-relationships/

Hi. I have an appointment with a therapist on tuesday. Been going to an other therapist last 4 months but have gotten a new one because i felt no connection with him. I have been using more and more last months, my mental health is very bad now. I have never told openly about my drug use before (other than a episode 3 years ago with benzodiazepine-addiction and «rehab» for 2 weeks). I wanna be high all The time and dont see any pleasure in socializing any more. I have also started drinking, after over a year teetotal.

I kind of know i should open up about everything, but after a life of 30 years of being silent it is a major change to speak freely about my drug use. Feelings of shame, my status going in the gutters when people find out i am a drug user etc is killing me!! Need support and guidance:(

Relevant diagnosis: general anxiety disorder, panic anxiety disorder, prob. drug addiction

Edit: i also dont get up in the morning, try to stay as long as possibly. Often till three and four in the after noon. Thinking about being high/drinking Constantly

On my 5th beer in one hour. Planning on buying benzo (so i open up on the tuesday session about my drug/alcohol use

To the people in recovery. KEEP IT UP. Stay strong. I don't know if it's from gambling, drugs, sex, alcohol, gaming ECT. But stay strong and keep moving forward. Today I found an old baggie of some drugs I use to do. It made me laugh as I threw it away and realized how far I come with my sobriety. So stay strong, I know it's not always easy, but you'll get through it!!!!!

If someone hasn’t yet fallen into the cycle of addiction, that’s a really good thing. But for those who have already started using and abusing drugs and alcohol, and are now addicted, the question becomes: how can they break free?

Honesty is Key: I believe that the goal of all therapies, healing methods, and strategies is to lead to one critical point—getting honest with God, oneself, and others. Once that point of honesty is reached or realized, a person gains the power to overcome any kind of addiction.

Whether you’re grappling with substance abuse or trying to overcome any habit, there’s no complex science behind it. The solution lies in pure, unfiltered honesty.

The more honest a person is ... more on my site ...

https://kin2therapper.com/breaking-free-from-the-cycle-of-addiction/

If you were a recovering alcoholic who drank for 20+ years and nearly died from it, were almost 2 years sober, but never went through any kind of treatment, how would dating someone who frequently drinks in front of you and before being intimate with you affect you? I am extremely concerned for a Friend who is dating a woman who stores cases of beer in her apartment and posts videos of herself drinking it and drinking it in front of him. I don’t understand, myself, why anybody would do this when they know that someone has struggled with this their whole lives. I think it’s extremely selfish. I am worried for him but feel it’s not my place to say anything.

There’s a very big challenge among us to find something to do in terms of work or a job.

The key to finding something to do is passing on the “awakening” you have experienced.

Step 11 – Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

This can be interpreted in another way.

“Having discovered our self-worth and value, we painstakingly found ways to add value to the next man selflessly.”

In doing this, and in experimenting until you find what works for you, you will not only find a job but a purpose, and the fear of economic insecurity will leave you.

Here’s the catch – one has to work on all the 11 steps that come before that: surrendering to God, getting honest, getting humble, telling another the exact nature of our wrongs, making amends, and so much more. ...

https://kin2therapper.com/finding-work/

Tomorrow makes 12 years sober from heroin. I still can't be around pain pills. But I did it, I survived when so many others didn't. Survivors guilt is real the man I loved during my addiction has been dead for 6 years this year. But none the less I survived I'm okay. I am sober.

Over 24 hours now off my doc. Drinking though and I know I need to stop that. The comedown is just so bad. I cannot keep living like this. I am so tired. I am tired of the whole lifestyle. I am I. My first virtual meeting in a long time. I went to rehab six times in 2024. I have been fighting this thing and I have a lot to lose. I need sober friends for support. Please DM me

When I got sober, I immediately delved into rapping. This meant performing in bars, being around so much alcohol. Many times I was discouraged from doing it, but deep inside, I knew that the newfound purpose and hope rap gave me was far stronger than any urge to drink. Additionally, the grace of God had ultimately set me free.

I broke all the ‘recovery rules’ when I got sober. I had no sponsor, I didn’t attend meetings, and I went to places that were tempting. What am I saying? The beauty of recovery is the opportunity it gives you to find out what path works for you.

Recovery is an ocean where one drop that helps one person might not be the same drop that helps another. Yes, there are some universal principles that apply to everyone, but recovery allows for individuality.

Try and experiment with things wisely. Do all the research you can possibly do. Be hungry for healing and growth and ultimately find what works for you.

Rapping gave me purpose then, but now I find my sense of purpose elsewhere. It’s a journey; it’s growth; it’s a process. Rapping was part of my growth curve.

Don’t make decisions out of fear, as fear will always tell you not to try new things. Walk in faith. Walking in faith means trying out things wisely, with as much counsel as you can possibly get.

Sometimes a medical approach can fail where a spiritual approach works. Secret sins can open the door to so much guilt and anxiety that, no matter how many of the best medical approaches you try, they won’t work if you’re still holding onto that secret sin. In such cases, a spiritual approach might be repenting from that secret sin (wholly turning away from it). ...

https://kin2therapper.com/my-take/

I stopped smoking pot almost 2 years ago, but since picked up nicotine vape. Im trying to stop cold turkey. Day 3 and 4 are the hardest ive heard . Last week I tried to stop so I gave my friend my vape and then I asked for it back because ( addiction is talking). She also smokes pot and nicotine when I gave it to her. I wiped it off with alchol wipes and the charges was the same when I got it back . I been sick like a dog last 2 days shakes and im nervous I got second hand high or something..please tell me this doesn't count as relapse?

I need to go back to MA meetings for nicotine and I miss having a community, but I'm hoping they won't back me go to NA meetings. F29.

