Atlantean
Member
I recently became aware that I had to stop drinking. It hit me like a ton of bricks, and I have since written a 2900 word e-book chronicling the ways in which substance abusers live in denial of the fact they have a problem with substances and how they can so often miss the forest for the trees and not see what everyone around them can generally see so clearly.
I am looking into starting a support group for people who are aware they have substance abuse issues, but arent geared towards an AA/NA environment. (This includes myself, as I for one am not an alcoholic, I refuse to say I am powerless over my abuse, since I have stopped it and I also refuse to surrender to a "Higher Power" as I believe I am in absolute control of every aspect of my life). I believe there are many people out there who need or want support, but are turned off by the AA/NA approach and could use a different outlet for support.
I absolutely believe you can have a substance abuse problem without being addicted to the substance, and I think that thats why so many people are turned off by society's general thinking that if you have a problem with substance abuse, you are automatically labeled an alcoholic or an addict. This is simply not the case and is generally the easiest way to block any avenue of communication with the abuser, when you start slinging terms like that around.
I have abused alcohol off and on (mostly on) for 11 years, but I was never addicted to it. During a brief 6 week phase of drug use, I knew a few people who were able to manage their drug usage responsibly, and werent addicted but simply abused them recreationally. Despite my heavy usage of just about every substance under the sun during this period when I most likely should have died, I never became addicted though I was most certainly abusing substances.
All drug or alcohol abusers are not addicts, and I think when you pigeon-hole them into that corner, thats why they become so defensive and resistant to the idea that they could even have a problem at all. If they dont see themselves or they arent addicted to whatever substance, its quite easy to rationalize away the problem that everyone but the abuser can see exists.
I guess the point of this post, is you or a loved one has a substance abuse problem, simply avoiding the words 'alcoholic' and 'addict' may get you a lot more leeway in getting around to them (or admitting to yourself) that there is in fact a problem.
Unfortunately, most substance abusers (myself included) will have to hit bottom before they are able to have that revelation that they can no longer use whatever they have been using. More often than not, much will have been lost, broken, or damaged due to the use of the substance in question before this can happen.
This is just my two cents regarding the world of substance abuse and recovery.
:cat3:
I am looking into starting a support group for people who are aware they have substance abuse issues, but arent geared towards an AA/NA environment. (This includes myself, as I for one am not an alcoholic, I refuse to say I am powerless over my abuse, since I have stopped it and I also refuse to surrender to a "Higher Power" as I believe I am in absolute control of every aspect of my life). I believe there are many people out there who need or want support, but are turned off by the AA/NA approach and could use a different outlet for support.
I absolutely believe you can have a substance abuse problem without being addicted to the substance, and I think that thats why so many people are turned off by society's general thinking that if you have a problem with substance abuse, you are automatically labeled an alcoholic or an addict. This is simply not the case and is generally the easiest way to block any avenue of communication with the abuser, when you start slinging terms like that around.
I have abused alcohol off and on (mostly on) for 11 years, but I was never addicted to it. During a brief 6 week phase of drug use, I knew a few people who were able to manage their drug usage responsibly, and werent addicted but simply abused them recreationally. Despite my heavy usage of just about every substance under the sun during this period when I most likely should have died, I never became addicted though I was most certainly abusing substances.
All drug or alcohol abusers are not addicts, and I think when you pigeon-hole them into that corner, thats why they become so defensive and resistant to the idea that they could even have a problem at all. If they dont see themselves or they arent addicted to whatever substance, its quite easy to rationalize away the problem that everyone but the abuser can see exists.
I guess the point of this post, is you or a loved one has a substance abuse problem, simply avoiding the words 'alcoholic' and 'addict' may get you a lot more leeway in getting around to them (or admitting to yourself) that there is in fact a problem.
Unfortunately, most substance abusers (myself included) will have to hit bottom before they are able to have that revelation that they can no longer use whatever they have been using. More often than not, much will have been lost, broken, or damaged due to the use of the substance in question before this can happen.
This is just my two cents regarding the world of substance abuse and recovery.
:cat3: