I've been reading this board for at least 2yrs and have posted very few threads. I grew up in South Florida very close to Miami Beach so it was almost a middle class neighborhood were both parents worked or just the mother which was the case most of the time. I grew up in apartments that were all on one block and full of kids and everyone knew everyone. this was the mid 70's to early 80's.Of all of the people I knew and hung out with not one graduated high school. Everybody took there GED. By the time we were 12 or13 we were smoking marijuana because most of us had older brothers or sisters and we wanted to be like them. This was during school that we were smoking, By the time we were 16 to 18 most of us were into cocaine and pills. This was a daily habit that between 10 and 20 of us would be together using drugs.Even though we were using regular most of us were back in school (community college or vocational school)and all of us did well but the drug use increased with us graduating and getting decent jobs, One of us even became a lawyer. This drug use went on for many years and as time went on several people lost there professional licenses, A couple even did some time for possession. A couple of us overdosed in our 30's. Most of us are in our late 30's to early 40's and still use. Probably for the last 15yrs most of us did work and work at getting our drugs, everyone is on oxy's today. At one point during our use all of us got into trouble with the law and went to drug court or did a couple of months in jail and were exposed to the 12 steps.That didn't work for anybody I know. I myself went thru 10 drug rehabs that didn't work. Then 3yrs ago I came down with a rare bone disease that required very strong narcotics and because of my previous use the drugs don't work so well so the pain is present 24-7. I guess thats my punishment. So now I am homebound and speak with my friends that are all going downhill fast. most of them doctor shop to get there pills and several have been arrested for selling the extra pills they get and at last count 4 are doing hard time because of the oxy's.The whole story is about how one neighborhood with about 20+ kids that all grew up together and became drug addicts and most of the drugs that we used were prescription drugs that were obtained by doctors that just wanted a fast buck. In South Florida it's the pain clinic capital of the country. If you have a hundred dollar bill you get what you want from these doctors. I wrote this because of the time I have to just think and how a whole neighborhood became drug addicts.
If your looking for help its in your backyard.
I Started using drugs to fight my depression.From age 12 I could out drink just about anybody but I did not like being sick was an athlete. But once I got sick and could not play sports and was in and out of hospitals I becamed a food addict pot --shoot I abused a lot of drugs in my early teens. Adrenalin got it and would skin pop it and smoke pot and drink beer?It took the pain away.
As I got older it was all about self medicating my depression.
I am bipolar and have it under control finally. I have most importantly have been to many hours of AA rehab therapy and have all the tools.
If I relapse its all on me. I honestly believe you can never rid yourself of the disease but you can put in remission.
For me the secret is to not be so impulsive and be able to think out the ramifications of my using.
I almost relapsed years ago on my D.O.C Coke people places things but I did not mess up. I honestly do not know if anything would have happened after decades of no coke but I am to scared to find out-Not worth it
I Started using drugs to fight my depression.From age 12 I could out drink just about anybody but I did not like being sick was an athlete. But once I got sick and could not play sports and was in and out of hospitals I becamed a food addict pot --shoot I abused a lot of drugs in my early teens. Adrenalin got it and would skin pop it and smoke pot and drink beer?It took the pain away.
As I got older it was all about self medicating my depression.
I am bipolar and have it under control finally. I have most importantly have been to many hours of AA rehab therapy and have all the tools.
If I relapse its all on me. I honestly believe you can never rid yourself of the disease but you can put in remission.
For me the secret is to not be so impulsive and be able to think out the ramifications of my using.
I almost relapsed years ago on my D.O.C Coke people places things but I did not mess up. I honestly do not know if anything would have happened after decades of no coke but I am to scared to find out-Not worth it
It can be both.Both you and Jeff described early initiations into the drug scene.I was about 14 when I started.One factor in my case was rebellion.My dad was a Baptist misister and I was given this expecation to be perfect.I couldn't do it and then realized it was all a lie anyway.My parents were far from being progrssive so their attitude was just pray harder and then you want desire to have sex,use the Lords name in vain or pal around with the devils advocates.
Well,the devils advocates became my best friends.They embraced me and introduced me to all these wonderful substances to make my life bearable.Did I already have the gene? Most definitely.I never drank or used drugs with anu caution.It was simply to obliterate an already hell I was living in.
As soon as I was of age I got the hell out of Dodge and made drug use my primary goal.My brothers and sisters went through different avenues of excape.One robbed a bank,another became homeless in California and my sister is OCD.
I've been in enough therapy to certainly get into some core issues but it's an ongoing process.I've worked the 12th steps in NA and that certainly started the road to accepting my part but I don't think it's ever finished.I can't obsess on the why part because it was getting me nowhere.All I have is today and to live it with as much honesty as I can.I'll never be a guru or a circuit speaker nor care to be.I can only give back and try to help the still suffering addict.
Well,the devils advocates became my best friends.They embraced me and introduced me to all these wonderful substances to make my life bearable.Did I already have the gene? Most definitely.I never drank or used drugs with anu caution.It was simply to obliterate an already hell I was living in.
As soon as I was of age I got the hell out of Dodge and made drug use my primary goal.My brothers and sisters went through different avenues of excape.One robbed a bank,another became homeless in California and my sister is OCD.
I've been in enough therapy to certainly get into some core issues but it's an ongoing process.I've worked the 12th steps in NA and that certainly started the road to accepting my part but I don't think it's ever finished.I can't obsess on the why part because it was getting me nowhere.All I have is today and to live it with as much honesty as I can.I'll never be a guru or a circuit speaker nor care to be.I can only give back and try to help the still suffering addict.