Hello all, everyday, big or small you are doing a good job! Give you a bit of cliff notes on me, before I pose my question and ask for your input and shared experiences... I (f45) have bn sober from drugs for 10+ and from alcohol for almost 4 years now. After starting my sometimes slow sobriety journey, I pretty much shut down emotionally, mentally and physically. I had not yet entered therapy or addressed any of my life's trauma or behaviors. Well, other than the getting off drugs and working on fully kicking the booze. I think I thought kick the drugs and alcohol and poof el fixo lol! As we know not the case. Anyhow, as I said I shut down in almost every way. I did not have learned skills of communication or coping, other than say nothing and avoid the tough conversations. I was never able to explain to my then girlfriend and now wife anything that was going on with me. I still struggle identifying feelings and emotions even after several years of therapy. As I got sober, intimacy and sex got very real and that vulnerability without some kind of mind altering substance or alcohol was for the most part a new experience. Long over due, but I am trying to give the conversation she deserved years ago.

My question is to other's with sobriety and partnership/relationships what was your experience with intimacy, libido, sex after getting clean and sober! Any experiences or stories you'd like to share would be welcome.

This is a bit of a late post but a few weeks ago on Jan. 8th I celebrated one year of sobriety!

By far the worst part was the first few weeks and months after starting. Having to build back trust with those who were important to me, and having to fight off questions about if I was “still being serious” and if I would “lose control” in certain environments was admittedly exhausting. But eventually that faded, and I could see people’s faith in me growing week by week, month by month!

The next 4/5 months afterwards were difficult, not because of the work I was doing to repair my relationships with others but because of the work I was doing on myself. Wrestling with dreams of breaking my sobriety, the urge to drink around certain friends, and flirting with the idea of using other substances as a cop-out were struggles I dealt with almost daily. This is where I want to thank this subreddit and this community! You all stepped up for me in a big way during the first half of my Y1 journey and I honestly don’t think I would have gotten here without you all. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

In time, all the negative stuff fades. The days become easier, and the positive changes start to become apparent. In my case, I picked exercise back up and began to build habits I hadn’t had since I was 18/19! I started jogging 5ks regularly, and noticing changes in my body that were helping me become that much more confident!

Between the mental and physical changes, I feel like I have walked through the fire and become a stronger version of myself this past year. I’m proud of the version of me who was struggling at rock bottom, who decided to make a change instead of throwing his hands up and forcing everyone else to deal with his bs. I have him to thank most of all.

Sorry for the long rant, but once again thank you to this community! To all of you out there: YOU GOT THIS!

Nothing hurts more in recovery than a relapse after making progress towards sobriety. The emotional toll can be overwhelming:

• You beat yourself up for it.
• You don’t want to tell anyone.
• You put yourself on trial and mentally berate yourself.
• You lose motivation and drive to try again.
• You become susceptible to bouts of self-pity.
• Others may not lose trust in you, but you lose trust in yourself, which hurts your self-esteem.
• You find it hard to forgive yourself.

But the key is to learn to forgive yourself, share your experience with someone, and start rebuilding. A relapse hurts and can lead to despondency, but rising from it means you may never go back again.

https://kin2therapper.com/the-pain-of-relapse/

Today me and my ex-girlfriend went to the same party,long story short we both got drunk and started crying in each other’s arms. She cried about me being a junkie that gets more fucked up everyday and that im being judged by everyone bc someone snitched on me, and i cried about not having her to help me. I decided to man up and i sent her a message about how i still love her and she was very supportive to help me and told me that i can talk to her whenever i want. It really feels like a blessing to have her by my side and as a favor to both me and her i decided to go sober, i used to smoke 3,4 blunts a day which i put 2g of lemon-haze so i know it will be hard for me to go sober and i want people that know about the addiction to help me

Im writing this post to see if someone wants to be supportive and actually help me about it cause i cant keep living like that

My last smoke was in 19/1/2025 and hopefully i wont touch this bs again in my life

i have absolutely no self control when i drink and i despise the person i become when under the influence. i become annoying and embarrassing for everyone in the company, i bother, harrass people and make them uncomfortable, i always say or do the most devious shit because all of it seems so fun to me when drunk its like no social norms exist. this is the absolute opposite of who i am sober. the only thing i can do to stop this is to stop drinking, but i really need an outlet. hobbies and friends dont do it for me. thank god i lately ive been rarely drinking and in some instances even had some control over my actions. but still, i cant help but think about all the things i did or said and its killing me. this was one of the reasons a lost a dear friend as im just insufferable to be around when im drunk. i have no idea how to control this and im so tired of it.

Hey gang. I decided to do dry January just to prove to myself that I could do it, and see how long I can stay sober (from alcohol) in general. I have had depression my whole life but usually when I'm taking the right meds and nothing else in life is really going wrong I function fairly well. My anxiety and depression have SKY ROCKETED. Since being sober. I'm having urges, feelings, and thoughts that I haven't had in many many years. The thing is I don't even drink that much in general. Not every day anyways. Anyone else experience this? have any helpful comments tips, words of encouragement.

I shouldn’t have been drinking to begin with. The medication I’m on says to not drink alcohol.

I thought it would be okay but it wasn’t.

I’ve learned this lesson and I’m proud to be 18 days sober.

Hope you’re all doing well this evening!

If I were to post this anywhere else id probably get laughed at ! I bought some crab filling for sandwiches today. It was 50% surimi and 50% mayo ingredients. When these were broken down there was Mirin in the surimi but no precentage. Does anyone know how much mirin would typically be in seafood sticks or "crab" sticks ? I take my sobriety seriously if you cant tell. Thankyou ☺️